Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice 

Cast: Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Gal Gadot, Holly Hunter, Lauren Cohan

Director: Zack Snyder

2hrs 33 min

Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, although a direct sequel to 2013's Man of Steel, has a brooding, serious tone that is more appropriately suited for an inherently darker character like Batman. When it was first mooted, the audible sound was from a film community's collective gasp. There were rumours that it was going to be more than just a heavyweight show-down, and that it might also mark the beginnings of a Justice League franchise (along the lines of DC's version of The Avengers). This premise included stuffing a single film with hopes of spinning-off several characters later into films of their own – almost a reverse blueprint of Marvel's recent formula for success, where several stand-alone films built up to major crossovers, as in Avengers Assemble etc. When Ben Affleck was cast as Batman, the purists wept. When it was announced that the dreaded Jesse Eisenberg would be playing notorious Superman villain, Lex Luthor, serious panic intensified that this highly-anticipated film was going to be little short of a disaster.

With such a substantial array of negative expectations, most were anticipating an enormous flop. It is a loud, long, ambitiously fierce and furious film – but it falls well short of being a classic. It is, though, surprisingly focussed at times (a word that normally is the kryptonite of Zack Snyder's method of film-making) and in fact, the film very much matches that of its predecessor Man of Steel, as Snyder does manage to reign in his excesses for a while, before not being able to help himself and eventually exploding his enthusiasm all over the screen. With the last Superman outing, there was a great deal of early-on characterisation, just before all of it was demolished and thrown to the side, much like one of the buildings that were destroyed in that unnecessarily over the top battle in the sky between Superman (Henry Cavill) and General Zod (Michael Shannon). Here however, we have an interesting - if disappointingly thin - plot which sends two immovable forces directly at one another like two speeding trains, but in classic Zack Snyder-fashion, everything has to derail and violently smash together by the time it's all over. The result being that, rather than filling your head filled with wonder, your cranium will be spinning... more so, if like me, you’re in the front row, 3-D bespectacled and watching in iMax!

It’s a shame really, as in gentler directorial hands, ‘BvS’ had the potential to be an extremely well-crafted film. It is though, encumbered with some near-fatal flaws, certainly none bigger than the hideously miscast Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor (is this talent-bypass recipient in possession of some lethal Hollywood blackmail material which maintains his tedious ongoing screen presence?)

Ben Affleck defies all of his critics by turning in an excellent performance, although his Bruce Wayne is preferable to his at-times obese and clumsy-looking Batman. Intially, we see a massive battle in the sky, left over from the last film, this time from the perspective of those human victims and heroes on the ground. One individual – the aforesaid Bruce Wayne - races into the melee only to see one of his buildings obliterated and several of his friends and co-workers killed. Looking up, he decides this is the fault of Superman, an alien being whom Batman definitely plans to keep tabs on as the picture develops. The world is reeling and America is divided, following Superman's now famous battle over Metropolis. Many – such as devoted Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and the reporters at The Daily Planet - see him as a Jesus metaphor hero sent from heaven to save humanity. The other side see him as a devil and a threat to our species. Strange that this question wasn’t mooted in Man of Steel.

Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), is not the bulky bald billionaire we know from the comics, but is instead a lisping smug, spoilt brat who has inherited his fortune and standing as CEO of LexCorp. Gene Hackman - who portrayed the villain in the Christopher Reeve films - was infinitely superior in capturing Lex Luthor's narcissistic spirit from the comics. Here, Eisenberg gives a ludicrously puerile performance, creating his Luthor as a nervous, twitchy and exaggerated irritance. My initial response was that this was a chronically poor Heath Ledger impersonation from The Dark Knight, which is not only sad but deeply offensive. Despite Eisenberg ruining every scene he is in, his character gets involved in the plot when a large chunk of kryptonite is discovered from the wreck of the alien ship from the last film. Bruce Wayne and Lex both have an interest in getting their hands on this as a means to control or defeat Superman.

The narrative is extremely under-written as none of Lex's motivations have purpose, and some decisions made by Batman and Superman are ridiculously inconsistent. How or why Lois Lane ends up being involved in any of this is implausible to say the least, and Adams is once again given nothing more to do than play a damsel-in-distress. We are also bizarrely offered Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), perhaps to even out the feminist equation, but this in itself seems preposterously odd as there is no real reason for her inclusion in the film.

However, all of that doesn't mean the film is a failure. If they had only succeeded with Lex Luthor and clarified some of his actual purpose in the film, this really could almost have been the classic many were waiting for. Speaking of the big battle, when it finally arrives, it's not exactly overwhelming. Anybody, Batman included, can defeat Superman with kryptonite. Added to that - what is interesting about a hero such as Superman if he is totally infallible? This is not a spoiler for what happens when he finally scraps with Batman, but just a fairly obvious truth if you know the characters. Batman is certainly more intelligent, crafty and streetwise than Superman, but the red-caped one could sort out the chiroptera-chap merely with a slap – but if kryptonite was involved, then of of course the roles would be reversed. However, the film defines a commonality between the two heroes that few have probably considered - both are orphans, with a world-view shaped by their shared experience.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice starts off with an element of humanity by showing us that there are always human victims from mass carnage. Unfortunately it loses sight of anything relatable along the way, and ends with even more violence and death. The conclusion, although sombre in tone is handled with a dignified assuredness.