firstly BvS is a great Batman movie, I liked that aspect of it and they made things tolerable - dear I say it, even enjoyable!
I said during one of the trailer discussions that I would eat my hat if the actual movie proved my pre-judgement wrong and if BvS had been a Batman movie I would now be looking up Hat recipes. BvS was better than Batman Begins and a worthy successor to the Dark Knight. I didn't get any DK Returns feel from this movie other than Bruce being older and jaded. but Affleck was good, (I never had any concern about that) and the action, espionage and brooding all worthwhile. A Batman-Wonder Woman movie with a Alien Menace plot device would have been worthwhile and I would now be a confirmed fan.
Unfortunately BvS was billed as a Superman film and in that regard it was confusing and uninspiring. I didn't like Man of Steel and Cavill just fails to have any charisma in this role. It could be just that I am still emotionally attached to Christopher Reeves portrayal but I don't think the grim dark vibe works for Superman.
The possibilities of the Senators questions were good set ups for a bit more drama, but then they were ignored in favour of brooding and claptrap. Lois was entirely pointless to the story other than as a plot device and I would have preferred if she was left out entirely and her parts given to either Martha Kent (woman in peril) or Wonder Woman (ie she should have been the heroic spear diver). Either that or actually have Lois be the one who was kidnapped at the end and needing to be saved ie make Lois
the key* and not just an also ran (
more about that later)
Wonder Woman was wasted in this movie, though the parts she was in shined, she had so much more potential to form an actual relationship with Bruce and Clark and be the bridge that brought them together and helped resolve the story. I would have loved for them to actually show her outwitting Batman (twice - stealing the chip and then putting it back in his car), being the one who gets Bats and Supes to bond and something more for her to do action wise.
Talking about bonding the 'hey both our Moms are called Martha we are like totally blood brothers now dude' was stoopid and unconvincing, and I would have much preferred that Wonder Woman had come in here with her own words of wisdom to sway their male egos.
I actually didn't mind Eisenbergs take on Lex Luthor it reminded me a bit of Gene Hackmans version (and not just the hair) crossed with the mad President Lex, of the cartoon. Speaking of which it would have been awesome to see Lex in his Warsuit and let him slug it out with the team using Kryptonite and Apokoliptan tech (see Darkseid easter egg). Lex did stray too far into Joker territory however and just further underlined that this was a Batman movie with Superman add ons.
The worst add on was of course the whole Doomsday tag (which made a post credit tag obsolete). I would have liked the movie much more if they had stopped with Batman (and co) saving Matha Kent from the bad guys. Bringing in Doomsday was unnecessary, it was spectacle that added nothing to the story and the outcome seemed contrived. While killing him was a surprise of the ' oh they did do it' kind, we know its a shallow death. Also why was Superman able to carry the kryptonite spear? not to mention he had already been hit twice with Kryptonite gas but still managed to shrug it off - was Batman using the weak stuff?.
Reading some critics, it feels like some of them feel left out. Like it was a film with too many winks that only Geeks of at least level 10 could understand.
I think thats legitimate though. I may only be a level 5 geek but the Batman nightmare/vision and the subsequent Flash warning was 'way out there', abrupt and largely meaningless within the context of the movie. We're told that Lois is the key - but the key to what? Throughout the movie I never got the impression Lois was ever in peril and since I don't know what a parademon or an Omega symbol is, theres no context beyond the movie to draw on. At least the original Superman actually had Lois Lane die to push Superman to reverse time for her, this Superman and Lois dilemma was naff (and that also covers the oh she almost drowned but not really scene).
You might argue that its there as a easteregg for the geek viewers but within the rest of the movie I don't think that worked, it just added to the confusion. Warner Bros needs to appeal to more than just Level 10 Geeks and throwing it in like this is a disservice to all viewers.
It was the same with the cameos of Aquaman and Cyborg, they were simply there to tag the next movie and beyond that were meaningless. At least The Flash file could have been tied back to the 'nightmare/vision' and the discussion of 'other Metahumans'...
so overall I did enjoy the movie and that was entirely because of Batman and Wonder Women, overall though too many holes and team Superman fails to inspire
so is my hat safe?