Writer: Naseem Randhawa

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Watch this if you liked: "Man of Steel"& "Watchmen"

The Good, the Bad and the Batfleck Effect:

If you're looking at something fun, snazzy and just plain entertaining, then you're looking at the wrong superhero brand.

DC Comics have always done the total opposite from the Marvel superhero films that we tend to see on the big screen, and with "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice" what you get is a completely, dark, gritty and somber tale of clashing heroes, which you would enjoy if it's what you go in expecting!

Let us cut to the chase, and first analyse the role of Batfleck... er... Ben Affleck as Batman. Those naysayers who have held their breaths for fear that the "Gone Girl" actor would've ruined the near perfect Batman that Christian Bale had embodied in the Christopher Nolan "Dark Knight" movies, will be pleased to witness Affleck's aged and world-weary Bruce Wayne who belligerently grabs the opportunity to save the world from an alien entity that had destroyed parts of Metropolis in "Man of Steel".

Where the key to Affleck's success lies in his dark subtlety in playing Batman, the key of Henry Cavill's failure as Superman is that he just tries too hard. Those long unnecessary concentrating looks gazing upon the landscape and his blandness derived from not giving Kal-El his own much needed personality, is still lacking just like in "Man of Steel". Whatever happened to the fun Superman we used to know portrayed by those before him like say Christopher Reeves's Superman? We know this is supposed to be a super serious superhero movie, but a bit of likability would've gained Superman more points.

Talking about points, the most annoying point of the movie is centered on Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor, who with his whiny voice and annoying crescendo, just makes one pray that his scene would end soon and move on to the next. Playing it like a more annoying version of his Mark Zuckerberg role from "The Social Network", makes Eisenberg pale so much in comparison with Heath Ledger's Joker and Tom Hardy's Bane. Heck, even Danny DeVito's Penguin villain ("Batman Returns", 1992) wasn't this annoying!

Moving on to the other highlight of the film; When she's not seemingly appearing out of nowhere and stalking Ben Affleck's character, Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman is the saving grace of all the female roles in the movie. While Amy Adams' Lois Lane takes on the predictable damsel in distress part, Wonder Woman is not about to sit quietly and let the men do all the dirty work. In one of the climactic battle scenes, Gadot really does command a great presence on screen and could hopefully quell all the haters who once said she wasn't curvy enough to portray the Amazonian superhero.

Direction from Zack Synder for "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice" is great and expected as this is his forte after all, having brought audiences dark superhero/fantasy films like, "Man of Steel", "Watchmen" and "Sucker Punch". The action scenes are everything you hoped it would be and more, as the IMAX shot sequence which is almost 30 minutes long is worth the IMAX experience if you're a huge fan of Batman, Superman and/or Wonder Woman, as Synder gracefully captures meticulous details that is best enjoyed on the widest screen possible.

While the story stays loyal to the comic it's based on by Frank Miller, do go in expecting to watch a rather serious-tone superhero movie and you'll find that "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice" has a very well adapted plot that can only be appreciated by fans of Batman, Zack Snyder films, or those with a taste for movies that border on the dark side of things.

Cinema Online, 24 March 2016