Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice

I didn't want to dislike Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (let's just refer to it by the second half of that unwieldy title from now on, huh?) entering the cinema, and I don't completely dislike it now that I've made my escape. But as this lumbering superhero blockbuster lurches from one dimly-lit and/or destructive sequence to the next, I could feel the initial interest and even admiration I felt during its early stages diminishing to a low ebb.

Once you skip over the umpteenth recounting of Batman's origin (RIP Thomas and Martha Wayne), Dawn Of Justice plays a neat trick by replaying the climactic city-wrecking smackdown from Man Of Steel at a street-level perspective, with billionaire Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) speeding into the mayhem that threatens to lay waste to his company's Metropolis skyscraper and the employees within.

It's a bold and compelling way to set up Affleck's Bruce/Batman and Henry Cavill's Superman as potential adversaries, but sadly it's pretty much the last time director Zack Snyder displays much cohesion in Dawn Of Justice's tone, dramatically or thematically. In place of clear, focused storytelling with an underlying moral standpoint or ethical conflict, the movie offers sub-Sorkin speechifying, heavy-handed bombast and grim portent (that said, some of Batman's nightmare sequences are impressively weird and/or gnarly).

To sum up the story: People are increasingly untrustworthy of Superman's God-like powers and bad habit of racking up collateral damage; tired of taking down sex-traffickers and other such scum, Batman takes it upon himself to rid the world of Superman; twitchy megalomaniac-in-the-making Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg, occasionally great, mostly regrettable) plays them both again one another for his own reasons; Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) saunters in and out of scenes until she reveals herself as Wonder Woman — compete with rad squealing-guitar theme tune — and enthusiastically shows the lads how this butt-kicking thing is done.

There are some neat cameos laying the groundwork for a DC Comics cinematic universe, but any anticipation for that is offset by a hope that any future adventures have a touch that is perhaps more brisk and nimble than that of this heavy-set behemoth. Still, at least it looks like we'll have Affleck in the Batsuit for a couple more movies, which is a very welcome development — he has a powerful presence (don't miss his 'Get Fit The Bruce Wayne Way!' montage), and his Dark Knight growl is my favourite Bat-voice to date.