Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice really did live up to my expectations.  Luckily for me, those expectations were set pretty low before I even stepped into the theater.

   The film, which lasted two and a half hours, had a plot which felt forced and segmented to say the very least.  A complicated plot was inevitable considering the fact that there was not one but two superheroes involved.  However, the entire first half of the movie seemed committed to having parallel, but mutually exclusive, plots.  Batman and Superman, despite knowledge of each other, did not actually come into contact until about halfway in, and even then only as their alter egos, Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent.

  There was also an attempt to provide a broader perspective of the movie both politically and maybe even philosophically. Characters battled the questions between the rights and responsibilities of those with superhuman abilities, and touched upon a more religious context of metaphorical men, gods, and demons.  While this aspect of the film was at least remotely intriguing, the attempt was not carried out as well as it had the potential for.  Instead, this alternate, deeper plot line quickly fell through to give way to some mindless, macho action.

  The only aspect of the movie that I didn’t find all that bad was the acting.  Henry Cavill, returning as Superman after 2013’s Man of Steel, did a decent job portraying the calm and collected Clark Kent and noble, heroic Superman.  Jesse Eisenberg (Lex Luther) acted the most impressively in the film, although his character was poorly scripted in my opinion.  For too long I was convinced, due to his portrayal of insanity, that Eisenberg was playing Batman’s the Joker rather than Superman’s Lex Luther.  Ben Affleck (Batman) wasn’t awful, but he wasn’t welcome–Batman isn’t Batman if it’s not Christian Bale.

  The fight scene between Batman and Superman, which I assume is what most people in the theater were there to see, lasted about an hour and a half.  Now, I understand that the target audience was intended to be those individuals that enjoy lots of loud, special-effect fueled violent action.  And let’s face it–the target audience will go to see it’s favorite superheroes in any new movie regardless of  widespread disappointing reviews.

  After an exhausting afternoon of frustration and a developing headache from the overall emotionless and action-packed film, my personal advice would be to watch the trailer instead; it summarizes the entire essence of the movie, and will save you valuable time, money, and peace of mind.