BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE   3.0***

            Eighteen months after the destructive battle in Metropolis (Man of Steel), Superman has become a controversial figure. Billionaire Bruce Wayne, who has covertly operated in Gotham City as Batman for nearly two decades, blames Superman for the mass casualties that resulted from his fight with General Zod. Superman ( Clark Kent in public), sees Batman as dangerous and seeks to expose him.

Past villain Lex Luthor is back and as evil as ever and wants to eliminate Superman once and for all. His plan is to recover kryptonite from Zod's failed attempt in the “Man Of Steel”  movie from the Indian Ocean to use against Superman.

Batman v Superman is entertaining but disappointing in that the premise for Batman’s hate of Superman just doesn’t ring true… it doesn’t make sense.. Nonetheless the action set pieces are impressive and the ultimate showdown between the two is indeed awesome when it finally comes. The heroes themselves are amazing. Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne is a good choice as the new Batman.. He IS Bruce Wayne. Henry Cavill is great as the man of steel. He doesn't have much to work with but he shines when he needs to. And Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman steals the screen whenever she comes on. She's perfect. And when these heroes come together to fight the common enemy, Doomsday, it's truly a sight to behold.  

Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor  is fine in the role. The character is written as an obnoxious rich sociopath with a love for mayhem, so he's basically in the shadows for a majority of the movie acting as a puppeteer to pit Superman against Batman.  . But there is something unsettling about his unassuming manner  Doomsday is fine also. The only reason he exists is to have an epic fight in the third act   He is the antithesis of Superman - a godless killing machine, a creature with no conscience, an unkillable force of nature. He serves his purpose, but there was no sizzle, no real evil in the character  to be rooting for (or against).  

The movie is too long.  A lot of stuff is crammed into the two and a half hours, and a few subplots could've been scrapped.  Good editing could have trimmed the fat, put all the pieces in the right place and kept it at a tight two hours, Batman v Superman could have been a much better superhero movie. As is, it's entertaining but too protracted. 

. Batman v Superman is a flawed movie, but it accomplishes what it sets out to do. It gives us Batman versus Superman. It gives us the dawn of the Justice League. It gives us a big screen adaptation of Lex Luthor and a juggernaut of a villain in Doomsday. All the pieces are there.  They just could have fit together better.

Rated: PG-13 for sequences of violence and strong action.

Clark