8. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
The curious case of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is defined by DC/Warner Bros. attempts to mimic Marvel Studios’ success assembling the Avengers on screen in order to build to 2017’s Justice League – but centered on a conflict between Batman and Superman.
We’ll start with what works in this movie. Visually, director Zack Snyder delivers a moody, unvarnished look at a world where superheroes aren’t exactly a welcome sight, and where larger-than-life destruction accompanies Superman wherever he goes. Ben Affleck’s Batman is interesting – haunted, weary, and looking for hope. There are some exciting action scenes. And oh yeah, Wonder Woman!
But when it comes to what doesn’t work, Batman v Superman‘s over-wrought, exhaustingly long, harrowingly confusing story, and baffling detail choices form an albatross around its neck.
Call it stylistic, call it abstract, call it an impressionistic idea of plot – however it’s charitably labeled, Batman v Superman crumbles under scene after scene of muddled symbolism, major jumps in logic, and scenery-chewing buffoonery from Jesse Eisenberg’s completely-off-the-mark Lex Luthor.
This film – an experiment in superhero scope, to be kind – has its supporters (some of Newsarama’s reviewers among them, to be totally fair), and remains an incredibly polarizing view of Batman as well as Superman through a cynical, disjointed lens – especially by comparison.