The review embargo on Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is now up and despite those first reactions sounding very positive, the critics don’t seem to love the film. While no one is calling it an outright failure, many are citing that it’s a bit too busy and cluttered, which we kind of expected.
After all, aside from the Trinity (Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman), Zack Snyder’s superhero showdown is also set to introduce us to Aquaman and The Flash and thus, has a ton of groundwork to lay for the upcoming Justice League film. It was always going to be near impossible for Snyder to execute a movie like this perfectly, and it seems that at the end of the day, Batman V Superman just had way too many plates to juggle.
On a more positive note, though, there seems to be a lot of praise for Wonder Woman, which is encouraging to hear, and despite the criticisms, most of the reviews point out that it’s definitely still an entertaining movie. So, far from a perfect film then, but it will likely still be received positively by the fans.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice will be with us this Friday, March 25th. We’ll have our own review for you by tomorrow night, but until then, check out what the critics are saying below.
It all looks pretty and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is an entertaining enough watch. It has moments that are engaging and thrilling, but you’ll come away pining for something less busy and over-long. Worth a watch, but about as good as Man of Steel.
There are moments that make the whole enterprise worthwhile, and introduces an intriguing new Batman. But it’s also cluttered and narratively wonky; a few jokes wouldn’t have gone amiss, either.
Wonder Woman injects some real vitality into the sludgy superhero sameness. It’s also worth nothing that she’s the one female character, with the possible exception of Soledad O’Brien playing herself, who isn’t used in the film as a pawn or hostage, which is about all we get from Amy Adams‘ Lois Lane (who’s apparently as addicted to stilettos as Bryce Dallas Howard in “Jurassic World”), Diane Lane‘s Martha Kent or Holly Hunter‘s all-too-brief turn as a Kentucky senator who squares off against Luthor.
BvS does well laying groundwork for a cinematic universe that could hold an entire Justice League. But it unpacks too much material for even a 2½-hour film, leaving Dawn of Justice a superpowered jumble at times… But that takes a backseat to the joys of watching Gal Gadot’s awesome Wonder Woman smile gloriously in the middle of a fight, Ben Affleck turning in a strong take on an older Dark Knight and his alter ego Bruce Wayne, and a story about two orphans.
Batman v Superman is kind of a disaster… But dang, is it a watchable one. And it’s got its twists and turns, its surprises and stabs of satisfaction — just enough that whether you’re a fan of these Hero Brands or not, Batman v Superman is an entertainment worth your time.
Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” is an extraordinarily odd, idiosyncratic movie that presents aggressive, even warlike concepts of Batman and Superman without entirely justifying the eccentric visions. The bold concepts from Snyder and screenwriters Chris Terrio and David Goyer have potential value as reflections of modern America, but devising a new vision of Batman (which occasionally works quite well, thanks in large part to Affleck), dealing with the fallout of “Man of Steel” and moving all these characters forward with nearly an hour devoted to an bloated, overlong battle proves to be too much weight for the movie to bear.
