Pretty much everything about Batman in this film is phenomenal! Ben Affleck, Batmobile, Iron Armor, Batsuit, Knightmare, Batcave, Batwing, reformation trainings, you name it! Everything except for one: his ethical dilemma against weapons & assassinations. This very identity of The Caped Crusader is completely thrown out to the dirt, for reasons that only make sense to the director & screenwriters.
Secondly, Hans Zimmer & Junkie XL killed it! One can definitely say that the soundtrack's starker than the superheroes in this movie. Thirdly, Zack Snyder's visual sense is mind-boggling! The actions however, fall into a mixed bag. While Batman-Superman clash, 'Level 2' ambush & the epic combative climax with Doomsday had moments, Batmobile chase & the dystopian criminals fight do not get the same glory. Granny's Peach Tea & similarity in the names Martha are selling plot points! The phantasm approaches to the scenes are cool in some, but takes away the seriousness in most, like young Bruce Wayne levitating in the pit hole.
Characters wise, most of the cast members did good jobs. Henry Cavill as Superman & Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor fair across. Gal Gadot as the bold Amazonian princess Wonder Woman & Jeremy Irons as the trusted confidant Alfred Pennyworth are surprises! Doomsday's okay. Screenwriters tried hard to make Lois Lane a useful character while not knowingly placed her on a damsel in distress position every single time. Performances by the background extras are loathsome.
It's ballsy that the comic issue 'The Death of Superman' was carried out with no tolerances. It's saddening, tragic & clearly the pinnacle of dramatic heft in this film. It digs a hole in your heart. Superman healing on space after the nuclear trajectory explosion is to watch out for!
So now, where does the bug in this film lie? In the script & the screenplay. The basic premise (as described in the title) is about the rivalry between Batman & Superman. All the makers had to do is to lay out the foundation, build scenes & character developments on top of it, in order to have a perfect movie. But, the screenwriters who do not share the same concern, sidetracked to disposable subplots & crammed expositions for the future of DC's Extended Universe in this one movie, while diluting the focus of the current main story in hand!
Since the cynosure is gone, the next to rot is the screenplay & character motivations. It becomes a choppy, uneven, incoherent & condensed pile of rigmarole! Here's the breakdown of the biggest drawbacks:
If only the filmmakers have their goal figured out for this motion picture by making it an enthralling cat-and-mouse countenances between Batman & Superman, this would have been the next gold on market! If this's the case, Knightmare would have easily featured as a real attempt of Batman to retrieve the Kryptonian rock instead of winding up as a clichéd dream sequence with no impacts or whatsoever. A terrible result as such is what you get for not knowing how to tell your story simple, straight & right. It's high time DC Comics & the producers find a talented storyteller to replace Snyder for the longevity of this franchise.
"Devils don't come from the hell beneath us. No, they come from the sky."