3 stars (out of 5)
Producer/director Zack Snyder’s next-cab-off-the-rank after the darkened-up Superman rethink Man Of Steel is a gargantuan, spoiler-crammed affair that proves so overextended, overcomplicated, overlong, overheated and overhyped that it’s almost too much to take in, meaning that by the time we finally get to the titular grudge match you could well be over it. Nevertheless, there are elements here that work strongly and even spectacularly, and yet most of them can’t be discussed without betraying this one’s many secrets (and finding yourself attacked by roving, drooling gangs of DC Comics fanboys).
While the final battle between Superman (Henry Cavill) and crazed Kryptonian General Zod (Michael Shannon) is taking place at the end of the previous pic, we cut to the damage it’s doing to Wayne Enterprises, and witness the beginnings of Bruce Wayne’s mistrust of this supposed savior-from-the-skies. And, of course, Wayne is played by Ben Affleck instead of spoilsport Christian Bale, which means that we also have a rejigging of the Dark Knight’s origin story, and apparently are meant to believe that the three Christopher Nolan Batman movies didn’t happen, or didn’t happen in quite the way we thought, or something.
Anyway, Metropolis’ ‘The Superman’ is also wary of Gotham’s ‘The Batman’, and in his guise as Clark Kent he finds time to both investigate this other caped crusader while romancing Lois Lane (Amy Adams again), as Bruce and Alfred (Jeremy Irons this time) mull over Superman’s weaknesses back at the Batcave (although it seems to never be actually called that here). And, sensing that these two would-be goodies don’t like each other, Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) uses that to his psychopathic advantage, turning them against each other while cooking up ‘Doomsday’ and looning about like a bratty kid in an interpretation of Superman’s chief nemesis quite different from Gene Hackman’s in the old Christopher Reeve movies. But, of course, Hackman was an adult.
There’s way too much going on here, with an satirical anti-Superman movement led by Senator Finch (Holly Hunter), a barely-explained new character named Diana Prince (aka you-know-who and played by striking Israeli actress Gal Gadot) and the expected and exhausting FX-clogged, city-crushing climax all contributing to a running-time of 153 seriously expensive minutes. And how much more can be given away? How many spoilers can safely be betrayed? Well, here’s one: the subtitle means something, and… and… and hey, can you hear the lynch mobs approaching?
I Wake Up Screening 