This film follows the aftermath of the events that transpired in “Man of Steel”. Although Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman (Henry Cavill) saved his adopted planet of Earth, the city of Metropolis was destroyed in the process. One of the people who witnessed this was Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck), a Gotham City billionaire playboy who secretly moonlights as a masked vigilante known as “Batman”. Seeing Superman as a threat to humanity, he decides to take him out once and for all.

Shortly after the announcement of a sequel to “Man of Steel”, it was announced that Ben Affleck was going to play Bruce Wayne/Batman. This caused a huge division amongst Internet movie geeks. A lot of people said this was a horrible casting decision while others came to his defense. It’s pretty safe to say that Affleck is the best actor in this film. In the past, I thought he was a better writer/director than actor but his acting seemed to improve over the last few years and it shows in his portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The supporting cast (including Henry Cavill) is serviceable at best.

Zach Snyder’s past filmography as a visual director varies from being very good (e.g. “Watchmen”, the 2004 remake of “Dawn of the Dead”) to being self-indulgent (“Sucker Punch”). While he has a distinct style, it can be a matter of style over substance. When it comes to adapting DC properties, however, he seems to show restraint when the mood calls for it. His best scenes as a director are the action-oriented ones. The first half of this movie was good then it devolves into an unnecessary build-up of the “Justice League” movie that’s coming out next year. This movie lacks a lot of focus. The film doesn’t know whether it should be “The Dark Knight” or “The Avengers”. Jesse Eisenberg is way too over-the-top in his portrayal of Lex Luthor. His idea of Lex Luthor seems to take cues from Heath Ledger’s Joker. Eisenberg, despite this role has proven himself to be an established actor (he was previously nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network”).

Despite its inconsistencies, “Batman vs. Superman” is a serviceable action movie.

SCORE: 3/5