Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Elevator Pitch: You might be surprised to find out that Metropolis and Gotham are cities on either side of an estuary, each visible from the other. Also Wayne Manor is now a ruin and Bruce lives in an ultra modern glass fronted house. So when Superman is battling with General Zod Metropolis is devastated and Bruce is in the city rescuing pedestrians. There is a consensus later that Superman is not beneficial to the city and Batman agrees, but Clark Kent is running stories about the caped crusader’s summary methods of justice. The superheroes are at odds, and the evil Lex Luthor intervenes, bringing things to a head.

Content: There is no nudity or sex, or any drinking. The film is a succession of set pieces. In the battle with General Zod much of Metropolis is destroyed, with masonry raining down on the streets. In the Middle East Lois Lane is on a journalistic mission when she is taken hostage, to be rescued by Superman. Batman hallucinates that he is in a battle somewhere in the desert with armoured men and aliens. Some Kryptonite comes into the possession of Batman. The superheroes come face to face in a wild battle which incudes a weird monster.

A View:  This outing was generally disliked by the critics, and look how many reviewed it. Robbie Collin of the UK Telegraph called it “the most incoherent blockbuster in years”. It won the Golden Schmoes “Biggest Disappointment of the year”, and Razzies in several categories including “Worst Screen Combo” Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill. I sat there baffled by the whole thing and found myself waiting for it to end, but found that I had to endure the final climactic battle. After the fantastic 1989 Batman film directed by Tim Burton how have we come to this?

Additional Info: We are spoilt for information, with over 600 photos on IMDb and a mind numbing Wikipedia entry. Read My Elevator Pitch. It’s clearer.