I am one of the many who wished that Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice would be great. I wished the same with Star Wars 7, and I turned out absolutely right. But after watching this disappointment, I’m a little worried about wishing for future DC movies.

Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice is the sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel and is the second in a new line of DC shared movies, which will continue with Suicide Squad later this year. It stars Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck (Gone Girl, Argo)  as Batman, Gal Gadot (Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6) as Wonder Woman, and Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, American Ultra) as Lex Luthor. Superman, facing the ramifications of his unintended destruction of Metropolis in Man of Steel, battles an old and experienced Batman, who, after seeing the destruction of Metropolis, believes Superman is a threat to mankind. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor tries to force them to battle, while Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) works on her own agenda.

Before I talk about the film itself, let’s talk about the cast, because, for the most part, it’s excellent. Ben Affleck is an absolutely incredible Batman – perhaps not to the caliber of The Dark Knight’s Christian Bale, but certainly a fantastic performance. He plays a borderline psychopathic Bruce Wayne who has been Batman for over twenty years, and this plays excellently into the film as a whole. Another surprise is Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, who makes her feature film debut here, and she is nothing short of amazing. Amy Adams (Lois Lane) and Henry Cavill reprise their roles from Man of Steel, and as a whole, they’re still great choices for the roles. Another standout is Jeremy Irons as Batman’s trusty butler Alfred — he’s sarcastic and snarky, but still loyal, and his performance is on par with Michael Caine’s (who played the character in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy). Out of the main cast, the only performance that is downright awful is Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor. He’s an absolute cartoon, completely insane, and isn’t the cool, calculating businessman that Kevin Spacey or Gene Hackman presented in previous Superman films.

While we’re on the positive side, I must say that, as an action film, Dawn of Justice shines. The visuals are great (for the most part) and the action is smartly used. Many had high hopes for the climactic battle between Batman and Superman, and few seemed disappointed by that scene. It was pretty incredible to see two of the biggest icons in cinema face off. Another stand-out action set pieces is Batman’s battle with a group of thugs (as shown in the trailer) — it’s fierce, brutal, and one of the highlights of the film.

The music, too, is exceptional. Star composer Hans Zimmer (who, notably, also composed music for Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy) teams up with college Junkie XL (who did the scores for Mad Max: Fury Road and 300: Rise of an Empire) to deliver a breathtaking score that lines the film nicely. I highly recommend picking the soundtrack up on iTunes.

And now to the negatives. Rather shamefully, the movie tries to cram dozens of plot points into a single two hour and 30 minute film. Some have said that this film tries to catch up to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (which has had over ten films and nearly a decade to establish their plot) in one single film — which I believe is absolutely right. It is absolutely absurd that they tried to do this simply to catch up. DC should have taken their time – have this film be Batman vs Superman, and have Dawn of Justice at a later time. In the end, this film is simply crammed – and a lot of the problems with this film stem from that.

The action, while great, suffers from too much CGI and, for that reason, is hard to watch. Let me explain. Say that a juggler is juggling four apples, right? It’d say it’s pretty impressive, but when you notice they’re all fake apples, it starts to become a bit bothersome — somehow not as impressive anymore. The action is great at first, but when you start to realize how all of it was in a computer and Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill are basically just swinging at air, it becomes a tad annoying.

But that’s only a small part. The biggest single problem with this film is the plot. “But how?”, you ask. Well, since the trailers ruined it for everyone, I don’t feel even a bit bad about bringing this up. Batman and Superman aren’t the focus of this movie — it’s Lex Luthor’s plot to destroy them both by creating an all powerful monster called Doomsday. Excuse me… what? Even if this plot point was still to happen, it’s absolutely ridiculous to make this movie about that instead of the main conflict it should be focused on: Batman against Superman. But the worst part: they showed it in the trailer! The shot of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman standing side-by-side, ready to face the creature, should have been the highlight of the film — but since it was shown in the trailer, it isn’t. Instead, it’s an utter disappointment.

The problems that stem from Batman vs Superman are mostly nitpicks and minor complaints, though. Don’t let people fool you — Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice is not a bad movie, merely a disappointing one. I’d recommend you watch it simply because of the fresh take on Batman and Wonder Woman and the spectacle of seeing Batman against Superman at all, but I do recommend waiting for the DVD release. Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice is a decent 6 out of 10, but certainly not even close to what it could have been.

ADDENDUM

With recent news that the script for a stand-alone Batman movie starring (and possibly being directed by) Ben Affleck has been completed, it’s worth noting that, while this film was quite the disappointment, it still managed to get me somewhat excited for the upcoming series of DC movies, which will include films such as Green Lantern, Shazam, and The Flash stand-alone films before 2020, as well as a pair of Justice League films. If you’re a DC fan, be sure to mark the following days on the calendar.

Suicide Squad: August 5, 2016

Wonder Woman: June 23, 2017

Justice League Part One: November 17, 2017