By ADAM KNAEBEL
Reporter

This is a movie that a great number of people have been waiting to see for a long time. It’s the first time since 2013’s “Man of Steel” that Warner Bros. has taken a step to expand their DC cinematic universe. With Marvel having a firm grasp on their own film universe, it’s about time DC made a move. So, did the long wait pay off?

The film takes place after the events of “Man of Steel,” the destruction in that movie being a heavy motivator in this film. After seeing the destruction Superman (Henry Cavill) casused in Metropolis, Bruce Wayne, aka Batman (Ben Affleck), decides to remove the potential threat to Earth by killing the big blue boy scout. Oh, and Lex Luthor (Jessie Eisenberg) is there too.

The first thing that I didn’t like about the movie is that it had an extremely loose plot. I could get behind the motivation for Batman wanting to rid the world of Superman, but the real person that needed motivation, but didn’t get any, was Lex Luthor. That’s a big problem when he’s the main villain of the film. We get one line from Luthor about having daddy issues but that doesn’t validate him wanting Superman killed. Other than leading to the film feeling loose, the main reason that it upsets me is because I really like Lex Luthor as a character. I realize he is supposed to be more of a businessman in the comics, but the way Eisenberg played him, as a grounded crazy person was great to me. Also, Luthor’s grand plan through the whole movie could have gone wrong at any time but when all was said and done, I liked it.

There is also a plot line that loosely follows the people of Earth wanting Superman to leave and that issue going through the justice system. That subplot goes kaput about halfway through the movie and really doesn’t have much bearing on the film’s overarching story.

I also felt the movie had more of an agenda to push future DC movies rather than focusing the plot of the movie. You could take the elements that teased future properties out of the movie and it would have little to no effect. Along with that, the movie just kind of assumes you know about everything in the DC universe rather than explaining some things, which was a little frustrating coming from someone that doesn’t have a lot of knowledge of the source material.

Enough of what I didn’t like. What I did like was all the performances from everyone in the cast. Fans were initially worried about Affleck as Batman but he did an excellent job portraying a harder, more grizzled version of the character. Cavill did a good job as Superman, as did Amy Adams in her portrayal of Lois Lane. As I said earlier, Jessie Eisenberg did a great job as Lex Luthor; he’s like Superman’s Joker. The standout I think though was Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.

Director Zack Snyder is known for is his stunning visuals, and they don’t fall short in this movie. I thought that recapping Bruce Wayne’s past in the title sequence was great and it didn’t take up much time. I saw the movie in 3D and that also added an extra layer of depth to the visuals in the film.

It may sound like I hate the film with my complaining being on the heavy side, but overall I really enjoyed it. Yes the plot could have been stronger but I really just liked having the experience of seeing Batman and Superman duke it out on screen.