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It's a bird! It's a plane! Oh... it's just Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is definitely memorable—but not for the right reasons. This is the kind of movie you'd throw on when your friends are over and you want to laugh at how bad it is. Watching it by yourself and actually paying attention? The plot and a lot of the details just don't make much sense.

Directed by Zack Snyder and starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, and Gal Gadot, Batman v. Superman is a mediocre movie at best. The story follows Bruce Wayne as Lex Luthor convinces him that Superman is a dangerous monster who wants to destroy humanity. In reality, Superman is just trying to save people.

As the movie goes on, so do the plot holes. Superman gets put on trial, and right before he takes the stand, a witness against him blows up, destroying the U.S. Capitol. That made me wonder: why didn't Superman just use his X-ray vision to find the bomb and save everyone? Maybe Superman isn't so super... man.

Now we get to the juicy part. Lex kidnaps Martha Kent—Superman's mom—and tells Superman that if he wants to save her, he has to kill Batman. So we finally get the big showdown: Batman vs. Superman... until Superman says Batman needs to save Martha. Batman suddenly realizes his own mom was named Martha, so he immediately stops fighting him. Then the two team up with special guest Wonder Woman.

Oh, and did you know Doomsday is in this movie? Yeah, he is. Unfortunately, he looks about as threatening as a toothbrush with dried toothpaste stuck to it. The three heroes fight this Lord of the Rings-looking goblin, and Superman sacrifices himself to save humanity.

Sounds heroic, right?

Wrong.

Superman in this universe has probably caused more deaths than this frog monster does in the entire movie. This version of Superman just doesn't feel right. Superman isn't supposed to kill people or give up trying to save them. He always finds another way. This one just seems to do whatever he wants.

Batman isn't much better. He looks like the Hulk after taking Gamma steroids. HE IS TOO BIG! He also looks kind of goofy—except when he's wearing that awesome armored Batsuit. Ben Affleck isn't my favorite Batman either. When he's in the suit, he looks like a seven-year-old who just got told "no" for the first time. And don't even get me started on the voice changer that makes him sound like his voice dropped another 50 octaves.

Now, I do have some positives.

The Knightmare scenes are awesome. Batman dreams about a post-apocalyptic future ruled by an evil Superman, and it honestly looks really cool. Then Future Flash randomly time-travels in, tells Batman he was right about Superman, says Lois is the key... and disappears. It's confusing, but it's one of the most interesting parts of the movie.

Another positive is the CGI and visual effects. For a movie that's over ten years old, the effects still hold up surprisingly well—better than some superhero movies that came out way later.

The Flash. (Cough.)

Overall, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is a pretty bad movie, but it has a few redeeming qualities. The Knightmare scenes are cool, the armored Batsuit is awesome, and Wonder Woman steals every scene she's in.

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 151 mins
Director: Zach Snyder
Writer: Chris Terrio
Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, and Gal Gadot
Genre: Superhero | Action
Tagline: Dawn of Justice
Memorable Movie Quote: "Still working? You're getting slow in your old age, Alfred."
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Official Site:
Release Date: March 25, 2016
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: Batman is manipulated by Lex Luthor to fear Superman. Superman´s existence is meanwhile dividing the world and he is framed for murder during an international crisis. The heroes clash and force the neutral Wonder Woman to reemerge.