We deserved a better Batman v Superman film

What do you get when you throw Batman and Superman in the same screen? When B and S are locked in a duel mid-air, with the promise of the trickiest manoeuvres - you definitely get a great movie franchise - and also, a truck load of BS in Zack Snyder's version.

I am a huge fan of the DC Universe. I love the darkness, almost nihilism, of the characters: the superheroes are more men than heroes, and that's just what makes them so super. The burden of expectation on Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was definitely heavy.

In Ben Affleck, we have a new, angrier, gun-using, bulkier batman, and in Cavill, we finally have a Superman who is more than pretty. Two-and-a-half hours into a CGI-rich movie with zero characterisation, I came away, however, feeling exhausted. A bit like having watched a very long video game.

Five reasons why we deserve a better Superman v Batman movie.

1. Ben Affleck is a good Batman

In all the Batman movies, Christian Bale from Christopher Nolan's version of Batman is probably a house favourite. Bale was conflicted, lean and driven, and his strength and mind both had Faustian fragility. Affleck is the Bat of the future: he is older, he has lost Robin, he sports wrinkles on his face and weariness in his heart.

In his hulky physical presence then, Affleck is closer to the Batman envisaged by Frank Miller. This is the first time we see Affleck as Bat of Gotham, and he is good in that conflicted cape. Too bad then, that the movie, with its lack of characterisation lets its characters down.

2. Boys, why are you fighting?

The biggest problem with this movie is how you never learn what is going on in the characters' minds. Why is Batman so angry at Superman? He keeps saying "alien, alien" while describing Superman, sounding almost like Donald Trump speaking on world peace. His hatred.. yes, I would use the word hatred, appears almost pathological.

Some nuance is needed. Why is Superman so angry at Batman from the very beginning? The movie does not explain. How does Batman with his brilliant mind, and Superman with his super-sized heart, not ever get down to talking about exactly what their problem is with each other?

No, instead you get fists before facts, and anger before annihilation. Good backstories on their reasons for fighting, with doses of hubris (as opposed to hubris with zero backstory) would have led to much more impactful fight scenes. Zack, I wouldn't have minded some more Rorschach, but what I get is GI Joe.

3. Women who don't speak/ can't finish their sentences

A lot has been written about women in superhero/ sci-fi films. Chiefly, that they are hypersexualised (Carol, a scientist in Star Trek Into Darkness is caught in her underwear) and used as bait (Lois Lane in Superman, and Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy in Spiderman).

Women also don't like Wonder Woman's sexualised costume, but as it stands I am okay with it, because I think it's a minor issue in this movie. What is more of an issue is that we have these incredible girls in Lois and Wonder Woman who barely even get to finish their sentences.

Lois has a great line in the film, in which she says she's a journalist, not a lady. And as it stands, she has a lot of screen time in the film, even though every scene ends with her Superman boyfriend rescuing her (bar set impossibly high for boyfriends henceforth) and with her saying, "Clark…" and not getting a chance to finish as Superman whooshes off.

I like Lois here, high-heels-while-running and all, though I feel she could have been given a stronger part. My chief grouse is with Wonder Woman. Like the men, whose motivations are never made clear, she looks gorgeous, is fantastically able... but does not speak.

A movie like this, showcasing a terrible, amoral future, needs a goddess who is more activist than Barbie doll. Wonder Woman does little but speak two lines, though she could really have been made a greater part of the DC Trinity in this movie.

4. A nemesis who is not impressive 

Lex Luthor is played by an irritatingly over the top and infantile Jesse Eisenberg. As the movie starts, you just have to accept that Lex is crazy, Batman is angry... and Superman... is blank. We don't understand ever why Lex is the way he is. Does he have no reason? Even that is something worth explaining.

Instead, we get a ready stew, with no mention of its ingredients. And then Lex creates his own alien Frankenstein monster, who snarls, grunts, roars and snaps, never speaking. The right villain for a movie which has barely any explanation?

5. Two really good scenes that deserve a better movie

Having said this, there are a few standout scenes in the movie, both featuring Cavill and Affleck, that crackle with the sort of sex appeal and hamartia-laden darkness one would expect from a modern CGI movie made with a monstrous budget. But it takes two hours to get there; before you get a peek into their minds, their family bonds, their conflict and their fall from grace.

For the sake of the actors, for the sake of these few good scenes, and finally, for the sake of us - the faithful audience - we deserve another Superman Vs Batman.