UPDATE: The First Wave Of BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE Reviews Are Here
We've had first reactions, and our take is directly below, but now the embargo has lifted and the rest of the reviews for Batman V Superman have been unleashed. Click on for the general consensus so far...
Well, the floodgates have opened, and the first word on Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice has come pouring in. As many expected, the reaction seems pretty mixed, with quite a lot of reviews leaning towards negative unfortunately. That said, pretty much all of them have at least a couple of nice things to say about Zack Snyder's Man of Steel follow up.
Ben Affleck's new Dark Knight and the debuting Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman come in for a lot of praise, as does Jeremy Irons as Alfred and Jesse Eisenberg's "bizarre" take on Lex Luthor. The reaction to Henry Cavill's returning Man of Steel is a bit less enthusiastic, but that mainly seems down to the character not having quite enough to do.
The biggest criticism seems to be that the narrative doesn't justify the running time, and as the movie goes on the plot gets a bit muddled. Early action scenes are said to be exhilarating, but soon lose focus and - most distressingly - the term "Bay-like" was even used.
You can find out what our own MrSundayMovies thought HERE, and take a look at some excerpts from the other reviews below:
Entertainment.ie
It all looks pretty and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is an entertaining enough watch. It has moments that are engaging and thrilling, but you'll come away pining for something less busy and over-long. Worth a watch, but about as good as Man of Steel.
Empire
There are moments that make the whole enterprise worthwhile, and introduces an intriguing new Batman. But it’s also cluttered and narratively wonky; a few jokes wouldn’t have gone amiss, either.
The Wrap
Wonder Woman injects some real vitality into the sludgy superhero sameness. It’s also worth nothing that she’s the one female character, with the possible exception of Soledad O’Brien playing herself, who isn’t used in the film as a pawn or hostage, which is about all we get from Amy Adams‘ Lois Lane (who’s apparently as addicted to stilettos as Bryce Dallas Howard in “Jurassic World”), Diane Lane‘s Martha Kent or Holly Hunter‘s all-too-brief turn as a Kentucky senator who squares off against Luthor.
USA Today
BvS does well laying groundwork for a cinematic universe that could hold an entire Justice League. But it unpacks too much material for even a 2½-hour film, leaving Dawn of Justice a superpowered jumble at times... But that takes a backseat to the joys of watching Gal Gadot’s awesome Wonder Woman smile gloriously in the middle of a fight, Ben Affleck turning in a strong take on an older Dark Knight and his alter ego Bruce Wayne, and a story about two orphans.
Mashable
Batman v Superman is kind of a disaster... But dang, is it a watchable one. And it's got its twists and turns, its surprises and stabs of satisfaction — just enough that whether you're a fan of these Hero Brands or not, Batman v Superman is an entertainment worth your time.
The Playlist
Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice” is an extraordinarily odd, idiosyncratic movie that presents aggressive, even warlike concepts of Batman and Superman without entirely justifying the eccentric visions. The bold concepts from Snyder and screenwriters Chris Terrio and David Goyer have potential value as reflections of modern America, but devising a new vision of Batman (which occasionally works quite well, thanks in large part to Affleck), dealing with the fallout of “Man of Steel” and moving all these characters forward with nearly an hour devoted to an bloated, overlong battle proves to be too much weight for the movie to bear.
HeyUGuys
It may not have the smarts of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and it lacks the laughs of Guardians of the Galaxy, but Batman v Superman delivers a very different type of comic book movie, and that’s no bad thing these days. While it may not be to everyone’s tastes (believe me, there’s plenty here for fans of the source material to spend the next year bickering about), Marvel finally has some serious competition with this awesome start to the DC Films Universe.
The Chicago Sun
Dawn of Justice” is a dark-palette feast for the eyes, with some memorable set pieces, just the right amount of dark humor, strong performances and so many enough inside references and hints of characters and films to come there could be an entire day of Comic-Con panels just about the spoilers and the teasers and the “WHOA!” moments.
We'll add more as they come in (and you can keep on eye on Rotten Tomatoes for yourselves), but so far, this has to be seen as a disappointment... critically, at least.