Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is the spectacular superhero smackdown we had to have

FIRST REVIEW: How does Ben Affleck measure up as Batman in the much-awaited Dawn of Justice film? National movie writer Leigh Paatsch cuts through the hype.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (M)

Director: Zack Snyder (Watchmen)

Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Gal Gadot, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane

Rating: 3/5

Is this the spectacular superhero smackdown we had to have?

Or the movie franchise powerplay DC Comics had to make to gain lost ground on their Marvel rivals?

For the highly anticipated Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the correct answers are yes ... and yes.

At times, this epic production (budgeted at an estimated cost of $AU 320 million) unleashes more than enough firepower to truly set alight an audience.

Ben Affleck takes up the role of Batman, from Christian Bale, facing off against Henry Cavill suited up as Superman. Picture: Clay Enos/Warner Bros/AP

Particularly when the focus is purely on building up an irresistible grudge match between the Dark Knight (Ben Affleck completely retooling the role vacated by Christian Bale) and the Man of Steel (Henry Cavill suiting up for a second time).

However, Dawn of Justice carries so much additional business on its agenda — largely to generate momentum for coming movie spin-offs from across the DC Universe — that it can often feel like a to-do list is being completed.

Even at a bloated running time of 150 minutes, hardline DC fans will undoubtedly get an intense contact-high from seeing two iconic faves butting heads at close quarters.

Nonpartisan viewers may resent being loaded up with a lot of excess baggage to get to the good stuff.

Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot and Henry Cavill at the London premiere of Batman V Superman.

To the uninitiated, a battle between Batman and Superman could seem an unfair contest.

After all, Batman has always been a mortal, costumed crime-fighter. Superman remains the prototypical, indestructible superhero.

Nevertheless, Dawn of Justice comes up with a credible premise that levels the playing field between its adversarial draw cards.

We’re not just talking some Kryptonite to take the edge off Superman’s A-game, nor a new line of Bat-gadgets to sharpen Batman’s moves.

No, the momentous clash that takes top billing in Dawn of Justice takes root on ideological grounds.

Jesse Eisenberg, as Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor, and Amy Adams, as Lois Lane. Picture: Warner Bros/AP

The Batman we see here is older, wiser and warier than we have seen before. Two decades as an underground vigilante in Gotham have taken a toll.

To Bruce Wayne, all those years of secretly fighting for a greater good have proved mostly worthless. The world remains a bad place, and is only getting worse.

The explosive recent arrival on the scene of Superman — and more pointedly, the cavalier manner in which he laid waste to the nearby city of Metropolis (depicted in the finale of the 2013 film Man of Steel) — serves as a last straw for Wayne.

In continually moving to save the planet, Superman could actually be nudging it closer to destruction.

In the wake of growing public unrest over the collateral damage of Superman’s round-the-clock, round-the-world heroics, Bruce Wayne takes a stand.

Ben Affleck’s Batman is older, wiser and warier.

And in the guise of Batman, he takes an aggressive (and possibly irreversible) course of action.

In spite of all the negative blather that greeted news of his casting as Bruce/Batman, Ben Affleck anchors Dawn of Justice with a solid, relatively nuanced performance.

Sure he’s no Christian Bale, but Affleck does acquit himself well in a creative environment that is a distinct notch beneath the standards set by filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy.

(While Nolan is on-board as executive producer here, director Zack Snyder has a pulpier, less highbrow way he’d rather go.)

As before, the jury remains out on the charisma-challenged Henry Cavill as Superman. He never really owned the role in Man of Steel, and there are several occasions in Dawn of Justice where he has trouble even making the rent.

Wonder Woman makes her big-screen debut, played by Gal Gadot, here pictured with Ben Affleck as Batman. Picture: Clay Enos/Warner Bros/AP

When the head-to-head heavy hitting finally transpires — be patient, for it takes some time to get there — Dawn of Justice delivers the shock and awe on a level befitting a superhero blockbuster of such massive scale.

(Speaking of shock, an important word of warning: there is one industrial-strength twist to the main plot of this movie. If you know anything about it beforehand, it will seriously diminish the impact of Dawn of Justice. Stay right away from any potentially spoiler-ish sources until further notice. This cannot be emphasised enough.)

However, whenever the adrenalised action sequences subside, or the two main aggressors take a breather, the copious sub-plotting of Dawn of Justice moves like wet cement down a slight incline.

This is primarily so that pathways can be paved towards future DC movie offerings that will put the company’s Justice League fleet of characters on the same footing as Marvel’s Avengers.

Which explains the sizeable efforts made to justify a much-touted big-screen debut for Wonder Woman (played by Gal Gadot) here.

Though her entrance into Dawn of Justice makes a dynamic first impression, Wonder Woman is soon drifting in and out of the picture as a mostly irrelevant presence.

The same goes for the fleeting glimpses offered of other soon-to-be-reactivated DC stalwarts such as Aquaman (not sure about that beard, Jason Momoa!) and The Flash (Ezra Miller).

As the line between good and bad is somewhat blurred between the title characters of Batman v Superman, the film adds a traditional villain to the mix to provide some kind of ethical reference point for confused viewers.

Superman’s longtime nemesis Lex Luthor (a very mannered performance from Jesse Eisenberg) is mainly running interference from the sidelines. However, when Luthor does finally choose to manipulate the warring heroes for his own purposes, all hell breaks loose in a most mutated form.

Elsewhere in a jam-packed support cast, the two standout contributors are Amy Adams as intrepid reporter Lois Lane, and an underused, but note-perfect Jeremy Irons as Bruce Wayne’s trusted butler and strategist, Alfred.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opens in Australian cinemas on Thursday, March 24.