Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Review Roundup [Possible Spoilers!]

Spoiler warning! Reviews in this post discuss the film in some detail. Stay away if you're spoiler averse!

Superhero showdown movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice comes to theaters on Friday, but reviews for the film have started to come out.

We've now collected a sampling of these to help you get an idea if you should head to the theater this weekend to see it.

Batman v Superman stars Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman. Gal Gadot plays Wonder Woman, while Jesse Eisenberg is seen in the role of Lex Luthor. Amy Adams portrays Lois Lane and Jeremy Irons plays the part of Alfred.

The movie was directed by Zack Snyder (300, Man of Steel) and is poised to be a huge hit at the box office. An R-rated Blu-ray/DVD version is coming out later, and will be a whopping three hours long.

In addition to the reviews below, you can see even more at GameSpot sister site Metacritic.

• Film: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
• Distributor: Warner Bros.
• Release Date: February 25
• Rating: PG-13
• Running time: 153 minutes

GameSpot:

"All of the explosions and carnage of Dawn of Justice's second half seem like white noise by the end, blending into a formless mash of extreme audiovisual stimulation. Of course, there's a lot to be said about the value of spectacle, and Dawn of Justice certainly delivers on its promised load of ooomph. But as an overall experience, the baser joys of seeing Superman swat Batman away like a fly, or Wonder Woman using her sword and shield like a badass warrior, is overshadowed by the dire, clunky weight of the rest of movie. Joy isn't a prerequisite for a superhero film, but a smidgen of hope can help elevate the most serious of situations. Hope is what makes all the struggles, all of the sacrifices of its characters seem worthwhile. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is determined not to let you feel any." - Randolph Ramsay [Full review]

Variety:

"Snyder largely tamps down his penchant for hyper-stylized combat imagery until the end, when he stages a series of galactic battles that take style notes from sources as varied as classic WWE rumbles and Harryhausen creature features. As overblown as the lengthy showdown might become, Snyder gets closer than ever before to the chiaroscuro palette of classic comics, and even if his scrupulous efforts to avoid reopening Man of Steel's collateral damage debates are a bit on the nose, at least he's clearly received the message." - Andrew Barker [Full review]

Rolling Stone:

"Snyder, juiced up by Hans Zimmer's caffeinated score, throws everything at the screen until resistance is futile. Better than Man of Steel but below the high bar set by Nolan's Dark Knight, Dawn of Justice is still a colossus, the stuff that DC Comics dreams are made of for that kid in all of us who yearns to see Batman and Superman suit up and go in for the kill. Suck on that, Marvel. After this, can Justice League v The Avengers be far behind?" - Peter Travers [Full review]

IGN:

"While Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has good things to recommend it, its shortcomings are undeniable. The action sequences whenever Batman is set loose on the bad guys are cool, and the story strives to explore human and philosophical elements, but it’s often not much fun. Not every superhero movie should be like a Marvel one (because every hero and piece of material is different), but even the melodramatic X-Men movies never lost sight of pure entertainment value while also exploring heady and heavy topics." - Jim Vejvoda [Full review]

USA Today:

"Batman v Superman will please those either waiting for the two main players to lock horns on a movie screen, or those who've just been pining for Wonder Woman forever. And for the nerdier crowds, a fleeting glimpse at other superheroes hints this is the Dawn of something potentially sensational." - Brian Truitt [Full review]

Chicago Tribune:

"A near-total drag, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice plays like a loose, unofficial quarter-billion-dollar remake of The Odd Couple, in which Oscar and Felix are literally trying to kill each other. I kid. A little. This certainly is not true of director Zack Snyder's solemn melee. The movie does not kid. It takes the mournful death knells of the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy and cranks up the volume, while ignoring any of the visual strengths and moral provocations found in Nolan's best work." - Michael Phillips [Full review]

Entertainment Weekly:

"Dawn of Justice starts off as an intriguing meditation about two superheroes turning to an all-too-human emotion: hatred out of fear of the unknown. Two and a half hours later it winds up somewhere very far from that--but at the same time, all too familiar. It's another numbing smash-and-bash orgy of CGI mayhem with an ending that leaves the door open wide enough to justify the next 10 installments. Is it too late to demand a rematch?" - Chris Nashawaty [Full review]