Cast:Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Holly Hunter, Gal Gadot

Direction: Zack Snyder

Produced:Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder

Written: Chris Terrio, David S. Goyer.

Genre: Action.

Duration:151 Min*

The winged knight and the red cape were touted to clash. Fans and critics waited in anticipation for the next blockbuster - something momentous, inspired (not an adaptation) from Frank Miller's acclaimed graphic novel series The Dark Knight Returns. The trailer gave away too much. And when you settle down to watch the CGI-spectacle unfold, you realise that the moments that made the trailer powerful are the ones that seem like overkill from the overexposure.

You already know where this is headed - Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) has daddy issues and wants to take down Superman (Henry Cavill), the living embodiment of God or a messiah. Probably. The motivations are not crystal clear. Sup is trying to be a conscientious reporter as Clark Kent, wanting to write about Batman's (Ben Affleck) unlawful form of vigilante justice.

Batman/Bruce Wayne is shaken by the destruction in Metropolis and the death of his employees in Superman's fight with General Zod (a carryover from Man of Steel). They wreck havoc, destroy buildings, replicating a miniature version of the apocalypse. And yet, it takes a call from Bruce to alert his employees to the impending doom. Really? Structures collapse, there is dust, rubble and death. A horse survives and trots past. Why is there a horse? Bruce continues his excursion to the ruins. Very few survivors. A lot of rage for the flying alien.

Therein lies the enmity, not etched out in the ideological clash that it was in the novels. The movie certainly goes its own way, by not following the storyline but also being untrue to coherence. Brace yourselves for Bruce's extended dream sequence that serves as a premonition but will only seek to confuse audiences not familiar with the comicverse, to whom the words 'Darkseid' and 'Parademons' will mean nothing. It is one thing to do fan service. Quite another to alienate them.

There is a bizarre track featuring the villain overriding the Kryptonian ship's system. Sup's squeeze Lois Lane (Amy Adams) needs to be saved with the alarming frequency of a kitten stuck on a tree. She is also unnecessarily written into the climax since she does nothing but add to the idiocy in the mayhem. Mayhem, which Batman could have prevented by not leading the secondary antagonist into the city.

Dawn of Justice endeavours to be a slow-burn build-up to the eventual confrontation but it is a very slow, meandering path to the fight (with little action in between). The culmination is not very satisfying either. Thank goodness for Wonder Woman (Gal Godot) though there is too little about her in the film to invite any genuine interest or exhilaration when she steps in. It is all a precursor to Justice League, when it could have simply focused on delivering a story the title promised.

Dawn of Justice began with a promising start, a faithful framework created from the graphic novels on the night Bruce's parents were killed. The image of Mrs. Wayne's pearls snapping free against the impact of the gun, the terror, the light, the anguish. It is unfortunate that the film had to devolve into a CGI-driven mess so bright, it is an eyesore.

The film caters to the staunchest fan. Take one with you so that you do not feel lost. If Dawn of Justice still leaves you cold, that is on the makers, not on you.