Critics give lukewarm response to Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice

It might be one of the most anticipated blockbusters of the year, but critics have given a lukewarm response to Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, after its European premiere.

Ben Affleck and Britain’s Henry Cavill walked the red carpet in London, on Tuesday, where press interviews were cancelled in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Brussels.

The film is Affleck’s first outing as Gotham’s masked vigilante, whose vendetta against Cavill’s Man of Steel leads to the ultimate superhero showdown.

Geoffrey Macnab, in the Independent, praised the “full-blooded performances” of the two leading men, but described the film as a “convoluted affair”.

“It pulls in far too many directions at once,” he wrote. “There is also a lingering suspicion that both these superheroes work better when they’re flying solo.”

Kate Muir, in the Times, gave the film two stars and said the “finger of shame” should be pointed at director, Zac Snyder.

“Snyder is on a CGI-high, assaulting the viewer with noise and fury, overloaded by Hans Zimmer’s Wagnerian score,” she wrote.

David Edwards, in the Mirror, gave the film three stars, as he criticised the “muddled storyline”, which made it “hard to root for either superhero. Batman’s grudge against Superman feels like it’s been contrived to set up an encounter that is less iconic fight and more exhibition match,” he wrote.

Awarding the film three stars, Andrew Pulver, in the Guardian, claimed Affleck “acquits himself pretty well” as Batman.

The Sun, which also gave the film three stars, branded the match-up as “super unequal” in favour of the Man of Steel.

Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, can be seen in cinemas from tomorrow.