Dawn of Justice, sunset of quality

I went to watch Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice to see how bad it really was, given some searingly negative comments about it, but emerged finding it passable fare.  It didn't have the gravitas or depth of, say, Christoper Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy (Nolan attached as an executive director here), though it aims for it - it's just that director Zack Snyder is a pretender to that rather than the real thing.  Mentioning a god (or God) numerous times does not imbue your film with grandeur.  Nevertheless, I've spent worse two and a half hours and ten pounds.
This is not to say there are aspects seriously out of whack.  Batman seems to have acquired a rather disturbing predilection for killing minor bad guys, dehumanising them as 'weeds' to be ripped up, though they keep coming back.  Portraying Lex Luthor as autistic to justify his genius-level intellect is a misstep, as is 'retconning' his family history (for him to inherit his father's firm rather than killing his parents who had tried to exploit his brain and then cashing in on the life insurance).  Jesse Eisenberg's plays him as the nerdiest of nerds - at no point is Luthor at all threatening; I'd be more afraid of Mark Zuckerberg.  Wonder Woman's place in the film is entirely superfluous, only giving Gal Gadot a platform to spin-off a standalone film of her character's own - she could easily have been confined to one of the database files wherein we see Aquaman, the Flash and Cyborg.
Then there are other little niggles.  The lighting is mostly too dark.  Until Doomsday comes along, the action scenes are too choppy and incoherent (when will directors and cinematographers learn the intensity, swift reactions and rapid panning is meaningless to an audience who are not compensated with the adrenaline of such a fight).  Bruce Wayne's dreams (and dreams within dreams) are annoying and serve no real purpose.  It is never really explained how Lex Luthor came to know that Clark Kent is Superman (was it really just the crushing handshake and firm chest?).  Apparently not only can Superman survive a nuclear explosion but his outfit isn't burnt off either.  Jeremy Irons does his best but, for me, never convinces as Alfred (unlike e.g. Michael Caine).  Why does Lex slice open his hand instead of using a vial of extracted blood - for whom is such a dramatic act intended (oh, it's for us - is this breaking of the fourth wall?  Nope)?  Bruce Wayne developing no respiratory problems and/or cancer from plunging into a 9/11-style dust cloud - seriously?  It seems that Wonder Woman's gauntlets can not only deflect bullets but death rays too (and Gadot's portrayal was a little too exotic; I'd have loved to have known how Charisma Carpenter would have played WW).  People punching (or being punched) through concrete is another of my bugbears - Superman is allowed to do that, Batman  isn't.  Gotham and Metropolis just across the bay from each other - I know they're both supposed to be a reflection of New York but still...
There is more besides but that being said there are some good moments.  Ben Affleck isn't the worst Batman and Henry Cavill appears to have grown into his role as Superman/Clark Kent.  The onset of Doomsday recalls the 'boss' villain of arcade games and though I've read it in the comics, I was genuinely surprised at the denouement with Superman (though from his very first seconds on screen, one knows he will meet his fate at the tip of the Kryptonite spear).  The bagpipe rendition of Amazing Grace is the smartest part of the whole film, referencing Mr Spock's fate in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (itself an ultimately underwhelming movie, though that's not the tie-in here).  Luthor acquiring his bald pate through a prisoner's haircut is clever.  Amy Adams as Lois Lane looks hot in her widow get-up.  And Laurence Fishburne nailed Perry White, editor of 'The Daily Planet'.
In an age of wall-to-wall superhero films because the studios are too scared of investing money into anything they can't parlay as a franchise (hello, Dredd anyone?  So many storylines), if you don't cut the mustard, you'll quickly be forgotten.  The recent Deadpool, though not without its flaws, was immensely more enjoyable than the square-off between the Bat and Man of Steel - it was played for laughs but in that it knew what it was about.  So while BVS:DoJ isn't terrible, it is forgettable and won't be lamented for that. 5/10