“Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” was one of the most highly anticipated movies of 2016; fans of these iconic figures have likely been waiting for a movie like this for even longer.

Set roughly two years after 2013’s “Man of Steel,” “Dawn of Justice” follows the political and societal backlash against Superman, played by Henry Cavill, who is now the most controversial figure in the world. After causing massive destruction in “Man of Steel,” many people fear his godlike power and want him to be controlled, such as Bruce Wayne/Batman, played by Ben Affleck. With these two heroes at odds, they eventually face off in a titanic battle, while Lex Luthor, played by Jesse Eisenberg, hates both Superman and Batman and is setting his own evil and elaborate scheme into motion.

The Batman sections of this movie are easily the highlights. Affleck delivers the best performance of the film with his convincing, dark and brutal turn as an aged and hardened Bruce Wayne/Batman. His backstory and motivations make sense, and the film believably answers the question most casual moviegoers will have: Why are two superheroes fighting each other? Jeremy Irons is also great as Alfred, Batman’s mentor, and the two characters have some good exchanges throughout the film. The only real flaw with Batman in this movie is that they never really address his new brutality and seeming lack of a moral code, which could have been an interesting facet of the character.

The Superman parts of the movie are also pretty good, with Cavill definitely improving in the role since “Man of Steel.” His internal confliction and struggle to handle his own controversy is a standout theme throughout. The action scenes with Superman and Batman are all very entertaining and for the most part shot well and visually impressive, and their fight against each other was a definite highlight. Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot, is also a standout and a very cool character in the movie. In fact, this movie has a lot of really good things and moments in it, but its cohesiveness, or lack thereof, and the way it all fits together is where it falls apart.

This movie is an absolute mess. The story structure is incredibly sloppy and incoherent, and it feels like every scene in the movie was just thrown in randomly. Also, there are virtually no transitions between these various randomized scenes; there is never any establishment of time or place, making the story very confusing and hard to follow. The editing, especially in the first half of the movie, is downright awful. There is a lack of a real narrative throughout the film, and it seems like it doesn’t know which of its several storylines to follow.

Despite its grueling two and a half hour runtime, the film never really fleshes out any of the characters or storylines enough for them to spur much emotional investment. It ignores all of its best ideas and opportunities for meaningful character development, sweeping them away before they can cement themselves in the story. There are many unnecessary scenes and plot points from the first half of the movie that could have been removed, especially a confusing side plot with the underutilized and wrongly utilized Lois Lane, and the movie should have been at least 30 minutes shorter.

Ever since his casting, people doubted that Jesse Eisenberg was the right choice to play the villainous Lex Luthor—and, unfortunately, those concerns were probably justified. He is very over-the-top and at times laughable; he went the “crazy villain” route, and most of the time it’s just annoying. His character is also very poorly written; he never really makes sense and his motivations and personalities literally change from scene to scene.

Amy Adams was pretty good as Lois Lane, Superman’s love interest, but the screenplay often awkwardly placed her in the story and she mostly served as a plot convenience or a damsel in distress, ultimately making her a hollow and uninteresting character.

Another controversy about the film was its marketing; many people thought that the trailers for the movie showed too much—and, honestly it did. If you’ve seen the trailers, you basically know the entire plot of the movie and the tension will be lessened for you.

A major flaw in many comic book movies is that they often take time away from the movie to set up future installments. This is very present in “Dawn of Justice” and the movie lazily uses an incredibly pathetic screenwriting tactic to advertise the many sequels that will follow.

The way one of the major conflicts wraps up in the movie is honestly laughable, and the movie probably should have ended about 10 minutes before it really did. It really had a very brave and powerful ending, and then it simply backtracked and reversed that ending, replacing it with a much more cliché and predictable conclusion.

Ultimately, despite entertaining action and generally good acting, “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” has an incredibly sloppy and jagged narrative and an indecisive and inconsistent screenplay. It is visually pleasing, but director Zack Snyder proves again that his movies suffer from style over substance. “Dawn of Justice” manages to have an overly simplistic story, and an overly complicated plot. Because of a few great moments, if you’re a fan of these characters, you will likely enjoy seeing them face off on screen, but “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” is an incredibly flawed film and an overall disappointment.

Runtime: 151 minutes

Rated: PG-13

Rating: 2 stars out of 5