It's Good Friday, there is no school, and my husband got off work early, so what do we do? Naturally, we go to the earliest showing of "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice." Because that is the best way to celebrate the death of Christ. Obviously.

Before we made it to the movie theater, my husband warned me that the preliminary online reviews had not been favorable. In his words: "They said it sucks." So going in, I did not have the highest of hopes or the greatest of expectations. But I also didn't take it to heart because although Ant-Man tanked in the box office, I thought Paul Rudd was hilarious. As always.

But the best part? This:

Things I liked about Batman v. Superman:

1. Lex Luthor

I thought that Jesse Eisenberg was beautifully cast. Rather than the suave, older, spiteful Lex from past adaptations, we have a trendy, self-confident (in a way that only Eisenberg can be), mentally disturbed Lex. It's slightly reminiscent of Heath Ledger's Joker. He is young, he is calculated, he is vengeful for reasons beyond the ordinary understanding. He. Is. Perfect.

2. Wonder Woman

I was thrilled to finally see some female representation in a superhero movie (not that Black Widow doesn't kick ass, but she's not supernatural and that seems a little unfair). Gal Gadot is also tall, like an Amazon. She's got an accent too, like an Amazon. She's witty, she's immortal, she's stylish, she's strong, and she's fierce. I might've liked to see her with a little more clothes on (but I can magnanimously attribute this to her Amazonian stylistic choices) and with a more muscled physique. Either way, I couldn't stop doing fist pumps in my chair when she joined the fight.

Also: They kept showing a picture of her back in 1912 or something (to prove her immortality) and guess who was standing next to her? Chris Pine. I can't wait for that movie.

3. Aquaman

Let me just say that though his cameo was brief, Aquaman made an impression. His purpose here is to lay the foundation for a Justice League film, I'm sure, but he was very striking in his own way. He has luscious black hair that billows in the current, a beard that makes him mature (very Triton/King of the Sea-esque), and tattoos that make him seem tribal and ancient. A very far cry from the subject of Koothrapalli's jokes in The Big Bang Theory.

4. Cyborg

His story is a tear-jerker. I won't get into it here and now (because I know people will whine about spoilers), but it's seriously heartbreaking.

5. The religious parallels

There is a lot of philosophical debate between Superman, Batman, Lex, Senator Finch, and the general public about whether or not Superman is a "False God." This is not a spoiler since we've all seen the trailer with the graffitied statue of the man of steel. There are a lot of naysayers and a lot of fanatics on both sides of the argument (much like with Jesus). They even call him the Messiah. They also compare him to other religions/gods (e.g. Apollo, Horus, Jehovah). I personally thought this brought a whole new depth (and rationality) to the premise of a showdown between DC's (and arguably the comic world's) most recognizable heroes.

Things I did not like about Batman v. Superman:

1. The lighting

The entire movie was dark, making it hard to distinguish the lines of the film, especially during the fight scenes. It was also very fast paced, so in combination with the lighting, I couldn't follow the movement of the battle very well at all. I just sort of had to accept that there was fighting and that I would find out who won at the end.

2. Batman's costume

I know that it was necessary for Batman to wear an ultra-reinforced suit in order to hold a candle to Superman, but it was so clunky that I found myself taken out of the action to wonder how on earth Ben Affleck could even move his arms more than an inch in any direction.

3. The dreams

There are four "dream" sequences in the film and I have a problem with two of them. The first is the opening of the entire movie. Bruce Wayne is a child running through the woods from his parents' funeral, falls into a well, is surrounded by bats...sound familiar? But then he is raised up as though flying in the eye of a tornado of bats. And the entire time I'm thinking: "No, no, no, no, no. Batman does not fly. He is not supernatural. You people have got it all wrong." And then it's revealed that it's a dream, but meanwhile I've been getting so pent up about the assumed offense that I'm still left with a bad taste in my mouth. The second dream I have a problem with is actually Bruce's third. It's a super long post-apocalyptic fantasy that ends with a supernatural premonition. Why do I say premonition? Because information is revealed to him that his subconscious would have no way of knowing. I think that steps over the line.

4. The fight

The entire movie (and the months of propaganda) has led to this one fight, the "greatest gladiator match in the history of the world." Yet by the time it actually happens, the audience has seen the (flimsy) motives and knows about the much more pressing issue presented by Lex. So it ends up feeling empty and false. You don't feel like rooting for anyone because they're both good guys who need to just shake hands and go beat up the real villain. And what fun is watching a fight where you don't want anyone to win?

5. Doomsday

My husband brought up a really good point to me about the choice of Doomsday as the "final boss." Where do you go from there? They've already saved the world by defeating an enormous, energy-absorbing monster. Now what? Anything else will seem anticlimactic.

Basically, I thought it was a good movie. I didn't say it was a great movie, just a good one. Don't get your panties in a knot.