"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" has officially been released for your viewing enjoyment. The sequel to Henry Cavill's first go as Superman in 2013's "Man of Steel" is seen as the first piece in the planned DC cinematic universe, similar to that of Marvel's highly successful MCU. The movie is expected to make a ton of money, as it brings DC's three biggest heroes to the screen at the same time.

Let me start by saying that, for a few reasons, my expectations were not as high as many others'. I thought "Man of Steel" was decent, but very grim in tone, which does not suit a superhero film in my opinion. There is a reason I love the Marvel films and a reason they are all so successful, and the light and humorous tone is a major part of that. Based on our last experience with Superman, I was expecting more of that dark and grim tone. With this, I still had hope for a good movie based on the trailers and elements within. When I walked out of the theater, I left exactly how I thought I would: content, but not blown away.

"Dawn of Justice" was good, but not great. It's a very long movie -- two and a half hours -- which I don't mind, but it resulted in a lot going on. Certain elements were a bit hard to follow, which is one of the reasons I say the film is not great. Some of the elements I think were put in to help foreshadow to upcoming films, like "Justice League," but some folks will walk out completely confused as to what happened in certain scenes.

As I mentioned before, the tone is a lot more dark than a Marvel film, and the humor is lacking. There are a few moments that make you laugh, but due to the tone of the film, some of these moments feel forced. While something is funny, it does not fit a specific moment of the film. Now that I have the general overview laid out, it's time to get into the more spoiler-specific details. So if you have not seen the film and do not want it ruined for you, I suggest looking away now and coming back after you've hit the theater.

Ben Affleck's Batman

Batman clearly outshines Superman in the film. I was extremely pleased with Ben Affleck's Batman and would be all for a solo film. His fight scenes were some of the best parts of the film and Affleck just fit the role.

They start the film with a montage of Bruce Wayne's parents being murdered. This is followed by Bruce during the climactic battle at the end of "Man of Steel." By the time these scenes are done, it is clear Batman is not a fan of crime and holds Superman highly accountable for the deaths of many. There is no training up in the mountains or anything like that here, as those first two scenes are all we need to paint the picture of who this Bruce Wayne is and what he believes.

His interactions with Jeremy Irons' Alfred are entertaining as well. It is clear Batman relies on his butler when out in the field, with Alfred guiding him through Lex Luthor's house via an earpiece, during a party so Bruce can retrieve some data to see if Luthor is up to no good.

It may be because this was the first film with this Batman, and the second for Cavill's Superman, but Batman's character seemed to get way more attention and was more fleshed out. There was enough for us to know who he is and why he gets involved in this battle, while also leaving enough out to be explored down the road.

One thing I was not crazy about were his dream sequences. This is where a lot of the confusion comes in. Some things you walk away asking what they meant, as they're not touched upon again in the film. Are they dreams or visions? Many of these sequences seemed to be foreshadowing for down the road, but there was simply too much of it. It made the viewer question what just happened.

Affleck's Batman seems poised to become the leader of the new Justice League we will be getting. At the end of the film, while talking to Wonder Woman, he makes it seem like they will have to go find the other metahumans, as they need to be ready to fight. At the end of the day, Batman was a highlight of the film.

Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman

I went in not totally sold on going to see the "Wonder Woman" movie, but now I am. Simply put, she is the best part of the fight with Doomsday. Early in the film she is portrayed as a mysterious woman capable of spy-like techniques. At the party at Luthor's house, she steals Batman's device that copies all of Luthor's files. She then manages to return it to Bruce's car without him even knowing until she tells him.

But it's the final battle that cements her as an awesome character. She shows up to save Batman from being killed by Doomsday in a moment that got a round of applause from the crowd because it was pretty darn cool. She then becomes the show stealer of the fight, as Batman does not really do much and Superman is off saving Lois Lane and retrieving the Krypton spear Batman made, which can be used to kill Doomsday. Not only was her fighting awesome, but we got to see her lasso in action.

While she wasn't in a ton of the movie, any scene she was in was entertaining. We also got a Chris Pine cameo of sorts, as he is seen in an old photograph recovered from Luthor's files that Wonder Woman wanted to get back. Batman got a glimpse of the photo, and the metahuman files, which means he knows more about her than most others do.

Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor

Eisenberg was the main reason I wanted to see the film, as he knows how to play an arrogant billionaire. Bottom line, he did not disappoint. He played a smart, cocky and quirky genius who seeks as much power as he can get. He finds a way to get full access to Zod's body, as well as access to the alien ship location. These two factors are the key to him creating Doomsday.

He also manages to get himself a large chunk of Kryptonite that was found in the ocean. He is a genius who is good at getting what he wants, and he knows it. One of the best parts of the character was how he was able to lure Superman to locations exactly how he wanted. There were two incidents (something in the Middle East involving Lois Lane and a hearing in the capital building in DC where he used a former employee of Bruce Wayne to set off a bomb) that led to the deaths of innocent people, and Luthor was able to get Superman there for each one. This allowed for the public to question whether Superman was doing more bad than good in the world.

Come the end of the film, when Doomsday is killed, Luthor ends up in prison. This is where he loses the long hair for the bald head because they shaved his head. I was a bit disappointed with this, because they could have easily had him go bald from his insanity and desire for power. I think that would have added another layer to the character.

In his final scene, we get a one-on-one encounter between Batman and Luthor in his prison cell. While Luthor seems to have gone completely crazy by the way he talks, it seems he is hinting at a larger threat. It is not clear, but it is likely Darkseid, who is expected to be the main villain of the "Justice League" film.

The Batmobile

The Batmobile had one of the best scenes in the movie. A chase scene where Batman is pursuing a LexCorp truck that contains the rock of Kryptonite. The Batmobile seems indestructible as it races through the city and plows through buildings and rubble and even takes out a chunk of the truck. It was definitely a top three scene in the film, and was worth mentioning.

Doomsday

Here comes a part of the film that will have fans torn. Doomsday is a product of Lex Luthor and the body of the deceased General Zod. In short, Luthor was able to turn Zod's body into Doomsday with the help of some of his own blood.

Now, the actual fight with Doomsday was pretty solid and entertaining, with him growing and adapting every time he was hit. But the issue is with how he looked. He was a CGI mess in my opinion, and was just not visually appealing for an audience. Also, he is such a major Superman bad guy -- having him come about as a Luthor henchman of sorts and then killing him off within 20-30 minutes seems like a slight to the character.

The Death of Superman

One of Doomsday's major claims to fame is killing Superman. While I don't read the comics, I was aware of this going in. However, not once did I expect them to actually have Doomsday kill Superman in the film. For that I applaud DC, as many superhero films end with the good guy winning and the bad guy losing, and everyone is happy. That is not the case here.

Sure, the good guys beat the bad guys, and Superman killed Doomsday with the spear, but Doomsday was able to impale Superman as well, killing him. This left the last few scenes with a very somber and shocking feel, as we watched two caskets being put in the ground (one for Superman and one for Clark Kent).

We know Superman will be back, as he is a key part to the Justice League, but the shock of seeing Superman die on screen makes fans feel as if anyone can be killed in these films. Sure, they may be brought back, but killing anyone is certainly possible now.

The film ends with dirt floating above the casket of Clark Kent, suggesting he will be back rather quickly. Honestly, I would have preferred that they left this tease out, as it all but confirms he will be back. Leaving that quick shot out could have left casual fans in shock and awe and truly questioning if we will ever see Henry Cavill's Superman again.

Justice League Members

We got a look at three of the future Justice League members very briefly. All three were seen via the files Batman was able to steal from Luthor. I have a small complaint before proceeding. Luthor had a logo for each of the metahumans (Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash and Cyborg). But why would Luthor create their logos? I know it's small and was done so the audience knew what they were, but it was enough to annoy me.

Now onto the good. I thought having small clips of surveillance tape with each of them was great. I though it was a cool way to have each of them cameo in the film. We see Aquaman in what looks like an abandoned ship in the ocean. We see the Flash stop a robbery in a convenience store. And we see what appears to be the birth of Cyborg, as his father has an experiment go wrong.

The Flash is the only one to get another brief cameo. It also goes down as what I consider the most confusing scene of the film. Batman is sitting at a computer waiting for the Luthor files to be decrypted. During the process he falls asleep and dreams about a desert where he is trying to recover some Kryptonite. He is attacked by an army with Superman's logo on their sleeves and finally captured, where he is unmasked by Superman. The whole thing is really confusing, especially when you add in the Darkseid teases.

Then we go back to Bruce sleeping and a hole opens up with a man inside. The man appears to be the Flash, but I am not 100 percent positive. He seems to be fighting to get through the hole and tell Bruce some information. Something about Lois Lane being important is mentioned, but that is all I took from it. The man is then sucked back into the hole and it disappears.

I don't know if this was still a dream or not. My best guess is this was back to reality, and it was the Flash traveling back in time to warn Bruce about something involving Darkseid and how Lois Lane will be integral in defeating him. But that is simply a guess. Sitting in the theater, I heard someone ask, "What just happened?" So the cameos were cool, but this glimpse of the Flash just made things confusing. I want to say it was unnecessary, considering the Flash has the other cameo, but I am guessing there will be a scene in "Justice League" where we see the Flash go back in time and revisit this moment, and it will make more sense.

Darkseid

His presence was hinted at during Batman's dreams, as well as a painting in Luthor's house. These elements of foreshadowing led to some of the confusing scenes in the film, as at times you wonder why Bruce is dreaming about this. So while the tease of his presence is cool, I feel it would have been done better without the dream sequences, and by using subtle hints like the painting more.

Post-Credit Scene

Simply put, there is none. Once the credits hit, there is no reason to sit around for extra footage like a Marvel film. I would guess this is DC's way of trying to further distance themselves from the MCU. But it's highly disappointing, as these scenes always make for fun talking points.

Anyway, there you have it. It is an entertaining film with some solid pieces that can be utilized in the future, but it's simply not as good as it could be. I think the gritty tone is a major factor, as it simply seems too serious for a superhero film. Most DC films will likely follow suit (except maybe "Suicide Squad"), which means the DC Universe will not live up to the MCU in my eyes. But if you prefer that kind of tone, you will likely enjoy this movie quite a bit, except for the parts you find confusing.

Grade: 7/10