Quick Flick Review: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Zack Snyder's long-awaited Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a big, loud, overloaded, beat-you-over-the-head endeavor that never seems to find that one crucial component necessary for a worthy superhero film: heart.

Set 18 months after the city-leveling battle over Metropolis between Superman (Henry Cavill) and General Zod depicted in 2013's equally mind-numbing Man of Steel, the world is still trying to come to terms with an all-mighty alien living amongst them. Is he a savior or a an unchecked global theat? One who believes the latter is Gotham City's Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck), who witnessed first hand the kind of destruction the "man" in the red boots is capable of.

Another "non-fan" is Metropolis' Zuckerberg-like billionaire Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) who has successfully petitioned the government for access to Zod's corpse and quarantined ship in an attempt to forge a Krytonite-based weapon as a "deterrent" against any future aggression by Superman. Yeah, sure.

It doesn't take long for Batman to learn of Luthor's plot and decide that it should be he who creates and controls that kind of weapon. Of course this was Luthor's plan all along and after some cleverly devised goading on his part, gets the Caped Crusader to call out the Man of Steel for a winner-take-all showdown.

What follows is a lot of merciless pummeling until the real threat rears its ugly head: a Luthor-created Kryptonian monster hell bent on destroying both our heroes.

And since the film carries the Dawn of Justice subtitle, it isn't long before another iconic warrior reveals herself and kicks the fight into overdrive.

Cavill is serviceable as Superman, no Christopher Reeve by any means, but far better than Brandon Routh ever was. Affleck is supposed to project an older, wiser Bruce Wayne/Batman, but I can't say it's a performance that leaves an impression, other than he strangely resembles the Michelin Man every time he appears in the bat suit.

And who was the genius that thought Jesse Eisenberg would make a good Lex Luthor?

In all, Batman v Superman just feels soulless and kind of hollow, concocted solely to launch a Justice League franchise. It's too long, too contrived and ultimately too bleak to make once really care about these characters going forward. Grade: C -

Disney Announces Fifth Indiana Jones Installment

Disney announced today it will release a fifth Indiana Jones film in 2019 with Steven Spielberg once again sitting in the director's chair, and if you can believe it, 73-year-old Harrison Ford returning as the intrepid archeologist.

A follow-up to 2008's hugely successful Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull seemed inevitable after Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, but talk the last few years had producers bringing in a new, younger actor to reboot and extend the 35-year-old adventure franchise.

No offense to Harrison, who was great in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and will always be my Indy body and soul, but this was the perfect time to let a younger actor take over the character and shed some light on Jones' earlier, pre-Raiders adventures. The wedding of Marion and Indy at the end of Crystal Skull felt like an appropriate, just goodbye for these beloved characters. Do we really want or need to see geriatric Indy juggling married life with his duties as associate chancellor of the university? Not really.

Other than the prodigious box office and fitting send-off, Crystal Skull was universally considered the worst film of the franchise. The flying fridge and Shia swinging on vines played a big part, but for me, seeing an old Indiana Jones just wasn't appealing. I'd rather choose to remember him battling the likes of Belloq and Mola Ram than Irina Spalko and giant killer ants.

Ford is hot again after Star Wars so I'm sure that made the decision to stick with him as Indy an easy one. The film will undoubtedly make money and extend the wallets of all involved. But will it really service the character and capture the spirit and adventure of the first three classic films? Probably not. That really won't be possible until Disney, Spielberg and Ford realize it's time to let a new face return Indy to his glory days so he can dazzle us once again.