With the exception of Deadpool, there has not been a legitimately great superhero movie since The Dark Knight. I know. That’s a lot of films I just threw under the bus. Or so you think. While there have definitely been a few bad apples in the bunch, most superhero films are fine. Some are even good! But that’s it. They’re mindless entertainment. See, when I go into a superhero movie, I don’t expect to walk out of there having learned something. I don’t expect the film to help me formulate an opinion. I don’t expect a superhero film to be anything more than popcorn fun. And that’s absolutely fine. I loved Guardians of the Galaxy! That was an incredibly fun film. But does that mean I hold it in the same regard as Spotlight? Or Mad Max? Or Whiplash? No.

I’ve become quite cynical about corporate-mandated filmmaking, and that’s exactly what every superhero film since The Dark Knight (excluding Deadpool) has been. Including the Marvel films.

So, let’s talk about Batman v Superman. The film comes in at a staggering two hours and 30 minutes, but it could’ve easily come in at under two. Now, I have no problem with long films: my favorite film of all time is the extended edition of The Return of the King (all four and a half hours of it) but if you’re going to be long you have to fill your film with worthwhile content. Batman v Superman did not do this. There was a ridiculous amount of fluff right from the beginning, as the opening shot of the entire film is another retelling of the murder of Batman’s parents. But what’s sad is this is one of the best scenes of the entire film, because it’s a very Zack Snyder-esque scene. I honestly expected Rorschach to have a monologue during this scene.

The film is very convoluted as it attempts to clumsily tell three different story lines at once. There were plenty of moments that had me rolling my eyes, but the film is still fun.

Ben Affleck was fine as Batman. I could tell he tried, and there’s a reason he’s a superstar actor. Henry Cavill (as Superman) is charismatic as ever, and Amy Adams is pretty good. But the ones who stole the show were Jesse Eisenberg and Gal Gadot. Yes, Eisenberg’s motivations didn’t make much sense, but remember the part where I said mindless entertainment? Eisenberg clearly had an absolute blast here in this role, and I couldn’t help but smile whenever he was on screen. There’s no doubt Gadot saves this film as Wonder Woman. She is amazing from start to finish delivering the female power character this world needs. DC officially has its Wolverine/Iron Man with Gadot as Wonder Woman. That was an absolutely brilliant casting decision. On top of that, her fighting sequences were easily the most enjoyable part of this film, and her entrance into the fight was particularly awesome.

But pretty much anytime things weren’t blowing up and Eisenberg/Gadot weren’t onscreen, this film had issues. I don’t want to spoil anything, but let me just say motivations were muddy, some plot points were resolved in absolutely terrible ways on several occasions and the film was way too long. Oh, and Laurence Fishburne’s character doesn’t exist. Ever. That pretty much sums up the problems, but they were showing up at every turn throughout the film.

At the end of the day I enjoyed myself watching this film. There were moments when I wanted things to just blow up already—just don’t have high hopes, because if you expect a good film you’re not going to get it.