The first 'Batman v Superman' reviews are in and they’re not very good

Warner Bros.

The first reviews for Zack Snyder's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" have come in and they're not excellent.

Currently sitting at a 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, critics had problems with the film's length and the heavy tone. And while fans are still anxious to see the "big three" — Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman — on screen, we've rounded up what critics are saying on the film.

Critics largely agree that Ben Affleck, "Batfleck," was an excellent casting choice.  

"All the Internet resistance to Affleck being cast as Batman seems silly when you see him sharing the screen with Cavill, as Affleck is easily the superior actor," writes Michael Phillips from Chicago Tribune. "There’s not a moment when we don’t believe Affleck as Bruce Wayne or as Batman." 

"And the good news is, Ben Affleck is a solid successor to Christian Bale, even if he’s a better Bruce Wayne than Batman," wrote Chris Nashawaty in his review for EW. "His innate air of cockiness syncs up perfectly with Wayne’s spoiled playboy-scion persona." 

But the film overall is heavy handed in its plot and the philosophical aspect of the movie drags.

Bilge Ebiri of Village Voice wrote that many of characters deliver "pseudo–Joseph Campbellian proclamations about power and heroes and goodness and evil and the individual and oh god make it stop."

Time's Stephanie Zacharek said that "Snyder and screenwriters Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer work overtime to make these superheroes superserious, further embroidering all the basic psychological motivations and hangups their creators... gave them in the first place." 

Mike Ryan from Uproxx put it the most succintly, writing, “I am gobsmacked by just how dull this movie turned out to be."

Warner Bros.

Many critics pointed to Snyder's directing specifically as a problem. 

Matt Singer from Screencrush said his darker take brought the entire film down: “In Snyder’s formulation, protecting the world from evil isn’t a gift or a calling; it’s a burden. And that feeling is reflected in the movie itself, a burdensome 150-minute slog about two men fighting over who is in the right when both are very clearly in the wrong.” 

Adam Graham of Detroit News was also unimpressed with the direction or the script: "...the story (credited to screenwriters Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer) still manages to be convoluted and struggles to ignite fireworks the way a showdown between the two comic icons should. Once Bats and Supes do meet, it’s all brute force, which is the only language Snyder speaks."

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said Snyder simply overdoes it with effects, explosions and speeches, writing that he "starts at over-the-top and then rockets to the stratosphere." "Snyder [is] juiced up by Hans Zimmer's caffeinated score [and] throws everything at the screen until resistance is futile," writes Travers.

On the plus side, critics are excited to see more from Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman. 

"...there should be nothing but hoots, hollers, and applause for the debut of Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), who comes fully dressed for war in the film's epic final battle," wrote Travis Hopson of Examiner. 

"Long before [Wonder Woman] actually suits up, though, you’re good and sick of waiting for Gadot to hijack all the rage-y, steroidal, bone-crushing smackdowns setting the tone in Snyder’s literal blockbuster," agreed Phillips of Chicago Tribune. 

Judge for yourself when "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" hits March 25.