Batman V Superman: 12 Early Reactions You Need To Know

6. Lex Luthor Is A Mixed Bag

Jesse Eisenberg was another majorly divisive casting pick for the movie as the villainous Lex Luthor, and it sounds like the final result is going to split the fanbase right down the middle. His rendition of Luthor has been described by some as a "quirky delight" (Forbes) that "provides the only real moments of levity in the film (Variety), but Empire arguably captured the overall consensus the best: "the character is going to be an acquired taste - it€™s not difficult to imagine him popping up in one of the Joel Schumacher Batman films." Less forgiving reviews commented that Eisenberg, " us his first properly bad performance" (Irish Times), is "so intensely annoying that, very early on, you wish Batman and Superman would just patch up their differences and join forces to put the squirrelly rascal out of his, and our, misery" (Variety) and that the film is "seriously crippled by Eisenberg€™s over-the-top performance...The actor is a grating cartoon of manic motormouth tics. He might as well be wearing a buzzing neon sign around his neck that says 'Crazy Villain'" (Entertainment Weekly). More pragmatic were IGN, dealing out a measure of praise and criticism: "Eisenberg€™s performance can be too obvious at times; his Lex is crazy, clearly suffering from a psychological disorder rather than just being greedy, evil, or driven by ego...but you certainly buy he€™s a genius with a deep disdain for what Superman represents" (IGN).