“Batman v Superman,” huh? What a novel idea. Take two American fiction icons, put them on the silver screen and make them beat the tar out of each other. What could go wrong there?

As it would happen, the answer is “much,” but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good flick.

This film marks Zack Snyder’s second movie in DC’s cinematic universe; it stars Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman. The previous film, “Man of Steel,” was centered on Superman as an origin story. In it, he inadvertently destroys most of Metropolis. While there, Batman saw it hit the fan, and now he’s mad as all hell about it. There you go. Backstory over. Moving on now.

Let’s just start by stating that the cinematography and visual style in this film are superb. Just about every scene looks like it came straight out of a graphic novel. There’s no shortage of artistic vision in the movie, and I don’t think enough people are thanking Snyder for that. The man isn’t great at plot exposition, but he can sure make a scene.

Aside from nitpicks, though, there is one big gripe: there’s no time for a break. DC is trying hard to get into the movie game after we’ve seen Marvel completely crush it, but that also means DC is cramming too much sequel positioning in this movie. It’s a pain, but it’s forgivable. Just try to swallow that pill and move on.

Ben Affleck kills it in this movie, by the way. He’s easily the best part of it. An angry, wrathful Batman pitted against a young, clumsy Superman? It’s good stuff, people. Though I wish the movie had spent more time developing the antagonism between them, what audiences get is passable. The climactic duel between the two characters is intense and satisfying. The last fight? Not so much.

As an aside, Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor is ridiculous. You can’t even take him seriously. They could have had Bryan Cranston, and they chose Mark Zuckerberg? The push to make a unique and edgy film is getting to be too much for me.

Unfortunately, the end result of “Batman v Superman” is too concerned with sequels to take flight on its own. There’s a lot of missed potential, but the end result isn’t horrible; we’re still watching Batman and Superman, after all.