Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is recommended only so you can end the almost three-year long wait to find out what happens in the epic collision, but unfortunately for nothing more than that.

After Man of Steel, Snyder had this one chance to redeem himself, and he blew it spectacularly. With the future of the franchise, including the Justice League movies in his hands, it’s truly a dark and depressing time for DC fans.

This, however, is a superhero film and delivers everything you expect from one. The heroes are muscular and almost invincible, the special effects are larger-than-life, and the action will keep your blood pumping till the very last minute. There are no performances here that will suck you into the universe, but the potent mix of drama, action and reality is heady enough to make it worth a watch.

The audience I saw it with seemed desperate to find reasons to cheer and whoop—a sad commentary on the balance of power in movie making and watching today. Personally, I find it more than a little depressing that films like these—bloated, inept, making heavy weather out of pieces of pulp entertainment tossed out for children decades ago—have become such an inescapable part of our lives.

Shot by Larry Fong, who also worked on Snyder’s 300 and Watchmen, Batman v Superman is an eye-popping visual experience in which the action moves from destruction porn to poetic abstraction.