Batman and Superman are two of the most famous superheroes of all time, so it’s a bit galling to comic book fans that they pale cinematically in comparison to the Marvel universe films. Yes, Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” movies are greatly admired, but they aren’t anywhere as much fun (or as profitable) as most Marvel films.

Hoping to remedy that situation, DC Comics has “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice” slamming into theaters this weekend. With director Jack Snyder at the helm, they are hoping that audiences will flock to their particular mix of serious superheroes and popcorn action fun.

It’s a mix that doesn’t really work well.

To begin with, the screenwriters have to go to strange places in order to set up the title bout between the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel. Batman (Ben Affleck) watches while Superman (Henry Cavill) and Gen. Zod destroy the city in their last rumble. He takes it upon himself to stop this powerful alien — worried that Superman might one day turn against his adopted home world.

For his part, Superman sees Batman as a brutal vigilante who should be brought to justice. Throw in the super villain Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) and a little kryptonite and you have the making of a pretty good fight.

That fight does have some nifty special effects, but it still seems anticlimactic, especially as the real reason for this movie is to get all the DC Comic characters into the same universe. We get to meet many of the other characters, who will get their own spin-off movies soon, although they don’t really get to do more than just make an appearance. Even a much-anticipated appearance by Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) is wasted.

There’s so much going on that the film bloats out to two-and-a-half hours, and unlike the previous “Dark Knight” films, this one turns tedious as it tries to build its universe in between the special effects and action sequences.

For his part, I will give Ben Affleck credit for doing his best to make Batman into the world-weary and aging vigilante that was featured in a previous comic series. At least he’s trying to do something interesting. Henry Cavill finds a way to make his Superman even blander than he was in the last movie. The rest of the supporting cast makes similarly slight impressions.

The film does look good, which is expected from a visual storyteller like Zack Snyder. It is also very dark and brutal, which you also expect, considering that Christopher Nolan is producing. I suspect that super-serious comic book fan boys will find plenty of reasons to cheer this grown-up take on comics.

I also suspect that the average fans will probably be disappointed. “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice” is simply too long, too uninspired and just not fun enough to get average Joe comic book movie fans excited about all those upcoming “Justice League” movies.

Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published bi-weekly in “The Port Arthur News” and seen weekly on KFDM and KBTV. Sean welcomes your comments via email at smcbride@sbgtv.com.com.