I have always loved comics. Every Wednesday at 7 p.m. I would stop whatever I was doing to watch the Justice League cartoon on TV. On weekends, if I was lucky, my father would take me down to the local comic book store to see the newest issues. So you can imagine my excitement when I finally get to see two of my favorite superheroes on the big screen in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and fighting each other no less. Now imagine my disappointment when what should have been my favorite movie of all time turns out to be a total mess.

Horrible editing, poor plot lines and jumbled scenes all made for a mediocre film at best. While there were some bright spots, namely Ben Affleck’s incredible portrayal of Batman, Gal Gadot’s surprisingly well done Wonder Woman, and some great action sequences, the movie still remains a disappointment. Some people have placed the blame on the studio executives, others blame the screenwriters. While both of those groups played a role in this movie’s downfall, the true blame lies with the director, Zack Snyder.

I will be the first to admit that Snyder has directed some wonderful movies in the past, such as Watchmen, 300 and maybe Man of Steel. Fans have praised him for his beautiful visuals and talent at directing action, both of which are shown in the film. His problem, is his lack of storytelling. He cannot tell a coherent story, and as a result what was once my most anticipated movie of all time was reduced to a confusing hodgepodge of scenes sloppily thrown together. Snyder even had an extra year to put the finishing touches on the film. What did he manage to accomplish within that extra year? He, somehow, crammed in four separate movies into what is supposed to be one. Contained within the plot Batman vs. Superman is an attempt at a sequel to Man of Steel, a Batman movie, a Lex Luthor movie and a pre Justice League movie. The result is as confusing as it sounds.

Snyder also attempted and failed to create an entire universe of characters. DC, sadly, has fallen behind Marvel when it comes to live action movies. In recent years with such massive box office hits as the Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy, it’s understandable that DC is panicking. The wrong thing to do would be to cram five to six years of movies into one where Snyder fails. In one movie he attempted to establish Batman, Wonder Woman and the entire Justice League without giving them their own movies first. This movie should have been about Batman fighting Superman – that’s it. If he wanted to include Wonder Woman, fine, but don’t try to set up the entire Justice League without backstory.

Even with all of this mess, DC has yet to fire Snyder. Not only is he still working with DC, but he is even directing Justice League Parts 1 and 2, as well as producing most of the upcoming DC movies. Enough is enough. I’m sick of gray environments, dark skies, poor attempts at symbolism and slow motion. If DC must keep him, they should make him director of cinematography. Otherwise he should step down. The fans were upset with Man of Steel, and we’re upset with this movie too. He clearly doesn’t know these characters and trades storytelling for pretty looks. I beg that DC fires Snyder before he completely destroys the Justice League movies. Now I understand that if this happens people will want to know who can do a better job, to which I answer, how about Batman himself? DC has Oscar winning director and screenwriter in Ben Affleck – use him. If DC does let him direct and write The Justice League, I’ll forgive them for hiring Zack Snyder.

Jeffrey Ayers is a Collegian Contributor and can be reached at [email protected].