Little known fact: I love superheroes.

Okay, so maybe you knew this. If we’ve ever sat down for a conversation longer than seven minutes, the topic of superheroes has come up. What can I say? I’m a little addicted.

Where to begin? Every Christmas, my Dad would give me a season of the WB’s Smallville on DVD. I would promptly rush back into my room with the gift and a big mug of hot chocolate in tow and commence a what was then called a marathon. Oh yeah, I’ve been binge-watching since before Netflix. When people brag about watching an entire season of Grey’s Anatomy in a day, I just laugh.

I loved Smallville so much, but at my age (6-13 years old) nobody around me was really talking about superheroes or comic books for that matter. It was a niche market, but now with the advent of Marvel’s vast movie empire, it’s safe to say that everybody and their mother knows who Iron Man is.

I have watched all of the recent Marvel movies from the first Iron Man right up to Ant Man, and I gotta say, I don’t love them. It would seem that in that comic book fans exist in two camps: those who like the movie adaptations for the novelty, the explosions and the laughs, and then there are those who like some grit in their adaptations. Both opinions are totally valid, but it is clear that these people want different things from their films. It’s The Avengers vs. Watchmen. It’s the MCU vs. Christopher Nolan’s Batman. Light and dark. Night and day. I think these differences are why it is so difficult to please audiences, because now films like Thor appeal to a much wider range of people, hardcore comic book fans as well as the general public.

So, with Batman vs. Superman audiences are skeptical. Why do we need this? It will never be Nolan’s Batman. DC will never be able to do what Marvel’s done on the big screen? What’s the point? Why are we letting Ben Affleck play another superhero? Wasn’t it bad enough the first time?

Well, I’ll tell you. As a skeptic myself, I was asking these same questions just last week. Then I saw the movie, and I’m not overstating it when I say that I came out of the theater last Friday screaming. It was that good. Dawn of Justice is a superhero movie for comic book lovers. Wonderfully paced, violent, and overwhelming, it hit all of the right notes for me. Without knowing it, I had been waiting for something like this movie to come along, and I am so glad that it did. Wow.

My advice is to go and see it. It’s not X-Men and it’s not Christopher Nolan’s Batman and it’s not Smallville, but Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice is a stellar movie which promises more exciting developments in the world of these iconic characters.