It’s fairly well-known by now that Marvel has gotten quite a head start in terms of translating its superheroes from the pages of comic books to the silver screen.

In what seems like a very short time, Marvel Studios has given all of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the Incredible Hulk their own movies (although it’s probably best to forget the latter) before leaping into super-powered ensemble films like “The Avengers” (2012), “The Avengers 2: Age of Ultron” (2015), and the forthcoming “Captain America: Civil War” (2016).

Consider the new Zack Snyder-directed “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016) as DC’s way of catching up.

Set about a year and a half after the events of “Man of Steel” (2013), the film plops us into an America with very strong – and very mixed – opinions about a powerful individual. Sorry if that wasn’t specific enough – I’m talking about Superman.

Among those not totally convinced of the heroism of Superman (Henry Cavill) is Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) – and by “not totally convinced” I mean Bruce holds Superman personally responsible for tens of thousands of civilian deaths.

As a quick aside, I’d like to note that viewers need not have already seen “Man of Steel” to make sense of this film. All you need to know is that Superman indirectly killed a lot of people in Metropolis, which has now made Batman angry – and that’s reiterated in the beginning of “Dawn of Justice” anyway.

Overall, the film suffers from a number of issues, and the overstuffed plot is chief among these; it’s painfully obvious that the entire purpose of “Dawn of Justice” is to launch most of DC’s major superhero characters onto the big screen.

Indeed, we’re introduced to Batman, of course, but also to Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot). We also briefly see the Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg – all of whom are slated to be part of the eventual Justice League movie, but did almost nothing in this film. (Wonder Woman being the notable exception here.)

I say “painful,” though, because there’s simply too much going on. We have Batman and Superman, both with their own plotlines and motivations, which is already plenty to squeeze into two hours.

But throw in the introduction of Lex Luthor(‘s son – it’s complicated) and Wonder Woman, the continued development of the Clark Kent/Lois Lane (Amy Adams) romance, a wisecracking Alfred (Jeremy Irons), a radioactive behemoth called Doomsday, and Bruce Wayne’s visions that only comic book fans will comprehend, and you get a 150-minute movie, an extremely confusing paragraph with far too many names, and a headache.

And, yeah, an overstuffed plot.

Besides cranial pain, though, another problem stemming from all of these characters sharing screen time is that, when a character experiences some sort of trauma, the emotional weight is lost in the shuffle.

As for the effects, if you’re a fan of Zack Snyder’s visual style – with lots of slow motion and zooming in during fight scenes – you won’t have a problem here. If you’re not, maybe close your eyes for the final fight.

One thing that’s been almost unanimously praised, though, is the score by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL. While I wholeheartedly agree that the score is masterful, the sound mixing left the music nearly drowned out in spots.

The music frequently had to be cranked up to 11 just to be heard, particularly over the numerous explosions and fists meeting faces (or bathroom fixtures meeting skulls).

So that’s it, then; crumple it up, toss it out, and better luck next time, DC. Right?

Well… not exactly. Rushed or not, the groundwork for the DC cinematic universe has now been definitively laid – and the biggest reason for that is the casting and acting in “Dawn of Justice.”

For starters, Affleck’s Batman (affectionately known as “Batfleck”) is nearly perfect. He portrays both sides of the character expertly, rather than excelling at either the Bruce or Batman side, and this should hopefully quiet some of his vehement critics. Cavill is similarly adept as Superman.

The third member of the DC Comics ‘trinity’ – Wonder Woman – doesn’t get quite enough time on screen to fully demonstrate Gadot’s work, but at first glance she seems good as well. And although the character’s role was relatively small, she was still a highlight.

The most controversial performance has to be Jesse Eisenberg’s uncharacteristically manic Lex Luthor. As someone who’s never read a Superman comic, I found Eisenberg’s take interesting and original – in short, I loved it.

Fans of the canonical Lex Luthor may cringe at this new incarnation, but I’m happy Eisenberg stepped out of such a concrete norm in a film that doesn’t take many other risks.

Taken collectively, then, this large amount of acting prowess means that once DC can slow to a comfortable jog with its cinematic universe – rather than sprinting to catch up to Marvel – it will be in a very good position to put out high-quality superhero features of its own.

So while “Dawn of Justice” may not itself be the first of such high-quality films, it does manage to do exactly what the title implies: herald the beginning of the Justice League’s time on the big screen.

“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” rated PG-13, is now playing in most theaters.

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