Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jesse Eisenberg. Directed by Zack Snyder. Rated PG-13. Opens Friday citywide.

Starting with its ridiculous title, superhero epic Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is bursting with overwrought self-importance, determined to thrust its deadly seriousness on its audience by any means necessary. As the foundation for the forthcoming DC Comics-based cinematic universe, Dawn of Justice serves multiple functions, none of them particularly well: It’s a direct sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel, featuring the return of bland hunk Henry Cavill as Superman (along with a number of the previous movie’s supporting characters). It’s a launch pad for both Ben Affleck as the latest actor to play Batman and Israeli actress Gal Gadot as fellow DC superhero Wonder Woman (whose solo movie is currently in production and set for release next year). And it lays the groundwork for the superhero mega-team-up Justice League, with brief, fan-pandering glimpses of other DC heroes and villains.

That’s a lot of heavy lifting for a single movie, even one that runs two and a half hours, and Dawn of Justice is not really up to the task. Director Zack Snyder (returning from Man of Steel) and screenwriters Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer cram so many characters and incidents into the movie that it ends up horribly disjointed, with enough beginnings and endings for 10 movies. It’s like an entire TV season condensed into a chaotic highlight reel, simultaneously way too long and not nearly long enough.

There’s so much empty bluster that it obscures how little actually happens: Billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne (Affleck), who moonlights as the vigilante Batman, is uncomfortable with the unchecked power of Superman, as is slightly more sinister billionaire CEO Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg). Both want to get their hands on some Kryptonite, an alien mineral that can weaken Superman, and Luthor is a bit more ruthless about it. Meanwhile, Superman broods as politicians and journalists question whether he should be held accountable for the collateral damage of his actions.

No one in the movie, ostensible hero or ostensible villain, is particularly sympathetic or interesting. If it’s about anything, Dawn of Justice is about the ideological differences among three angry man-children who spend most of the movie snarling at each other. Even those differences get tossed aside when it’s time for fighting and explosions; the much-anticipated battle between the title characters finally arrives nearly two hours into the movie, but it’s as murky and jumbled as all the action that came before it. And instead of hashing out their seemingly intractable disagreements, the heroes spend the final act fighting a ridiculous-looking monster whose creation is the most nonsensical part of a largely nonsensical movie.

Cavill and Affleck acquit themselves adequately in what are fairly constraining roles, and Eisenberg plays Luthor like his Mark Zuckerberg from The Social Network crossed with a hyperactive chipmunk. Gadot is the one bright spot, playing a hero who actually comes across as heroic, and she lights up the movie in her handful of scenes. Dawn of Justice ends with multiple set-ups for future movies, and even if it’s a slog to get through, there’s at least one bright spot on the horizon.