Mixed reviews for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck attended the European premiere of the film in London on Tuesday evening

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has received mixed reviews from critics ahead of its release this weekend.

The film had been widely praised by fans after its first screening in New York last week.

But critics have not been so positive about the long-awaited movie, which stars Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman.

"This superhero-smorgasbord melts into an electric soup of CGI," Kate Muir wrote in the Times.

"Effects are so overused that any conviction explodes in a giant fireball - indeed endless fireballs. The result is an enervating two and a half hours."

A number of other reviewers also picked up on the film's long duration.

The Sun described it as "insanely long", while the Guardian said it is "both overstuffed and abnormally extended".

"No major blockbuster in years has been this incoherently structured, this seemingly uninterested in telling a story with clarity and purpose," wrote Robbie Collin in the Telegraph.

The BBC's Mark Kermode described it as a "crushing disappointment".

Fans reported cheering when Wonder Woman appeared on screen at the film's New York premiere

However, some critics were kinder about the film, which sees Wonder Woman - played by Gal Gadot - make her big-screen debut.

Geoffrey Mcnab, in the Independent, praised "the eye-popping spectacle, the brilliance of some of the action sequences, and the full-blooded performances" of the cast.

However, he summarised the film as ultimately being "too convoluted for its own good".

Similarly, Empire noted: "There are moments that make the whole enterprise worthwhile, and [the film] introduces an intriguing new Batman. But it's also cluttered and narratively wonky, a few jokes wouldn't have gone amiss, either."

Wired said the film was "more thematically ambitious and memorable than many other superhero movies", but added the film eventually "falls apart".

Rotten Tomatoes, which works out average scores for films based on multiple reviews, listed Batman v Superman on Friday as having received an average mark of 5.1 out of 10, based on 207 reviews.

But fans have been much kinder to the movie in comments posted on social media.

Ben Kahn tweeted: "Lots to process and think about, but overall BvS is an excellent movie."

"I was pretty impressed by Batman v Superman. Everyone went crazy for Wonder Woman, she was amazing," wrote Swati Teerdhala.