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On the subject of cinematography, the other day @smcolbert flagged up that there was criticism of a lack of establishing shots in BvS when it was released. I looked for that criticism and found it, then I took another look at the film. Here’s what noticed...
Rather than presenting the audience with a single, old fashioned wide shot to convey time, setting, theme etc, Snyder often breaks up the establishing shot into several parts to create a kind of ‘unfolding’ effect as the audience slowly learns where/when they are.
Before the film proper even begins, he lets withered leaves drift and fall across the logos to establish the season - one packed with thematic connotations - and set the ‘falling’ motif of the opening sequence into action. Then the opening shot, itself in three parts...
1) A coffin being carried. The funeral setting is established in an ‘action’ shot.
2) A second coffin. We now know some tragic event has occurred.
As the procession marches forward, we pull back. The leaves fall, and we rise, until the action shot becomes...
2) A second coffin. We now know some tragic event has occurred.
As the procession marches forward, we pull back. The leaves fall, and we rise, until the action shot becomes...
3) A near-high angle establishing shot of a private plot and a mausoleum. Whoever’s funeral this is, they were of high social standing. The high angle is in contrast to the closeup of the coffin. The subjects are swallowed up by their surroundings. Two more fallen leaves.
The second shot is a reverse of the first in several ways. It begins as a wide angle, traditional establishing shot. We’re given more information, clues: the great manor, the mourners in their considerable numbers. We begin high this time, and fall to the level of...
The young boy who breaks from the pack and becomes our point of focus as (in contrast to the first shot) the establishing shot becomes an action shot. Now we’re away, into the drama. From two dynamic establishing/action hybrid shots, we have everything set up as we need it...
...without the need for a static, bland wide shot, the likes of which are uninteresting outside of painterly sci-fi and fantasy landscapes. Neither shot is groundbreaking, but the reversed pairing is beautiful and effective, and it begins the telling of the story immediately.
Here’s a quick second example. The night dockyard setting is established over three shots intertwined with action. A low angle of a crane, a dramatic high angle of the docks, and a pan of Batman with a nearby city skyline. By the time the chase starts, we know the setting. 
