Justice League
I was of the camp that thought Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, wasn’t good but wasn’t terrible either. With Wonder Woman coming out earlier this year and being a very fun time, you would have hoped the DC Extended Universe would get on track and continue to impress with Justice League. Warning signs were that the film somehow managed to look worse with every new trailer but I gave the film the benefit of the doubt. Yeah, this thing sucks.
An ancient super being named Steppenwolf is trying to collect mother boxes to destroy the Earth and its up to a group of superheroes to band and unite to contain the threat. Batman and Wonder Woman attempt to recruit a hero of the sea (Aquaman), a cybernetically reconstructed former athlete (Cyborg), and an awkward kid who is very, very fast (Flash). Oh yeah, worst keep secret ever as well they also attempt to revive the recently fallen Superman.
Here are some of the positives. I didn’t have any problems with any of the casting choices. I obviously love Gadot as Wonder Woman, as she fully embodies the character. Affleck as Batman is solid. Momoa has a bad ass warrior look that works for Aquaman, and the comedic timing of Ezra Miller as Flash works. Actually Flash’s fresh humor in this DCEU effort is actually the other strong point of this film. You would think that this film would be able to do a decent job of uniting DC’s most popular characters but it really doesn’t do a satisfying job of it.
Justice League is one of the most expensive films ever made. Its hard to believe because the graphics look choppy and messy. Its almost as if parts of the graphics look like they were taken out of a video game. The battles also look fake because they are over done with graphics and it really looks ugly. Steppenwolf is a very generic villain, looks too computerized and isn’t built well at all. The dialogue is horrendous sometimes. Some of the humor (mostly from Flash) works but the other moment’s fall so flat. In contrast to BVS, Ben Affleck looked like he was just going through the motions.
The film had a shorter running length than expected but it still felt too long. The exposition of some characters feels wasted at times, and other times you feel like they spend the wrong moments trying to just throw the characters in. It could have used much better writing. There were times were I was bored out of my mind. The action scenes are fairly grand but nothing epic (compare that to what we get in Thor: Ragnarok). I really back Snyder leaving the DCEU because this is a straight second misfire for him. It’s unfortunate to say I have no interest in any film in this Universe aside from Wonder Woman 2.
5/10
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