Justice League Review

It all started in 2013 with “Man of Steel” that kicked off the DC extended universe , that lead to “Batman V. Superman” in 2016, then “Suicide Squad” and finally “Wonder Woman.” Every movie has been leading up to the highly anticipated “Justice League” and it finally came out. But was the build up worth it, or did “Justice League” crash and burn?

“Justice League” is written and directed by Zack Snyder and is starring Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller and Ray Fisher to form the “Justice League”, the DC version of Marvel’s Avengers. I grew up with these comics and character and was really excited to see them all together for the first time on the big screen. But I was also very hesitant because I haven’t been the biggest fan of the DCEU films. “Man Of Steel” was above average with very heavy plot holes and a overuse of CGI. “Batman V. Superman” was very disappointing and “Suicide Squad” was rushed and very weak. The only  DCEU film I liked so far was “Wonder Woman”. That film felt like the character I grew up with and had a great story with a really good message within the film. After walking out of “Wonder Woman,” I had hope for “Justice League” because I thought they finally found there footstep. And you know what, “Justice League” is a fun action film that brought a smile to my face for the most part.

The plot for “Justice League” is the evil Steppenwolf has invaded earth searching for the three Mother boxes to take over the world, and it’s up to the Justice League to stop Steppenwolf and to defend earth.    

What I really like about the movie was the entire cast of the film. Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, and Henry Cavill are the true standouts of the film. That makes sense because we’ve had time to grow with these character over the movies. But for the other actors, they did a very good job shining and didn’t disappoint me at all. They team up and the camaraderie between all of the actors was awesome and rewarding to watch on the big screen. Ben Affleck as Batman is perfect. His Batman is the best onscreen version we’ve ever had, and does a great job as the leader of the league. But the crowd pleaser Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was the best part of the movie. She brings the best out of all of the character’s and made the movie more heartfelt, and that tone was just what we needed to make the movie work for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love dark tones in films, but for “Justice League” it was the right tone for the movie to get the feeling that the league was coming together. But the standout for me was Jason Momoa’s Aqua-Man. I can’t believe how bad ass he was in the movie and how much fun he was bring out to the audience when watching him on the screen.  And the action looks really good for the most part with its bright colors. Overall this was a fun movie, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect.

The problems with “Justice League” are it’s narrative,  it’s in and out tone, villain, and weak plot. This movie feels very rushed and adds no breathing room for the audience, forcing everything in a 2 hour movie that adds little pay off in it’s end. This is the shortest movie in the DCEU so far ,and that’s because of Warner Brother wanting to put their movie in more screenings and show times. I bet when “Justice League” is released on Blu-Ray there’ll be a 30 minute or another hour version of the film that was cut out. I wish we would have gotten a more finished movie, but I’ll have to review the one we got.

Where getting plot details and new character with backstories being pushed at use hoping that we already know these characters. You get introduced to The Flash, Cyborg, and Aqua-Man so fast that you don’t really care about them in times they’re having an emotional scene. I wish Warner Brothers and DC would have released the film later when they got everything right. If you don’t know, the director Zack Snyder had to step away from the film after a tragic death in his family. After he left, Warner Brothers hired Joss Whedon to finish the film and to get it by the release date. Joss Whedon was the director of the first two Marvel “Avengers” movies. The big problem with hiring a new director and forcing the movie to be complete on a upcoming date is very stressful. What they should have done is pushed back the film a year so that they could have made a better film. And for it’s result the film was very rushed and was lacking in story and tone. Also the film struggles with its villain. Steppenwolf was a very weak character with weak motivation. He didn’t add fear or tension for are heros. All he was, was just a big CGI blob so that the Justice League could fight him.  During the film I keep hearing from the audience “What is going on” or “I don’t understand what’s happening”. The reason why were hearing this is because the story is so jumpy and hard to follow. If your a hardcore DC fan you would know what’s going on. For me, It was hard to keep explaining what was going on to my Mom every minute because it doesn’t explain anything. And lastly in the 3rd act, the overuse of CGI was insane. It didn’t look real to me, it just reminded me of a video game.

As it stands, “Justice League” is a fine movie with major problems. But it did what it promised. They gave us the movie with the “Justice League” for the first time in history. The film isn’t bad nor is it great, the film is just fine. It’s the second best film in the DCEU and bring us fun scenes within the movie, I’m going to give “Justice League” a 6.5 out of 10. I do hope that you guys see the movie, but be prepared for an above average superhero movie.    

Picture credit: www.justiceleaguethemovie