"No protectors here. No Lanterns. No Kryptonian. This world will fall, like all the others." - Steppenwolf
It's fair to say that DC has been something of a polarising figure in the world of cinema recently. Whilst critics have bashed every entry in the DCEU (aside from Wonder Woman's solo outing earlier this year), hardcore fans have been quick to leap to it's defence. As someone not well-up on all the DC lore, this superhero universe has been a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed Man of Steel (2013) and thought Suicide Squad (2016) was entertaining enough, whereas Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) was the worst blockbuster I'd seen in years and Wonder Woman was overrated. Now comes the film that brings all the heroes together, DC's answer to Marvel's Avengers: Justice League.
With a new threat arriving to invade Earth in the guise of Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) and his army of bug-like demons, Batman (Ben Affleck) recruits old comrade Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) to form a new team of heroes. Seeking "people with special abilities", the wise-cracking Flash (Ezra Miller), loner Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and technologically advanced Cyborg (Ray Fisher) come together to save the day. But with Steppenwolf's threat continually amplified by the mysterious Mother Boxes, Bruce Wayne contemplates a dangerous new plan to revive Superman (Henry Cavill), with no guarantee that he'll be willing to fight alongside them...
Zack Snyder returns to the director's chair for the third time in the series, with Avengers director Joss Whedon brought in to oversee re-shoots after a family tragedy meant Snyder had to hand over the reigns. The result of these two very different directorial styles controlling the project is evident throughout Justice League. While it's not as jarring as other critics have pointed out, you still can't help but notice when a re-shot scene makes its appearance. Whedon has taken Snyder's grim and brooding look and injected some life and colour, which I felt worked in the film's favour. The original trailer had a similar look to Batman v Superman, but Whedon's focus on lighter character interactions and brightening up the film's murkier looking moments makes Justice League a much more pleasurable experience. I really admire Snyder's focus on creating dynamic imagery, but Batman v Superman proved that too much grimness with no levity makes for a dull sit through. Here's hoping Whedon's style has an effect on how Snyder approaches the rest of the series, as I have no doubt he'll return to direct future entries.
But if there's one thing Justice League absolutely had to get right, its the believable alliance and interactions of the six heroes. Ben Affleck returns as Bruce Wayne/Batman, and we spend most of the film with him and Diana Prince/Wonder Woman assembling the team. Whilst Affleck's portrayal of the caped crusader was easily the highlight of Batman v Superman, he is outshone by the brilliant Gal Gadot here. Her charisma and likeability makes her prefect for the role of Wonder Woman. Whilst I thought her solo film was highly overpraised, she shone as a great lead character and actress, which she further proves in Justice League. The conversations between Bruce and Diana form the moral dilemma and drama within the team, with both equally strong enough to lead but divided by the thought of bringing Superman back to the fight. These scenes were well handled in my opinion, as the two actors are able to make the dialogue work and the performances are allowed to take centre stage.
Joining forces with Bruce and Diana are three new comrades: Barry Allen, Arthur Curry and Victor Stone. As the youngest member of the team, much of the film's quirky moments are given to Allen, who claims that he's no fighter and that all he's done as the Flash is "just pushed people, then run away". Almost every line he has is some sort of jibe, and that means not every joke is nearly as funny as it intends to be. Whilst there are some amusing moments, there's also plenty of awkward lines that make the character a little grating at times. The total opposite to this is Ray Fisher's Stone/Cyborg, who has no comedic one-liners and out broods the rest of the cast. Not even Batman is as moody as this guy and, like Allen and Curry, his backstory is very rushed. There is a nice bit of casting though with his father, who's played by Joe Morton in an obvious nod to Morton's role in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Arthur Curry aka Aquaman falls somewhere in-between the personalities of the Flash and Cyborg. He has a few one-liners here and there, but is also the most reluctant to join the team, accentuating his status as a loner. Jason Momoa is a lot of fun in this role, balancing the two sides to the character well, making Aquaman my favourite of the three new heroes.
Whilst there's enjoyment to be had on the side of the heroes, the same can't be said for the villain. Steppenwolf joins a long list of bad guys in comic book films that are totally one-dimensional and forgettable. He's another "take over the world" type baddie, and never challenges the Justice League in a more interesting way than that. He has no personal connections to any of the characters, and so there is no internal struggle that the heroes have to overcome, which doesn't make the encounters with him all that thrilling. When the action scenes arrive, they do at least show how powerful he is, meaning that it takes all of the League's effort and will to bring him down. That is until Superman shows up and promptly ends the fight swiftly, devoid of any drama. I get that in a film that has all these heroes teaming up, the logical decision would be to give them an opponent on a world-threatening scale, but I wish it could be done in a more interesting manner than just having the villain show up out-of-the-blue and not having any established character.
There's a handful of silly moments that stand out for me, as well as some plot points that are just baffling. For a start, Batman wants to bring back Superman to fight Steppenwolf, as he feels he's the only one capable of being a match for him. Yet in the previous film, Superman lost in a fight to Batman himself and was then killed by a demonic character similar to Steppenwolf, Doomsday. So if he can't even beat Batman or defeat Doomsday with the help of Batman and Wonder Woman, why is he suddenly the only hope of saving the day now? The film isn't exactly aided by the events of Batman v Superman, as having Superman die at the end of that film and to bring him back so soon means there is no impact of killing him off in the first place. It should be a joyous moment seeing Superman return, but we've not been without him long at all. Other than Suicide Squad, which focused entirely on the villains, this is the only DCEU film that takes place after BvS. Why kill him off when you're going to bring him back so soon? Then there's the films head-smackingly dumb moments, such as Steppenwolf acquiring the final Mother Box all because the League were looking the other way! He just swoops down and takes it, without having to put up a fight, which would make me wonder if I could give the Avengers a call to help solve the problem due to the League's incompetence. I can also credit the film for having the most un-Batman moment for the character to date on film (excluding everything in 1997's Batman & Robin), which is when he has a big, goofy smile on his face when Superman shows up to win the fight.
Whilst there is a clash of director styles and quite a bit to make fun of, Justice League at least injects some fun and spectacle back into it's characters. It won't win over any new fans, especially film-goers who love what Marvel have been doing, but as someone not clued-up with all the DC lore, I found the film to be an enjoyable two hour ride. There are obvious weak-spots with some characters and plot points, but it captures the feel of a comic book come to life better than BvS and the inevitable sequel has some good ground to take this superhero team to the next level. I look forward to seeing what's next for this team, even if most are perhaps unwilling to bother. With Marvel's continual dominance at the box-office and with critics, I don't think the DCEU will ever catch up. However, if they continue to serve up entertaining romps like this, I'll be there for whatever silliness they throw my way.
Zack Snyder returns to the director's chair for the third time in the series, with Avengers director Joss Whedon brought in to oversee re-shoots after a family tragedy meant Snyder had to hand over the reigns. The result of these two very different directorial styles controlling the project is evident throughout Justice League. While it's not as jarring as other critics have pointed out, you still can't help but notice when a re-shot scene makes its appearance. Whedon has taken Snyder's grim and brooding look and injected some life and colour, which I felt worked in the film's favour. The original trailer had a similar look to Batman v Superman, but Whedon's focus on lighter character interactions and brightening up the film's murkier looking moments makes Justice League a much more pleasurable experience. I really admire Snyder's focus on creating dynamic imagery, but Batman v Superman proved that too much grimness with no levity makes for a dull sit through. Here's hoping Whedon's style has an effect on how Snyder approaches the rest of the series, as I have no doubt he'll return to direct future entries.
But if there's one thing Justice League absolutely had to get right, its the believable alliance and interactions of the six heroes. Ben Affleck returns as Bruce Wayne/Batman, and we spend most of the film with him and Diana Prince/Wonder Woman assembling the team. Whilst Affleck's portrayal of the caped crusader was easily the highlight of Batman v Superman, he is outshone by the brilliant Gal Gadot here. Her charisma and likeability makes her prefect for the role of Wonder Woman. Whilst I thought her solo film was highly overpraised, she shone as a great lead character and actress, which she further proves in Justice League. The conversations between Bruce and Diana form the moral dilemma and drama within the team, with both equally strong enough to lead but divided by the thought of bringing Superman back to the fight. These scenes were well handled in my opinion, as the two actors are able to make the dialogue work and the performances are allowed to take centre stage.
Joining forces with Bruce and Diana are three new comrades: Barry Allen, Arthur Curry and Victor Stone. As the youngest member of the team, much of the film's quirky moments are given to Allen, who claims that he's no fighter and that all he's done as the Flash is "just pushed people, then run away". Almost every line he has is some sort of jibe, and that means not every joke is nearly as funny as it intends to be. Whilst there are some amusing moments, there's also plenty of awkward lines that make the character a little grating at times. The total opposite to this is Ray Fisher's Stone/Cyborg, who has no comedic one-liners and out broods the rest of the cast. Not even Batman is as moody as this guy and, like Allen and Curry, his backstory is very rushed. There is a nice bit of casting though with his father, who's played by Joe Morton in an obvious nod to Morton's role in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Arthur Curry aka Aquaman falls somewhere in-between the personalities of the Flash and Cyborg. He has a few one-liners here and there, but is also the most reluctant to join the team, accentuating his status as a loner. Jason Momoa is a lot of fun in this role, balancing the two sides to the character well, making Aquaman my favourite of the three new heroes.
Whilst there's enjoyment to be had on the side of the heroes, the same can't be said for the villain. Steppenwolf joins a long list of bad guys in comic book films that are totally one-dimensional and forgettable. He's another "take over the world" type baddie, and never challenges the Justice League in a more interesting way than that. He has no personal connections to any of the characters, and so there is no internal struggle that the heroes have to overcome, which doesn't make the encounters with him all that thrilling. When the action scenes arrive, they do at least show how powerful he is, meaning that it takes all of the League's effort and will to bring him down. That is until Superman shows up and promptly ends the fight swiftly, devoid of any drama. I get that in a film that has all these heroes teaming up, the logical decision would be to give them an opponent on a world-threatening scale, but I wish it could be done in a more interesting manner than just having the villain show up out-of-the-blue and not having any established character.
There's a handful of silly moments that stand out for me, as well as some plot points that are just baffling. For a start, Batman wants to bring back Superman to fight Steppenwolf, as he feels he's the only one capable of being a match for him. Yet in the previous film, Superman lost in a fight to Batman himself and was then killed by a demonic character similar to Steppenwolf, Doomsday. So if he can't even beat Batman or defeat Doomsday with the help of Batman and Wonder Woman, why is he suddenly the only hope of saving the day now? The film isn't exactly aided by the events of Batman v Superman, as having Superman die at the end of that film and to bring him back so soon means there is no impact of killing him off in the first place. It should be a joyous moment seeing Superman return, but we've not been without him long at all. Other than Suicide Squad, which focused entirely on the villains, this is the only DCEU film that takes place after BvS. Why kill him off when you're going to bring him back so soon? Then there's the films head-smackingly dumb moments, such as Steppenwolf acquiring the final Mother Box all because the League were looking the other way! He just swoops down and takes it, without having to put up a fight, which would make me wonder if I could give the Avengers a call to help solve the problem due to the League's incompetence. I can also credit the film for having the most un-Batman moment for the character to date on film (excluding everything in 1997's Batman & Robin), which is when he has a big, goofy smile on his face when Superman shows up to win the fight.Whilst there is a clash of director styles and quite a bit to make fun of, Justice League at least injects some fun and spectacle back into it's characters. It won't win over any new fans, especially film-goers who love what Marvel have been doing, but as someone not clued-up with all the DC lore, I found the film to be an enjoyable two hour ride. There are obvious weak-spots with some characters and plot points, but it captures the feel of a comic book come to life better than BvS and the inevitable sequel has some good ground to take this superhero team to the next level. I look forward to seeing what's next for this team, even if most are perhaps unwilling to bother. With Marvel's continual dominance at the box-office and with critics, I don't think the DCEU will ever catch up. However, if they continue to serve up entertaining romps like this, I'll be there for whatever silliness they throw my way.
