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Justice League leaps over a number of DC movies, but its single bound isn't enough to shed the murky aesthetic, thin characters, and chaotic action that continue to dog the franchise. Read...
- (412)
- Zack Snyder
- PG-13
- Ben Affleck
Nov 17, 2017 · For a film about a band of heroes trying to stop extraterrestrial demon-beasts from wiping out humanity, "Justice League" is light on its feet, sprinting through a super-group's origin story in less than two hours, giving its ensemble lots to do, and mostly avoiding the self-importance that damaged previous entries in this franchise.
Mar 26, 2021 Full Review Melanie McFarland Salon.com Zack Snyder's Justice League shows Snyder's evolution from a director known for emphasizing style over substance to a man who understands why...
- (313)
- Zack Snyder
- R
- Ben Affleck
- Does the DC film, a product of two directors, suffer from an Identity Crisis?
- Justice League (2017) Photo Gallery
- Verdict
By Jim Vejvoda
Updated: Nov 30, 2017 5:36 am
Posted: Nov 15, 2017 7:50 am
The best aspects of Justice League are the chemistry between its cast and the film’s individual depiction of each superhero. Unlike in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, these characters, Batman included, are decidedly heroic instead of unlikable and impersonal. They make an effort to save civilians and spare lives, and, ahem, come together to help each other. Justice League has some good moments and some bad ones, but it ultimately ekes out just enough entertainment value to warrant a look-see.
That said, Justice League seldom delivers any truly “wow!” moments of finally seeing these awesome superheroes assembled together onscreen the way The Avengers did. This first big screen union of DC Comics’ top-tier superheroes is ultimately just an adequate adventure flick. It’s marred by a very choppy story, a run-of-the-mill villain, some shoddy visual effects, and an overall haphazard execution.
The fairly skeletal and disjointed plot is set many months after the events of BvS. Justice League finds Batman seeking out meta-human allies to battle the imminent cosmic threat he’d previously foreseen. With help from Wonder Woman, he recruits Aquaman, Flash, and Cyborg to prevent the alien invader Steppenwolf and his army of parademons from conquering the world. If only Superman were still alive to help the Justice League save the day …
Now… if you’re really shocked to learn that Superman lives in Justice League then you’ve done well in insulating yourself from the advertising barrage. I won’t delve into the details of how Superman returns, but suffice to say it includes a fair share of dicey choices made by both the characters and the storytellers. (Oh, and the digital removal of Henry Cavill’s mustache is painfully obvious in a few very dodgy shots.) It may have taken him three films, but in his performance here Henry Cavill ultimately finds the warmth and soul that makes Superman such a hopeful and heroic icon. It’s nice to have you back, Superman.
Faring less well is the villain Steppenwolf (a character voiced by Ciaran Hinds and performed via motion-capture). Like BvS’s Doomsday, Wonder Woman’s Ares, and Suicide Squad’s Enchantress and Incubus, Steppenwolf is a wholly digital character, but not an entirely convincing-looking one. He’s another one-dimensional bad guy with a rote agenda and lacking any distinct personality. Steppenwolf never proves menacing or original enough to leave much of a lasting impact beyond indifference.
Earlier this year, Avengers helmer Joss Whedon took over production and the direction of reshoots on Justice League following Zack Snyder’s departure due to a personal tragedy (the final film’s direction is credited to Snyder with Whedon receiving a co-screenwriting credit). This led to many observers, myself included, to wonder: Would Justice League suffer from an Identity crisis as a result of two such very different directors working on it?
The film largely maintains a visual uniformity with Snyder’s darker, more operatic aesthetic established in the early trailers; to the ear, though, many scenes bear the distinct voice and humor of Whedon. In other words, Justice League still looks like a Zack Snyder film, but it sounds and feels like a Joss Whedon movie.
Warner Bros. and DC Films had two major goals to achieve with Justice League. First, to cleanse the palette of those turned off by the relentlessly grim BvS; and second, to make viewers enjoy these superheroes enough to want to see further screen appearances by them. Justice League mostly succeeds in accomplishing those two key objectives, despite ...
Manuel São Bento MSB Reviews. Despite its massive production issues and the studio’s mandate for a runtime shorter than two hours - dooming the film even when Zack Snyder was still at the helm -...
Mar 15, 2021 · Where the theatrical cut raced from action scene to action scene, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a methodical slow-burn and has a much deeper interest in exploring its characters and lore than...
Mar 18, 2021 · One of the many criticized elements of the 2017 flick dubbed 'Josstice League' by Snyder fans, the film’s supervillain is presented as a more powerful, yet sympathetic, antagonist.
