Fuelled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince assemble a team of metahumans consisting of Barry Allen, Arthur Curry and Victor Stone to face the catastrophic threat of Steppenwolf and the Parademons who are on the hunt for three Mother Boxes on Earth.
DCEU is making a comeback with this one! Finally, after many years of slumber, it is catching up with MCU at least. Although I can say it is not the best of the best, at least, they are finally learning.
One word: Disappointing! I mean, I didn't expect much from DC since the movie franchise was not their forte, but they should have at least tried to make a decent looking movie.
If they had more time, they could have built the elements of the Justice League much better. The characters were introduced haphazardly, the plot was a mess, the villain was a bit meh, and in the end, they needed Superman to save the day. Go figure!
Do not listen to the harsh critics and give this movie a try. It was enjoyable for me, and satisfied the DC fan in me!
“Yeah. I…I need friends.” This line from Barry Allen always cracked me up. What the Justice League built in the short amount of time they had was trust, friendship and camaraderie, and I think that is one of the important factors in a team, hero or not.
It was good.
First half, clearly Zack Snyder's work. But the second half you can tell Joss Whedon took over (I started to notice the lame humor in the 2nd half) as it's clearly something you'd expect from an MCU movie. Whedon clearly had no grasp on Snyder's vision.
I mean, the film itself wasn't at all bad, but I do understand why critics and fans alike hated it.
Can't wait for the Snyder cut!
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Everyone knows about the story behind the production of this film, right? TL;DR Zack Snyder () was the original director and got to shoot most of the movie, but a tragic family issue made him step off the project. Enter Joss Whedon (), the new director who reportedly changed much of what was originally intended through reshoots and re-edits, delivering a less than two-hour superhero flick as demanded by the studio. At the time, my expectations were extremely low, not only due to its complicated production phase but also due to the DCEU’s filmography until that point. Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, and Wonder Woman were the films that preceded the get-together of Justice League.
Ignoring my opinion on each film, my biggest fear walking into this movie was the fact that only two members of the team had an origin film (Superman, Wonder Woman) while Batman shared the spotlight with the two previous heroes in BvS. So, how would they introduce three new superheroes and get them all together as a team to fight an unknown villain in under two hours efficiently? Well, I didn’t know the answer, and after rewatching this movie for the second time, it’s clear both Whedon and Snyder had an impossible task. People quickly jump to comparisons, and it’s easy to look at Marvel’s own cinematic universe after its undeniable commercial success and call it “the best formula”. However, I defend that there’s no good or bad method.
Even with an origin film for almost every major superhero, The Avengers has approximately a two-hour-and-thirty-minute runtime. This proves that it doesn’t really matter how much screentime the characters already have, there’s still a necessity of creating a story that efficiently and logically brings them all together to fight a common enemy. Justice League was doomed from the moment the studio mandated that runtime restriction, independently of its production issues and crew changes. Snyder, Whedon, or any other filmmaker would struggle to deliver a movie that could reach the fandom’s incredibly high expectations. Despite all of its unquestionable flaws, I still find this film decent enough.
Cast-wise, DC is proving to be as impeccable in its choices as Marvel or any other studio with massive franchises. From my second favorite Batman actor of all-time to the absolutely perfect casting of Wonder Woman, the newcomers are more than worthy of belonging to this fantastic universe of characters. Ezra Miller brings a quirky personality to Barry Allen / The Flash that really humors me. Jason Momoa might have changed the world’s opinion on Arthur Curry / Aquaman by delivering a cool, badass performance that will end many jokes about the supposedly useless superhero (everyone has seen the countless memes throughout the last decades). Finally, even though Ray Fisher seems to be a good actor, the fact that Victor Stone / Cyborg is 95% CGI doesn’t help his display.
However, the predictable issue with the screenplay comes true, negatively affecting these new characters. The first act features extremely rushed introductions to the heroes, cutting from one place to another with no flow or rhythm. It almost feels like six different character trailers randomly mixed together with no connection between each setup. In addition to this, Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) and his cliche motivation related to the pursuit of three MacGuffins are as lazy, unexciting, and generic as it could be. By far, the worst aspect of the entire movie. From the horribly non-menacing, amateur design to the awfully cliche development, Steppenwolf will go down as one of the worst villains ever seen in a superhero film.
Changing to the good side, Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot share quite a few compelling dialogues that I actually wish I could have seen more of their characters’ reluctant yet strong friendship. A bit more of Batman comes through to the audience, but there’s still a lot to uncover from this version of The Dark Knight. However, it’s in the action sequences these characters shine, which leads me to the only compliment I can offer Steppenwolf: it works well enough as the entertaining punching bag of the Justice League. Contrary to their introductions, Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash all have key moments during the action-packed third act, working together as the team of superheroes the world so desperately needs.
Batman planning everything, Wonder Woman leading with heart, and the new metahumans showing their skills make the last thirty minutes partially compensate for the rapid-fire first hour. However, it’s Superman - trailers and posters showed him, so this is definitely not a spoiler - who steals the show. I find Henry Cavill a great casting choice for Clark Kent, but the previous movies didn’t let both the character and the actor reach their respective potential. Justice League holds a surprising, outstanding moment in Superman’s return to action, making me genuinely wish for his sequences rather than the rest of the heroes. Finally, something exciting about The Last Son of Krypton (yes, the digitally-removed mustache still stands out, but it’s such an irrelevant nitpick)!
Technically, the costumes look great, though they’re toned down by the murky aesthetic. For example, Wonder Woman’s suit popped off the screen in Patty Jenkins’ colorful film, but in this one, all costumes seem to lack glow. On the other hand, Gotham looks fantastic in that dark atmosphere, and the final battle emphasizes a red filter that surprisingly works quite well. The action sequences are mostly easy to follow, even though CGI often overwhelms the screen, but I can’t deny that some scenes really left me astounded. The editing team (David Brenner, Richard Pearson, Martin Walsh) obviously had struggles with so many reshoots and modifications, but overall, Whedon was able to put together a relatively coherent movie story-wise.
Justice League remains surprisingly decent, even after all these years. 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 - Joss Whedon still manages to deliver a reasonable superhero flick. Every actor offers excellent performances, namely Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot, but the negative expectations regarding the lack of screentime to introduce and develop unknown heroes come to fruition. Whedon and Chris Terrio couldn’t do better than an extremely rushed first act, skipping from a new character onto the next one with no connection between storylines or even consecutive scenes. In addition to this, from his awful design to his generic evil intents, Steppenwolf is undoubtedly one of the worst villains ever put to screen. The action-heavy third act features enough entertainment to compensate for some other minor issues with the screenplay, delivering outstanding sequences worthy of a much better movie. In the end, I hope that the upcoming Snyder Cut brings a lot more of the captivating character interactions that elevated this film, but without the restraints of studio orders.
Rating: B-
What on earth is the point of this drivel? In theory an exciting cast and character list, but in practise a terrible, soulless piece of dreadfully scripted nonsense. What's happened to Henry Cavill's face? Wasn't Grant Gustin available? Luckily for Amy Adams she rarely features in this B-movie; hell even the special effects remind me of early X-men stuff. Really not good.....
Cyborg looked like he was totally CGI didn't he? And late 90s CGI too. Should have just worn the hoodie throughout the entire film, it hurt watching what is an actor that did a stellar job playing someone that was hurting and at odds with his very being...made into a distraction because the CGI was absolutely horrid.
Beyond that the movie was awful. Well, it was awful in a totally boring kind of way...and this was a superhero movie. They managed to make it boring.
Part of it could be that, like Wonder Woman, it tried to be too dark and serious, but even then Wonder Woman was a hell of a lot more fun...even if they tried to make her film into yet another Batman movie. At least she had her moments.
In Justice League, ONLY she had her moments. Seriously. The Flash, well, he really didn't do anything that wasn't forced, but then Aquaman, he had a moment...but it was forced.
Everything seemed a bit forced. And the big reveal was revealed before hand...so you really didn't even get that wow moment.
All in all, it kind of sucks, really bad. But at least it didn't feel as long as Batman V Superman.
Awesome movie. It's like the marvel series but it's DC's best of the best. Has comedy and action throughout. Easily one of my favorite movies.