Movie Review – Justice League

Justice LeagueJustice League Poster

Directed by Zack Snyder

Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, and Jeremy Irons.

Backstory

Here we’ve got the latest chapter in the DC Cinematic Universe.  I like DC, but let’s be honest, their cinematic universe does seem rather slapped together at the last minute.  So rather than Justice League feeling like the triumphant uniting of heroes that it should be, the hype leading up to its release feels more like, “Well, here’s the next one.”  But still, I’m rooting for them.  I mean, who doesn’t like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman?  So, how does the Justice League fare in their big screen outing?

Plot

The world is still mourning the death of Superman.  But Batman still fights the war on crime, trying to get to the bottom of the strange creatures he saw in his dreams in Batman v Superman.  It appears it’s the first wave of an alien invasion, led by Steppenwolf, the minion of Darkseid.  Once Steppenwolf gets his hands on the Mother Boxes, there’ll be no stopping him.  To combat this threat, Batman begins seeking out other heroes:  reuniting with Wonder Woman, seeking out the Flash in Central City, the rumoured Aquaman who helps out coastal communities, and a whispers of a Cyborg from STAR Labs.  They put up a valiant fight, but it’s not enough, so Batman comes up with a desperate ploy to resurrect Superman.  Can they bring back the Man of Steel?  Will this league of heroes be able to take down Steppenwolf and save the world?

What I Liked

The Flash is great.  He’s still very much a rookie, out of his element, and doing his best.  He injects some much needed humour into this.  And speaking of, this film is a lot lighter than Batman v Superman.  It’s nice to see Superman cracking a smile and finally acting like Superman.  Aquaman comes off as cool, too, as they try to make the Wolverine of the group…the badass loner.  But it works.  Loved the music.  Every time Danny Elfman slips in his old Batman theme of John Williams’ Superman theme, it’s like a hug from an old friend.

What I Didn’t Like

Fairly standard villain.  No depth to him whatsoever.  It’s pretty obvious which scenes are the Joss Whedon re-shoots, because the mood suddenly shifts to very light and the characters are much more quippy.

Final Verdict

I like it a lot more than I expected to.  It was really fun seeing these beloved heroes together on the big screen, the plot was just a little too routine.

3 Nibs