Justice League (2017 Film) Review
Justice League is finally here and is directed by Zack Snyder, the same man behind previous DCEU entries, Batman v Superman and Man of Steel. Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot return as Batman and Wonder Woman respectively. As you can see from the poster, I have no problem telling you that Henry Cavill returns as Superman. Making their debut alongside them, Ezra Miller stars as Barry Allen/The Flash, Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman, and Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/Cyborg. The big bad, Steppenwolf, is voiced by Ciarán Hinds and he acts out the role by way of motion capture.
In the past, I've heard that some parents found the previous DCEU films too mature for their kids, so allow me to share that Justice League is very different from the DCEU films that have come before. While there's the typical violence found in any comic book movie, it's bloodless and is not grotesque like in BvS or MoS. This is a lighter and more family-friendly DC film. You can definitely take the whole family, but if you want the specifics on what exactly is in it, check out the Kids-In-Mind article.
As someone that's loved three out of four of the previous DCEU movies, I was jazzed about seeing Justice League. Despite Wonder Woman's success, I guessed that it would get marred in some way from critics and that it would get a "rotten" score from Rotten Tomatoes. I was anticipating that, like Batman v Superman, I'd love it despite the consensus of other critics. Now that I've seen Justice League, I find myself divided with this film. There are both great moments and not-so-good moments as well. The two hour mandate set by Warner Bros does not help this film in the slightest. It not only means that certain scenes are missing in the cut presented, but everything feels rushed towards the climax without time for a breath.
Too Many Characters
It's because of that short runtime that causes problems for the rest of the movie. The secondary and third-tier characters in this movie are the most affected by this runtime. They are either shortchanged or take up valuable screen time that could have been used for the team and the villain. Lois, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, or the parents of Diana, Clark, Barry, and Cyborg are all characters that have their own problems from being included in this movie.
In Lois's case, while I have mentioned before the slight creepiness that is Amy Adams and Henry Cavill's romance with each other in these films, that is not Lois's main problem here. Still, the nine-year age difference between the two actors does make any romantic advancements by either Lois or Clark bizarre. From Amy Adam's acting, it is also continues to be so forced, rather than organic, and since that's the case, any time that is dedicated to the subject, makes it feel like a waste of time. I had no problem with her inclusion in this film, but she had more time in it than needed. What's worse is that Amy Adams doesn't use that time to the fullest. It's just her either grieving over Clark by herself or with Martha, Clark's mom. She could've had a better role in this film than what was shown.
I love Jeremy Irons and J. K. Simmons and it's unfortunate that they are shortchanged so much. Simmons more so than Irons. This was our first introduction to this universe's interpretation of Commissioner Gordon and Simmons gets about ninety seconds, at the most, of time to give an idea of what he'll be like. That's not enough time to judge his role and from the look of him alone, he feels like J. K. Simmons cosplaying as Gordon. He wasn't needed in this movie. In BvS, Irons made a great impression as an Alfred that was more than just a butler. While he fares a bit better in the screen time department, even with that minor edge, Irons's Alfred starts to feel too much like Bruce's version of J.A.R.V.I.S. Alfred's always feeding information to Bruce/Batman and not doing much more than that, so the comparison is more accurate than you think.
Connie Nielsen and Diane Lane return as Diana's mother, Hippolyta and Clark's mother, Martha. As with their sons, Billy Crudup and Joe Morton debut as Barry's father, Henry and Victor's father, Miles Dyson. What do you know? It turns out Dyson turned his son into a terminator using the technology left behind from Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800 and the Mother Box. What are the odds? Does that mean Billy Crudup is actually John Musgrave who is actually in prison for betraying the IMF? Oh wait, he got killed by Ethan. Darn it. Maybe his son in the movie, Barry Allen, is Credence Barebone reincarnated. After being "killed" by MACUSA, he accessed the Speed Force and got super speed. That's enough of the crazy linking. Joe Mortan's character in this movie is actually named Silas Stone. The point is: the parents in this movie are almost nonexistent and the bulk of them are absolutely inconsequential to the story. I felt that Martha, Henry, and Silas had their moments. They may not have gotten a lot, but they were entertaining while they had the time. There's not much to say about them, including Hippolyta. I'll be talking about the Amazons when I reach Diana, but for Hippolyta herself, her role is so small, you could call it a slightly long cameo.
Zack Snyder/Joss Whedon
This past May, Zack Snyder left Justice League during its post-production, due to a tragedy that happened within his family. As a result, Joss Whedon, of Marvel Cinematic Universe fame, stepped up to the plate to finish what Snyder started. He reshot, reorganized, and changed a few things before the film was released.
It's been a huge point of discussion on reviewing this film, if Whedon's changes helped what Snyder did before he left, or if it feels like an entirely different movie due to the different backgrounds of the two filmmakers.
To me, the mixture feels a bit choppy. The tone is lighter than previous DCEU films and has more humor to it. I could tell that Whedon likely added some of that humor, but I'm not sure if he was entirely responsible for that. There's a lot more color added to this world and while the tone and color pallet is lighter, Justice League still retains some of Snyder's signature styles of filmmaking. The opening credits scene, for instance, certainly came from Snyder and I would be surprised if that wasn't Snyder's idea. On a side note, that scene was well made. There's also some unfortunate inclusions that you could tell were from Snyder, but what's worse is that Whedon decided to add to that. Both men do not have the best record with female characters and the female characters in this movie continue the record unfortunately.
Because of Joss Whedon's inclusion and background with the MCU, Justice League feels like an Avengers movie. There's even some story strategies from the first Avengers movie in particular, that Justice League does as well. While Joss Whedon did add some rather entertaining moments to the movie, I was disappointed that he would repeat some of his previous works by putting them in Justice League.
Barry Allen/The Flash
I almost think that it is a tie, but Barry Allen, also known as the Flash, was my favorite character in this movie. I expected to like the character from the trailers alone, but Ezra Miller turned out to be outstanding as the Flash.
He, along with Aquaman and Cyborg, may have faced the same problem of not having a solo movie before the big team film, but the Flash was the one to not get weighed down with that issue. To be fair, I was more familiar about the Flash, than I was about Aquaman and Cyborg. Where Barry surpasses them, is that his backstory is the easiest to understand.
I haven't seen any of the other versions of the Flash before Justice League, so while I may not be able to call Miller my favorite version of the character, I can definitely call him the scene-stealer of this movie. There is something about Miller's performance and personality as the character, that immediately gets you invested.
It helps that he's the funniest character in the movie. Aquaman and Batman may have their fair share of laughs, but the Flash absolutely runs away with the humor. Every joke he uttered, I laughed at. With other characters to play off of, he's able to banter and make jokes with them and Miller looks like he's having a great time doing so. It's a never-ending stream of laugh after laugh with Barry. Miller's Flash is basically the guy to make the audience laugh, not to mention awe at his power set.
I have read some Flash comic books and there, his lightning streak is yellow. Unlike the source material, it is changed to blue and I got used to it as soon as I first saw it in action. The blue fits the rest of the color palette. I believe that if Snyder, Whedon, and the rest of the filmmakers went with yellow, it would have felt out of place with the rest of the environment. For an introduction, Barry's power sets couldn't have been displayed better. Nothing about it was off, not even his running, which I hear a few people complaining about. I didn't think that it was an issue.
The more I think about it, the more I believe that Ezra Miller was perfectly cast as the character. So good, in fact, that with his first few seconds alone, Miller embodied the character immediately. Talk about a great actor for the proper role.
He, along with Aquaman and Cyborg, may have faced the same problem of not having a solo movie before the big team film, but the Flash was the one to not get weighed down with that issue. To be fair, I was more familiar about the Flash, than I was about Aquaman and Cyborg. Where Barry surpasses them, is that his backstory is the easiest to understand.
I haven't seen any of the other versions of the Flash before Justice League, so while I may not be able to call Miller my favorite version of the character, I can definitely call him the scene-stealer of this movie. There is something about Miller's performance and personality as the character, that immediately gets you invested.
It helps that he's the funniest character in the movie. Aquaman and Batman may have their fair share of laughs, but the Flash absolutely runs away with the humor. Every joke he uttered, I laughed at. With other characters to play off of, he's able to banter and make jokes with them and Miller looks like he's having a great time doing so. It's a never-ending stream of laugh after laugh with Barry. Miller's Flash is basically the guy to make the audience laugh, not to mention awe at his power set.
I have read some Flash comic books and there, his lightning streak is yellow. Unlike the source material, it is changed to blue and I got used to it as soon as I first saw it in action. The blue fits the rest of the color palette. I believe that if Snyder, Whedon, and the rest of the filmmakers went with yellow, it would have felt out of place with the rest of the environment. For an introduction, Barry's power sets couldn't have been displayed better. Nothing about it was off, not even his running, which I hear a few people complaining about. I didn't think that it was an issue.
The more I think about it, the more I believe that Ezra Miller was perfectly cast as the character. So good, in fact, that with his first few seconds alone, Miller embodied the character immediately. Talk about a great actor for the proper role.
Victor Stone/Cyborg
Since there was a lot to choose from, I expected Cyborg to be my least favorite of the six heroes in the movie. From the trailers, although it felt somehow appropriate, Ray Fisher seemed entirely robotic. I know that he's playing a man who's half robot, but I find anything about the guy that was grabbing my attention. I still had that feeling as Cyborg did nothing but brood during his first few scenes.
Once he really became a part of the team, Victor became a more interesting character. There was a lot more displayed by him, both in personality traits and an interesting history. His amount of humanity often became a point of discussion multiple times. Though that's the case, it is not explained clearly how much of the human side he has. Judging by looks, I'd say Cyborg was entirely a robot with half of a human's face. It's a minor plot point that there's a robot consciousness inside Cyborg, that's devoid of any humanity, trying to take over the more human side of Victor, but that plot point is resolved as quick as it is introduced.
Fisher has great interactions with the other actors/heroes. Particularly Ezra Miller, as it's highlighted that the two share a special connection because of the two's similar history. Not just that, but they banter with one another and Barry's upbeat and nerd-like attitude gels well with Victor's standoffish personality. There are a lot of ideas with Cyborg, that are used to its fullest.
In order to truly be brought to life, Cyborg heavily relies on CGI and the quality of CGI used for the character is incredible. Ray Fisher portrays the role via motion capture. The VFX are entirely convincing with the character's body. It's beautifully rendered and very detailed for a robot. The little amounts of color do a lot for the design and fit well into the world.
While he may not have been my favorite, Cyborg was better than I initially thought him to be.
While he may not have been my favorite, Cyborg was better than I initially thought him to be.
Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman
This is not a spoiler. Though he has not been featured in the trailers in person, all of the posters and taglines have not hidden the fact that Superman is in this movie. Only recently, after the film's release, has he gotten his due in the posters.
I've always enjoyed Henry Cavil's version as Clark Kent/Superman. Cavil has been impeccable with his overlooked and inter-connected arch started with Man of Steel, continued with Batman v Superman, and now ends with Justice League. Though he was brooding too much in his last appearance, that has not affected my enjoyment of the character. Having mentioned that, the bright and happy side of the character is something that has been missing from Superman since Christopher Reeve's last performance in the role. That all changes with Justice League.
Now that he has finally completed the already-mentioned storyline from MoS to Justice League, Henry Cavill is able to be more of that charismatic symbol of hope that has been the character's purpose from day one. He also has an opportunity to be funny. He has shares so many great and truly hilarious moments with Flash, Batman, and Cyborg. It had no idea that I missed it, until I saw Justice League. With that personality trait returned, so does the color.
The blue on the Superman suit pops. In his previous appearances, the suit always looked like it was put through a darker filter. Now, that filter is removed and we have that bright and iconic color scheme from previous incarnations of the character. It mixes well with the rest of the look and feel of the film. Justice League is also proves that this Superman has all of his abilities. Since his beginning in Man of Steel, this Superman was shown to have retained all of his trademark abilities, all but one. The character's ability to freeze anything with his breath has been as important as his laser vision, yet the former seemed to have been withheld from this version thus far. Who knows why that has been the case, but that mistake has been rectified with Justice League and it was great to see that ability finally used. Come to think of it, that ability would've come in handy way before this film, especially in BvS.
Since the reshoots of the film coincided with Cavill's shooting in the upcoming Mission Impossible 6, for which he had to grow a mustache for, the VFX team for Justice League had to digitally remove it. I have heard and seen some people say that it was apparent to them, that his upper lip was bizarre-looking. I, on the other hand, believe that it was not and even if you did know about this going in, you would probably think the same thing. It was convincing that it was Cavill's actual face.
As much as I have enjoyed him in his past two appearances, Henry Cavill's Superman was appropriately done justice in Justice League.
Bruce Wayne/Batman
It's odd that I find myself not loving Batman in this movie as much as I was expecting to. In Batman v Superman, he was the best part of it. He had a great storyline and arch and Ben Affleck knocked the three sides of the popular character out of the park. With that great debut, I had high hopes that Batman would continue to be a standout with the new members coming into focus.
I was wrong. Ben Affleck is alright as Bruce Wayne and Batman here, but his quality from BvS decreased significantly. BvS had very little jokes and since Justice League has many, Batman, unfortunately, is the punchline of many.
Batman went from a murderous, brooding detective who could stand toe-to-toe with Superman, to a careless, bumbling punchline who's made fun of in most scenes. Sure, the jokes were funny when they did it once or twice, but doing it more and more was excessive. As a Batman fan, I did not like that the filmmakers highlighted him as being an useless member of the team. The team members even have to comment on it, for it to be evident. For instance, during the final battle, Batman starts out flying a jet. Two minutes later, the jet is destroyed, so he gets into his batmobile and after another two minutes, that gets destroyed. It did nothing but show the character's incompetence in these situations. I understand that Bruce's never been in an alien invasion, but as a master at strategy, it seemed unrealistic that Batman would be that easy of a target.
Ben Affleck's constantly being asked about Batman nowadays. People ask him how long he'll be in the role and there are even news articles about the matter. It's clear that from all the pressure, Affleck's reshot scenes make the actor look exhausted and bored. I often found him to not be putting in the effort and it was sad. That translates to some of the jokes that Bruce/Batman make in the movie. Batman's attempts at humor feel out of character, considering the type of joke he's trying to make work.
He shared great scenes with his piers, but that was Ben Affleck's only accomplishment as Batman in this appearance. I hope that this isn't Affleck's last turn as the character. The man should have another shot to get back to his initial highs.
Diana Prince/Wonder Woman
While I didn't have that high of hopes for the overall movie, I had high hopes for Wonder Woman's inclusion in Justice League. Her solo movie found great success this past summer and since she replaced Batman as my favorite DC superhero, I was hoping that her appearance here would elevate my enjoyment of the film, not to mention the character.
Perhaps it was a product of me having so high of expectations, but I was disappointed in the portrayal of Wonder Woman in Justice League. Gal Gadot remains great in the role, however she's not given anything to do.
With the new power set that was introduced and displayed at the end of her movie, I was looking forward to seeing those skills fully developed and in action, yet Wonder Woman resorts to using her sword, gauntlets, and lasso for her offensive fighting techniques. It gets old after she does it in her first few action sequences. Luckily, she still has that great theme to accompany her and it increased my enjoyment of her character-driven action scenes. The CGI surrounding the powers she does exhibit are as good as they were in her movie. I just wish she exhibited more of things we hadn't already seen.
I had watched her solo movie right before I went to see Justice League and that helped me notice some things that I would not have realized without. It seems that in Justice League, there are a few shots that linger on the character's looks than needed. Beyond just Wonder Woman, the Amazon's costumes are significantly different from the Wonder Woman movie. Here, the Amazons are wearing midriffs and showing off their abs. It was annoying to say the least. It's plain bad that while the male members of this movie are fully covered with their costumes, all the female characters are wearing revealing clothing and that disappointed me. To add salt to the wound, the Amazons get defeated super easy once again. You would have thought that with the passage of time, the Amazons would update their weaponry quality. Apparently not.
She wasn't entirely disappointing. She had her moments, but as she is my favorite DC superhero, I expected a better portrayal of Wonder Woman.
Arthur Curry/Aquaman
For the first half of Aquaman's screen time, I was entertained by him instantly. Jason Momoa nailed it. I loved that he changed his looked from the comics. The bright blonde hair would not have worked with the rest of the film's color palette.
Even though his history was a bit muddled, that didn't detract from Momoa's ability to entertain. He had some genuinely funny moments and his banter with Batman made me laugh out loud on multiple occasions. Everything was going great for the guy, until it just got old.
What do you say about the guy who had a lot going for him in the first half, yet had nothing to offer in the end It's often a saying that you couldn't have too much of a good thing. When it comes to Aquaman in this movie, the saying is exactly the opposite.
It wasn't until the second half that Aquaman's surfer dude attitude got old. Momoa was too loose and needed to be reigned in more, yet he continued doing the same thing. I got bored of it and I lost the feeling of fun that the character had provided me earlier. I know that some of you guys wouldn't call that a fair criticism, but that was not my only issue with Aquaman.
When it came to saving the world, Aquaman seemed to be there, only to serve as an extra set of hands. Nothing more than that. What is the purpose of having a person who has unique abilities involving water, when you don't let him do anything with those skills? Aquaman has such an interesting collection of powers and it's puzzling why we only get to see him use those abilities only once, especially since this is the first time the character's appeared in the live-action films. He has one moment in the water and the rest of Aquaman's action sequences involves him punching Parademons and stabbing them with his "trident."
It was simply a fine introduction to the character, but Aquaman was not great, as I was hoping him to be.
Even though his history was a bit muddled, that didn't detract from Momoa's ability to entertain. He had some genuinely funny moments and his banter with Batman made me laugh out loud on multiple occasions. Everything was going great for the guy, until it just got old.
What do you say about the guy who had a lot going for him in the first half, yet had nothing to offer in the end It's often a saying that you couldn't have too much of a good thing. When it comes to Aquaman in this movie, the saying is exactly the opposite.
It wasn't until the second half that Aquaman's surfer dude attitude got old. Momoa was too loose and needed to be reigned in more, yet he continued doing the same thing. I got bored of it and I lost the feeling of fun that the character had provided me earlier. I know that some of you guys wouldn't call that a fair criticism, but that was not my only issue with Aquaman.
When it came to saving the world, Aquaman seemed to be there, only to serve as an extra set of hands. Nothing more than that. What is the purpose of having a person who has unique abilities involving water, when you don't let him do anything with those skills? Aquaman has such an interesting collection of powers and it's puzzling why we only get to see him use those abilities only once, especially since this is the first time the character's appeared in the live-action films. He has one moment in the water and the rest of Aquaman's action sequences involves him punching Parademons and stabbing them with his "trident."
It was simply a fine introduction to the character, but Aquaman was not great, as I was hoping him to be.
Steppenwolf
I'm finding myself agreeing with everyone else that Steppenwolf is a bad antagonist. Even though the three hadn't served a big part in anything prior, The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg's backstory wasn't too confusing to understand. They seem very easy to grasp, when you compare them to the black hole that is Steppenwolf. He was the new guy that I did not have any clue as to who he was and where he came from. They try to give him a brief backstory, but that did not work for the guy. They tried, but it was clear that wherever Steppenwolf came from, a simple crash course to educate me on him, was not the appropriate way to give an explanation.
Like some of the villains in the MCU, Steppenwolf is a weak villain. I don't think that anyone would disagree with me. He's the basic bad guy you see in these films nowadays. A villain wants to destroy the world for no reason at all. Steppenwolf wants to do it, because it is apparently his right to rule Earth, but that did not make any sense. I had a difficult time believing that the heroes were ever in any danger, since Steppenwolf was such a bad villain with the weak CGI to prove it.
Ciarán Hinds plays the role using motion capture and while the character's movements are on point, I was not a fan of his look. Similar to the Beast in Disney's recent remake of Beauty and the Beast, I'm puzzled why they did not try a more practical approach. His look in the comics seemed more down-to-earth. There's no need to make him look like an alien that looks like he's still rendering in the computer. To sum up, the villain was bad and Ciarán Hinds did not sound like he was putting in any effort.
Like some of the villains in the MCU, Steppenwolf is a weak villain. I don't think that anyone would disagree with me. He's the basic bad guy you see in these films nowadays. A villain wants to destroy the world for no reason at all. Steppenwolf wants to do it, because it is apparently his right to rule Earth, but that did not make any sense. I had a difficult time believing that the heroes were ever in any danger, since Steppenwolf was such a bad villain with the weak CGI to prove it.
Ciarán Hinds plays the role using motion capture and while the character's movements are on point, I was not a fan of his look. Similar to the Beast in Disney's recent remake of Beauty and the Beast, I'm puzzled why they did not try a more practical approach. His look in the comics seemed more down-to-earth. There's no need to make him look like an alien that looks like he's still rendering in the computer. To sum up, the villain was bad and Ciarán Hinds did not sound like he was putting in any effort.
Score
Even with all the film's faults, I believe that they are not as bad as the score. The score is by far the worst thing about this movie. Not only is it a generic score, but it is a waste of Danny Elfman's talents. It seems that Elfman mixed together a hodgepodge of his previous works with themes done by other composers as well. Elfman's own theme for Batman returned for this score and it did not fit when it played during some of Ben Affleck's Batman hero moments. It felt that its inclusion was to add some sort of nostalgia, but it felt out of place. That's not the only superhero theme that makes a return. John Williams's iconic theme for Superman also returned and is also out of place. It's puzzling that while Wonder Woman's theme returned, Hans Zimmer's themes for Superman and Batman didn't. I loved those themes, yet they are left behind, likely never to be used again.
One would think that having Danny Elfman composing the score for Justice League would be one of the feather's in its cap. After all, the man did compose the best soundtrack for Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's trilogy and Tim Burton's two Batman movies, so what could go wrong? Looks like everything did for this department. I actually liked the songs in this movie better. Sigrid's Everybody Knows was perfect for the opening credits scene. The White Stripes's Icky Thump fit the material more than I had anticipated. Gary Clark Jr. and Junkie XL's version of Come Together made for a great song to play in the ending credits.
Grade: C+
I had a hard time deciding what I was going to grade this film. I knew that Justice League had its problems, but I left the theater so glad at what I just witnessed. A C+ seems fair. Justice League is not one of the best films of the year, yet I still recommend it as it is a great time at the theater. If you have seen the previous DCEU films, you should definitely see this. In fact, you probably have already. If you haven't, go see it. Just make sure you see Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Wonder Woman first, if you haven't already. Even if you have, a small marathon would be good for the experience. You don't need to see it in 3D in order to have a great time. It is not necessary. Make sure to stay for the two end credits scenes, especially the first one. Overall, I'm amazed that Warner Brothers didn't learn from Suicide Squad that they get in their own way with putting limits on a director's vision for a film. Justice League is not even close to being as bad as Suicide Squad, but the fact remains. Warner Brothers should stop doing that to the people they choose to make these movies.
Conclusion
And so ends my review of Justice League. If you have seen the film, what did you think of my assessment of the movie? Do you agree with my view of the superhero team-up, or would you rate the film lower or higher than I did? Tell me, what movie would you like me to review next? Share those thoughts in the comments below as well as this review with your friends and family. Thanks for reading, I'm the Film Fanatic, bye-bye.
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