Director: Zack Snyder/Joss Whedon
Running Time: 2h 1m
Cast: Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Rey Fisher, Amy Adams, Amber Heard, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Ciaran Hinds
Movie Score: 66%
*[0-50%-red (poor); 50-70%-yellow (average to good, better and promising); 70-90%-green (very good to great); 90-100%-blue (outstanding to perfect and a masterpiece)]
There’s a saying that the first impression is the last impression, but, when it comes to DC, it’s becomes quite a paradox, because its not always the exact same case. Why? Well, most of the early movies of this universe have either been averagely good or poor, which was the situation, before Wonder Woman came. Then the expectations got a lot bigger-a bit beyond too, considering that the next one was the biggest ‘big-screen assembled team’ in the comic-book history-Justice League, the movie!
And now that its out, the big question is-is it something as near to being ‘great’ as Wonder Woman? The clear answer is not that clear though. But yes, it’s a triumph itself, for what it was made. Although, like every other superhero movie, it has its own downfalls too, also being credited for its ‘mandated’ runtime-being cut short.
THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR JUSTICE LEAGUE. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Firstly, the synopsis before going in deep analysis mode.
After Superman’s tragic death, Bruce Wayne (Batman) realizes that the humanity is in great danger and is being threatened by other worldly aliens and demons, and of course a much evil villain, Steppenwolf. And to beat him, and eventually protect the whole humankind, Bruce tries to gather a team of super-humans, namely the Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg, along with Diana (Wonder Woman).
At first thought, one would discard it as a movie without storyline and what not! Yes, its not another Wonder Woman, its not as brilliant from the perspective of a stable plot. But one thing that this movie delivers on, is the ‘Justice League team’. It’s the exact same manner in which they should have come together-with an element of zeal, fun, and action!
And its miles ahead from BvS: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, since its not ‘rotten’, and boring, and bad at all! Yes, that’s really true. It can be said of all other critical reviews out there, but I, personally enjoyed it and was just fascinated by the entire cast and the characters of the ‘team’.
At first, I was seriously skeptical going into the theatres, thinking that what if this one turns out just like Suicide Squad and BvS?…what if?
Guess what, it proved me wrong! When I came out, there was a smile on my face and a feeling that finally I have watched something, called a fun movie to watch-and I was never bored, at all, throughout.
Still, before going in the positive zone, there are some serious issues with it and they need to be clarified. Like, as mentioned above, if you look at it as a movie with a solid storyline, then it gets you for a toss, all due to its very short runtime which never allows you to truly understand what’s happening the next moment-as one scene switches to another.
Also, being directed by two men, firstly and mostly by Zack Snyder and then getting finished by The Avengers’s Joss Whedon, the film actually feels like a fast rollercoaster ride with very little time to get onto each character’s backstory. Especially Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman’s origins, but, because Warner Bros was worried for the long cut of the film, many scenes had to get chopped-off the final theatrical version.
Still, it doesn’t feels like very much necessary to really go deep into the newly introduced characters, since they have their own brief moments where they show a little time from their own lives-which we will surely see in the future flicks and upcoming DC films, from next year.
Then, there is the villain of this film, Steppenwolf (voiced by the great Ciaran Hinds) which, I must admit, is the weakest link in the whole movie because it never felt like it was causing any danger to anyone or anything; let alone the whole humankind. It was a big CGI mess-utterly awful and unpleasing to watch on the big-screen. Had there been a proper actor playing that part, it would have given some strength to the character’s impact.
Moving further, there were some of the action sequences where I felt that the VFX was just appearing like so-so-if not entirely. There comes a moment where during a scene, Henry Cavill aka Superman’s face can be seen having a CGI make-over for removing his moustaches!
Reason being the reshoots for the film which were done after Snyder’s departure in between the shooting schedule. So, when Whedon took over from Snyder, Henry Cavill was having the moustaches (which he has grown for his next year’s Mission Impossible film, starring Tom Cruise).
Enough of the negatives. Now let’s highlight some bright points of Justice League, for which, I admired it, and kind of loved it also.
First, as I said the team. Gosh! This team of superheroes has killed it-in everyway possible. They look fantastic, are badass and leave a shining impression on the mind, in the end. Yes, the story looks weak and fumbling, but the characters make up for that. Coming together as a force to reckon with, they look just one hell of a ‘bonded group’.
Breaking down the characters one by one, if I have to take one standout name from this bunch of DC superheroes, then it would be Ezra Miller’s Flash! He’s nailed it-exceptionally. There is a TV version of this ‘Speed Guy’ already, but Ezra’s portrayal is just outstanding the way he’s showed his comic side which is absolutely delight to watch. The way he cracks each conversation with humorous one liner is pure brilliance.
Then there is the Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, who needs no explanations as she is as always believable and stunning as the Amazonian Princess. Barring some moments she is effective, mostly and at times very emotional too, along with Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne who has tried to leave his over-anguish mode of BvS behind and here he tries to be more improvised-and he is good at that.
There is a very touching, if not over-emotional scene where Diana is having a kind of an argument with Bruce regarding her past life and her former love, Steve Trevor (from Wonder Woman). Watch it for yourself, its really compelling, the way it goes.
Another two members of the league are Rey Fisher’s Victor Stone aka Cyborg and Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry aka Aquaman. I was concerned about these two before I went to see the film. But again, they too, made me feel wrong. Though, both of them got a bit less screen time (you know the short runtime), yet they didn’t disappoint and promise for an even more stellar performances in the future DC flicks.
But hey, there’s one more to this league of heroes. And who could it be than the one who should be? The Superman! Hell, yes!
You know, that’s the Superman I have been waiting for, after Man of Steel and that’s how Henry Cavill’s Clark Kent should have been resurrected from dead, the way he gets to be here, after he gets stabbed by Doomsday in last year’s BvS: Dawn of Justice. I was there in the theatre and trust me, audience’s reaction was epic from the very moment the Man of Steel showed up. For the first time, it felt like the real Superman straightly from the comics!
Oh boy! And that fight within-where he just goes blitzkrieg over his team mates, especially Batman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg-the best scene I have ever seen. It was so entertainingly fun to watch Kal-El going haywire on his own league members! Putting in one word, Henry Cavill was the best thing to have happened to the film. Although, he also gets to share less time as compared to others, but he is so phenomenal and fresh to look at, whether it’s the costume or his super strength.
Since the movie is directed by two directors, I won’t be saying much about the direction because it can’t be said that it was good, but the entire film, specifically in the beginning feels like that many scenes get cut short. And that’s justified courtesy the mandatory order from Warner Bros. to slash the length from a whopping three hours to exactly two hours-and that, including ten minutes of after-credits scenes!
But another thing which the movie gets right, is the score! DC movies generally have a great background music (Man of Steel, BvS and Wonder Woman) and Justice League is no exception. In fact, it’s probably got the best score in recent years, among any superhero movie! Marvel should take a cue from Danny Elfman, who’s composed a hell of an impactful theme. Each superhero gets his/her own entry track and it feels so energetic and catchy.
Overall, I must say that Justice League fulfills the objective for us-bringing the league of our beloved superheroes together. And the negative aspects get overshadowed due to the fact that its so entertaining and real fun to watch (like this month’s early release, Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok). You will definitely love to watch it, twice.
