After the critical and financial success of this years Wonder Woman, it was hard not to get excited for the assembly of the world's finest superheroes in Justice League. Despite director Zack Snyder's less than stellar track record in the DCEU, (with Man of Steel receiving mixed reviews and Batman v Superman becoming a meme) hopes were still high that both he and the studio would learn from past mistakes and apply that knowledge while making Justice League. Well, the powers that be have definitely heard the criticisms of Batman v Superman and worked on them, but at times this may not be the best thing..
With Superman (Henry Cavill) dead, the world has been consumed by fear and Earth is practically defenseless. This allows the evil Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) and his parademons to invade the planet in search of three mysterious items known as 'mother boxes' which he intends to use to take over the world. This leaves Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) to unite a team of super powered beings in order to stop the powerful alien. The team consists of Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), The Flash (Ezra Miller) who has the power of super speed, the gruff Atlantean, Aquaman (Jason Momoa), and the half-robot, Cyborg (Ray Fisher). They must put aside their respective differences in order to save the world from the forces of Steppenwolf.
The film certainly feels a bit tighter than Batman v Superman, despite Joss Whedon finishing off production after Snyder's departure due to his daughter's unfortunate suicide. One of the criticisms of last years superhero showdown was that the plot was messy, and in Justice League things are much more simpler, in fact, maybe too simple. The story is pretty straightforward, stop Steppenwolf from combining the three mother boxes, and we are constantly reminded of the teams goals through exposition. Not to the extreme lengths that The Mummy took earlier this year, but enough to provoke a 'right we get it' from its audience. It's not the insult to intelligence that Suicide Squad was, but at times it does get a bit carried away with explaining itself. The plot is fine by the way, it's not awful, but it's not spectacular either, it's just fine.
Another way in which this film tries to mend the sins of the past is by adding more humor to the plot. Now I didn't mind the darker tone of the previous films so much, I thought Superman could have been a bit more lively, but apart from that I didn't see it as a problem. Justice League does attempt to add humor to the plot, and there are times when you can feel that Whedonesque influence mirroring The Avengers. However, it tries really hard to lighten things up that it times it feels like too much. Even Batman has a couple of one-liners every now and again that wouldn't have felt out of place coming from George Clooney's mouth. Normally I would applaud a film for tackling the criticisms of its predecessor, and it's admirable to see Justice League doing so, but it does it to such extreme levels that it's almost just as bad. In a way it tries to set itself as the polar opposite to Batman vs Superman, when it should have upped the humor and simplified the plot to a smaller extent.
One thing the film does get right is its protagonists, and I'm delighted to report that the titular League are fantastic onscreen together. Each respective character feels unique and faces their own individual arcs throughout the film, and it's especially refreshing to see the newcomers to the franchise leave such a positive impact. As well as that, the characters share a strong onscreen chemistry that helps us to invest ourselves in the team. Gal Gadot brings her signature charm to the role of Wonder Woman, adding another layer of depth to the character by delving into some of the reasons why she spent so many years in hiding. Ezra Miller is hilarious as The Flash, acting as the teams main comic relief, while Jason Momoa finally does some justice to the character of Aquaman, who becomes one of the best team members in this film. Ray Fisher is also wonderful as Cyborg, emphasising the characters inner turmoil and bringing a sense of heart to the half-man, half-machine. Surprisingly, Batfleck was my least favourite team member which was such a disappointment considering how much I loved him in his last outing. I'm not sure if it was his dialogue or Affleck's performance, but if the rumors are true that he's losing interest in the role then it definitely translates onscreen. Henry Cavill does appear, I won't say how or for how long, but it's safe to say that he has finally become the Superman we all know and love, which really made up for the disappointing performance from Affleck.
Unfortunately, the villain of the piece is just another derivative CGI baddie with no real personality or development. I feel like Ciarán Hinds' talents are really wasted in the role as he spouts out clichéd dialogue from behind the guise of motion capture. Some of the CGI is surprisingly really bad, from the villain himself to blatant green-screen backgrounds, the visuals really let the film down. I'm used to Snyder's stylised ways at this stage and usually know what I'm in for with his films, but the CGI in Justice League is bad even by his standards. I will praise Snyder's direction in some respects however, he crafts some really good action sequences in the film, and I'm a big fan of how he handled the Flashes sequences in particular. As for Wheadon's input, his decision to use Danny Elfman as composer was an excellent one. The score feels a lot more consistent than Batman v Superman's, and the addition of snippets from his original Batman theme, and the original Superman theme was a fantastic treat for fans.
Overall, Justice League is a bit of a mixed bag. It certainly improves upon last years entries to the DCEU, but it's nowhere near as great as Wonder Woman was. It's over-simplified plot, dodgy CGI, and a script that is a little questionable at times really bring down the film where it should be soaring. The League itself is great and seeing these characters fight side-by-side onscreen was a dream come true, but I feel like the film as a whole doesn't do the League much justice. It doesn't feel spectacular, it doesn't feel awful either, it just feels average, and average shouldn't cut it for a Justice League film. I hate to be so critical towards a film that really tries to fix the past mistakes of its franchise, but in a way it tries a bit too hard and that doesn't always work in its favour. It's fun, without a doubt, but its thin plot and poor visuals prevent it from being anything more than that. Still, conversely to how Marvel's solo movies got us hyped for the subsequent team up that was The Avengers, Justice League will leave you wanting more from these protagonists in their future solo outings.
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