I don't think it will be a big shock to anyone who knows me that the DCEU is definitely not one of my favourite cinematic franchises. And in this current day and age where Marvel is releasing movie after movie, already in it's third phase of stories, culminating in the epic that will be Infinity War: Parts 1 and 2, it's hard to deny that at the very least, Marvel has put out films that some would call mediocre or mundane, but I don't think anyone would say a Marvel movie (within the MCU, so excluding the X-Men films, Fantastic Four films, and pre-2017 Spider-Man films) has been straight up terrible.
However, that is the word I would use to describe Suicide Squad though... and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, both of which suffer from unclear character motivations, studio interference that is clear on the screen, and poorly constructed stories. Man of Steel has issues, mostly with the editing, the characterization of Superman, and it's climax, which enough hot takes have been written about if you are unaware. Wonder Woman is currently the crown jewel of the DCEU, and one of the best super hero films of all time, not to mention the first comic book film helmed by a female heroine to be both critically and financially successful.
I feel like there needed to be that context before I jumped into my overall opinion of Justice League, so that you have an idea of where I stand as a person who generally enjoys superhero movies. I do not agree that it is a genre of film that needs to go away, as I think, for the most part, these films are just getting better as we go. Yes, we are getting oversaturated with movies at this point in time, but we are getting more good films than bad, and in a format that is still relatively new in the scope of the history of filmmaking, that being the cinematic universe.
Long story short, I am the perfect audience member for these films, and I would not say I am going in biased against one company or another, as so many fanboys like to whine on the internet. I am willing to praise a movie when I like it, and I will give reasons why I like it or dislike it. It's part of the reason I enjoy writing these reviews so much. When DC makes a good movie, I will shout from the rooftops how amazing I think it is. Wonder Woman is one of my favourite films of this year, and it is in my top 5 for comic book films of all time. Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, overall, is a very strong and iconographic version of Batman, one that most of our modern culture has taken as the original text for how to do Batman well, sometimes to a fault, which I will get to later. Bottom line, while Marvel generally has more films that I like and are willing to follow, DC has potential to tell great stories about great characters, and tell them well.
Which is why I was overall underwhelmed by Justice League. Yes, all that build up, just to say I was somewhat neutral on the film.
Spoilers ahead.
Justice League is the congregation of all of DC's god-like heroes in one super team, ready to save the world at a moments notice. Lead by Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, the team has changed over the years in the comics, but is a symbol of what humans wish they could be; gods among men. The movie was directed by Zack Snyder and co-directed by Joss Whedon. Snyder helmed the last two Superman DCEU films, Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and is the main creative force behind the DCEU, while Joss Whedon is famous for Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and the original superhero team-up movie, Marvel's The Avengers.
The film focuses on the aftermath of Batman v. Superman, where Superman has "died" killing Doomsday, saving Metropolis and Gotham. As the planet grieves his death, there is a new threat that emerges; Steppenwolf, an ancient villain who... wants to take over the world? Well, his intentions aren't made clear, mostly he wants to rule the world and wipe out humans, the usual. Batman decides to form a team with Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, and Cyborg, all meta-humans who are capable of great things, and have each saved mankind at one time or another.... supposedly. Well it's hard to know as we don't have much back story on most of these characters, at least in this cinematic universe.
Regardless, they must band together and overcome their differences - which doesn't take very long - and be the defenders of Earth post-Superman... except he comes back.
Yeah, this film already has issues, and all I did was give a very brief synopsis. But despite those issues, I'm still glad I saw it. Can I say I would recommend this movie to anyone? No, not really. If you think comic book movies need to go away, you probably won't find anything here that will change your mind. But if you enjoy these kinds of films, I can't say I'm mad at it. Sure there are frustrating moments, like poor editing choices, which I was able to work out a better editing sequence in my head as I was watching the film, but I was still excited to see Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Mamoa, Ray Fisher, Ezra Miller, and Henry Cavill - shocker! - actually having FUN! Yes! A DCEU movie that has some fun! They make jokes that are good references for die-hard fans, the characters bounce off each other well and have good chemistry, the story makes enough sense and is actually told in chronological order. It is far better structured than BvS or Man of Steel, where I am not constantly noticing problems because I am engaged enough with what is going on. If a film is able to distract me enough from is flaws that I still have fun, I will forgive the flaws. However, some of the flaws are more glaring than others, which is why I'm neutral.
The reshoots are very clear, based on Henry Cavill's CG upper lip alone, as a mustache he was contractually obligated to keep for another film was covered with CG in reshoots, under Joss Whedon's direction. This was of course after the tragedy that befell Zack Snyder and his family earlier this year, which lead to him stepping away from the project and Joss Whedon to step in to over-see post-production. And as respectful as I am at the reason why he had to step down as director, it is painfully clear what was shot by Whedon, and what was shot by Snyder. This made it almost a guessing game as we watched the film, being able to tell when a scene had the aesthetic of Snyder all over it, like the Amazons, who for some reason traded good armor for leather bikinis between Wonder Woman and this film, fought Steppenwolf, which was littered with Snyder's style over substance approach of visual storytelling, and when Whedon was responsible for a reshoot, like in the scene where Clark and Lois are in Kansas after his resurrection, and you can tell it was redone to add some humanity to the characters.
This film, going into early screenings to get feedback, was around 3 hours long, though the final theatrical cut was about 2 hours. It is clear throughout the film that things were cut to shorten the run time, sometimes at a detriment to the characters and plot. For example, the introduction to Aquaman is not the glorious shot of him saving a shipwrecked seaman, returning him to land, and getting his whiskey before disappearing into the ocean again. It's Bruce Wayne trekking to a small town we don't know, talking to the people of that town and Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman, who he knows IS Aquaman based on the events of BvS in a throw away moment of that film (as does the audience, if they saw the trailers), and asking to speak with him, promptly being attacked, makes a joke, and cuts immediately to them walking outside with Aquaman ultimately declining to join the team. Twenty minutes later is when we get the scene of him saving the seaman, which cut back to back with Steppenwolf taking the Maguffin of the film from Atlantis, and not even introducing prominent Atlantian characters, like Mera, the spouse of Aquaman in the comics.
It's things like this that take me out of film. Had the two scenes been reversed, it would have flowed more naturally and would have been a clear progression of the story. Batman wants to make the team. Who does he want to join the team? This guy from the last movie we saw 10 seconds of. Who is he? BAM! Saves a man from a shipwreck, gets his whiskey, in comes Bruce Wayne asking him to join the team, rejects him, swims back to Atlantis to find Steppenwolf stealing the Maguffin, joins the team now with a purpose of getting the Maguffin back.
That is one edit out two hours of film filled with similar issues.
And yet... I can't get over the triumph of finally seeing all these characters fighting together, cracking jokes together (which the Flash does wonderfully throughout), seeing them argue and banter in tense moments that need to be discussed, to see conflicting ideologies at play, something that was sorely lacking in BvS. And most importantly, having them represent something greater than ourselves. These are the heroes I was waiting to see from the DCEU. I want to follow these characters, and I want to see where they go from here. But it needs to be done with better thought as to who their antagonist is, as Steppenwolf is replaceable with almost any generic villain you can think of, and better care for the overall cohesion of the universe they are building.
I understand they are basing a lot of this universe off the aesthetic and tone that was established in Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, but not all characters do well with the dower and grim tone that Batman can command so easily. Superman is not a character I think of when I think tragic and brooding. It's not to say he can't have storylines from time to time that are tragic, and can't brood, but this is Superman, the beacon of hope, the son of Krypton, the man who wore red underpants over his blue spandex suit with a giant "S" on his chest! It's fine to want to have a more serious tone in your movies, but depressed and moody doesn't make your film serious and grounded, it just means that your asking an audience to have a lowered suspension of disbelief for an already ridiculous premise. Because let's face it, ALL superhero films are a ridiculous premise in one way for another, and especially if you're Thor: Ragnarok. Embrace just a little of the fun and whimsy of it to let the audience know you don't take yourself too seriously.
In broad filmmaking areas, the CG and overall aesthetic of the film is comparable to Wonder Woman; video game like, but stylish enough that I don't hate it. The music was composed by Danny Elfman , and it was nostalgic to hear that familiar 1989 Batman theme pop up, along with the great use of the original Superman theme during a twisted moment of the film. It set a great tone to the film. The action and choreography is fun and exciting. The actors are all very good in their roles, blending seamlessly into their characters, which is one thing I will give credit; I finally believed Henry Cavill was Superman! Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, I already loved them. But Cavill needed to step up into the Superman we wanted to see come back to life, and boy was it refreshing to see a Superman that smiles, makes jokes, and is in good spirits, instead of the downer we got for the last two films. Characters, like Cyborg, could have used more development, as he is a crucial part of the film's climax, but little specifics are given about him. J.K. Simmons is wasted as Commissioner Gordon, with a total time of about 3 minutes in the movie, though granted, most of his scenes probably ended up on the cutting room floor. Diane Lane as "MARTHAAAA" Kent is fine for the brief time she's in it, and Amy Adams as Lois Lane is on par with her last two performances as the character.
Minor side rant: It was aggravating to see Lois Lane so hung up on a guy, even if it's Superman. Yes, I know, he died, she's grieving. But in the timeline of this movie, it's been a few months since he died. I always saw Lois Lane as the kind of woman who would throw herself into her work to distract herself from the grief she was feeling. She's a career woman, and I had career women surrounding me growing up, where work was used as the excuse to not deal with the traumas of life and the emotions that come with it. There was too much work to do, no time for emotions. And I thought it would have been a great build up to have her trying to shut out anything that reminded her of Clark, potentially even the real Clark after his resurrection, so as to not have to finally admit that he was dead. But nope! She gets brought in literally right after he's resurrected, snaps him back to reality, then they fly off to Kansas for a day. Such a good and wasted opportunity to have some character growth and development there, especially for a woman as independent as Lois friggin' Lane!
Onto a big "spoiler". I genuinely believe that Superman was always planned to come back in this film. Always. Even when BvS was in production, it was planned that way so he could have a triumphant return and lead the Justice League. But how and when it would happen in this film I think was huge part of the reshoots. His resurrection happens about 20 minutes before the climax of the film, and it's done with the Maguffin Steppwolf is after, a box that can bring the dead back to life, to which the team debates whether or not they should even bring Superman back to life. A great philosophical debate! Diana and Bruce get into it on opposing sides of the argument, and it's great to see that interaction. They bring him back, he doesn't know who he is at first, as you would assume it might be confusing to be brought back from the dead. But then Batman brings Lois in and he flies away with her to recover his identity in Kansas, seemingly abandoning the team when they needed him most.... He comes back to fight Steppenwolf with the others, not a shock. Ultimately, I have to think this version of Superman's resurrection, while a Deus Ex Machina from a story stand point, is probably far better than the version that was originally planned. Though it is contrived, I am satisfied with the conflict it brings up between the characters and it does give some level of tension in a film that was fairly predictable.
Overall, I can't say I'm upset I saw the movie. I had fun with characters who, for the most part, had been stick-in-the-mud's and needed a serious boost of levity. I was entertained by these characters, and while I have my gripes with editing, pacing, a weak plot and villain, and ethical issues with how some of the women were portrayed in the film in comparison to their previous films (ass shots of Wonder Woman namely), I can't say it isn't a fun time if you don't think about it too hard.
Final Score: 4.5/10
I would recommend this film to fans of the Justice League animated series and people who liked Wonder Woman, though if you liked Man of Steel or Batman v. Superman, you might not enjoy this. There are a lot of plot elements that lift from previous films, so it would be a good idea to go in with some knowledge of Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman, and Wonder Woman. Suicide Squad is not recommended... ever. It has no impact here, so just don't watch it... If anything, burn it if you get the chance.