Justice League

Score:  C+

Directed by Zack Snyder
Starring Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Henry Cavill, et. al.
Running time: 120 minutes
Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  After a few "setup" films in the way of Marvel's Avengers universe, DC has its own mega hero bash now in Justice League.  Forced to severely alter its antecedents' darker tone after critical thrashings, the film ends up being a bit of a mess of elements, albeit an entertaining one.  Gadot's returning Wonder Woman and Miller's new Flash give it a lift, but the structure is all too familiar without providing anything distinctive of note to the genre (or even DC's own universe).  Pass on this in favor of Thor, unless you're a superhero junkie like me.


The death of Superman (Cavill) has brought fear and despair to a world that had just begun to embrace him as a protector of Earth.  This environment lures new evil to the world, while humanity's other heroes remain isolated.  Bruce Wayne (Affleck) investigates increasing sightings of winged aliens in Gotham, and begins to connect them to the broader societal turmoil.  Realizing that the city - and the world - faces a threat larger in scope than he alone can handle, he pleads with Diana Prince (Gadot) for help.  The two seek out others with the ability to join them, but struggle to form a united front among individuals used to standing on their own.  Time is short, however, as a powerful being known as Steppenwolf storms across the globe in attempting to revive an ancient doomsday device.

Justice League returns many of the characters/actors that have accumulated in the DC superhero universe recently, and introduces a few more.  Leading the way is Ben Affleck as Batman.  Although Affleck proved himself worthy of the cape and cowl in last year's Batman v Superman, the character is a bit swallowed up here both by the larger cast and the more fantastical tone; he seems kind of out of place.  Not helping matters is Affleck's own more generic performance, relying more on cliches and seeming on cruise control.  Gal Gadot, however, steps up to the plate in fully reinhabiting her Diana Prince-aka Wonder Woman-role.  The film also introduces an intriguing developmental arc for her, though it is unfortunately not fully realized.  Ezra Miller as the Flash is the most interesting and entertaining newcomer, filling a stereotypical nerdy, Spider-Man-y role, and the character is both refreshing and the source of most of the film's humor.  Jason Mamoa and Ray Risher's Aquaman and Cyborg, respectively, are both fine but also offer underexplained, bewildering back story (Cyborg) and generic muscle attached to the bad boy archetype (Aquaman).

Justice League is DC's film studio answer to Marvel's Avengers, and while it is entertaining and possessing of potential for the inevitable follow-ups, overall it is a far cry from its rival's finely polished craft.  DC's previous Batman v Superman was eviscerated by critics (unfairly, IMO-more on this later) for its stylish but dark, brooding tone.  Clearly, the studio got the message and so while it retains much of the visual style (via the same director, Zack Snyder), it tries to be a lot more "fun", mostly through humor and an Avengers-like team dynamic.  A good bit of the comedy does work as does the lighter touch (at least partly), but overall it comes off as an incomplete facelift, an attempt to radically shift gears that results in a fairly generic blockbuster feel as opposed to Marvel's distinctive and effective equivalent.  Not helping matters is a pretty familiar plot structure.  The team building is familiar, of course, but greatly accelerated; much time is spent on it, but because we still know so little about three of the new characters, the unifying process feels unearned and obligatory.  The villain is a pretty generic baddie who, as is often the case in weaker superhero films, seems practically unstoppable at the beginning but gets trounced at the end.  Speaking of the action, there is plenty of it, of course, and Snyder's direction makes most of it at least interesting.  But there is a lot of CGI - way too much, in the climactic battle - and there are no truly great sets.  Throwing a diverse group of heroes into one movie generates a strong pull to make it all generic, a pull that Justice League succumbs to often.

***

Justice League features some of the biggest superheroes in pop culture in one movie, yet, while it isn't a bad film, it ends up feeling relatively insignificant.  For me, it comes back to the tone created not just in one film, but in the whole series of films that the comic book juggernauts are producing.  Marvel hit on something special with Iron Man, and it built on this carefully and methodically until the first Avengers completed the task (while also setting the stage for countless more to come).  I felt DC had an intriguing new take on the superhero genre with Batman v Superman, with a much different yet also distinct tone, defined by its darker, stylish visual tone and mood.  It wasn't a perfect film, but strongly established a canvas (like Iron Man in Marvel) for a rich, wider universe*.  Yet critics basically destroyed it, and in doing so, gave us the muddled mess that is Justice League.  Perhaps the next few "solo" films will help to better define some of the new characters; already, Affleck's Batman has poor prospects while Gadot's Wonder Woman is soaring, so it's a toss-up.  If you're looking for a fun action film for the holidays, Thor: Ragnarok is a far superior option, but if you're a fan of the genre, this isn't a terrible choice, either.

* This summer's Wonder Woman was actually already a big contrast in style - much more optimistic and light, which works for her standalone character - but it would have been very intriguing to see a movie (read: Justice League) in which those contrasting styles are pitted against/with each other.  Alas...


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