Going into Justice League I was trying not to expect too much, as I had heard that the reviews were mixed but was hoping that I would enjoy it because I liked Wonder Women (2017) and enjoyed Batman V Superman (2016). I am happy to say that I did enjoy Justice League and I am looking forward to seeing it again over Thanksgiving weekend with my family. If you liked the previous DC universe movies you will enjoy this and I think it is one of the better ones.
Justice League continues where Batman v Superman (2016) and Wonder Woman (2017) left off. Bruce Wayne/ Batman, played by Ben Affleck, is trying to find and recruit metahumans because he believes that an invasion is coming after the death of Superman/ Clark Kent, played by Henry Cavil. He reunites with Diana Prince/ Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot, to try and bring together Aquaman/ Author Curry, played by Jason Momoa; The Flash/ Barry Allen, played by Ezra Miller; and Cybord/ Victor Stone, played by Ray Fisher, in order to fight Steppenwolf, voiced by Ciaran Hinds.. Also staring Amy Adams as Lois Lane; Jeremy Irons as Alfred; and Diane Lane as Martha Kent.
Justice League felt like a transition/ set up movie, but it was done in the good way that is still a story on its own. The bad guy Steppenwolf was secondary to getting the Justice League together and this left me not caring about him or feeling as if there was any real danger from him. At times, he was really good at destroying or making what he want happen really quickly, while at others he took forever to do anything or monologued. He wasn't the worst bad guy I have seen in comic book/ superhero movies but he could have been much better. I miss bad guys who are scary, or really evil, or really anything that would be a true counterpoint for the good guys. Because there was such a team of good guys and that getting the team together was the important part, he was just there but he really needed to be something truly catastrophic to need all these meta humans to get together. The fact that any true backstory was not included for anyone added to not feeling the scope of him. It was mentioned that he almost destroyed the earth way back when but as this was just exposition it didn't really do much for the whole movie. Also the fact that there are three mother boxes it felt too much like the Tesseract or Allspark.
That being said, I did like the casting of this movie and enjoyed each main character on its own. Henry Cavil as Superman is fine and he does a good enough job. I am one who actually likes Ben Affleck as Batman and enjoyed how he plays this character as more grizzled. I liked that Batman is human compared to the others and you see him struggling or having to recovery. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is just fantastic and she carries over the great job she has done in the previous movies. I really enjoyed Ezra Miller as The Flash and how he plays this character, I do not watch the television show so I didn't have any strong feelings about him in this role and did like that he was a counterpoint to the more serious/ hardened way the others were played. I laughed the most at him and didn't think the humor he brought took away from the overall mood of the movie. Jason Momoa is great as Aquaman and I really liked his I'm here but I kinda care but I kinda don't care way he was played and especially the sequence where he is talking to the team later on in the movie. I didn't get Cyborg as a character and didn't really care about his personal struggles, he seemed to be necessary only because of how he fit into the plot but I could have done without him completely. I would have like better chemistry between the characters but I think it was more about how quickly the movie moves from one thing to another (the movie only happens over a few days) then anything else, but that didn't prevent Momoa or Miller having good interactions with the others. They could have cut out some of the Superman family dealing with his death but as Superman is the point where the DC universe is centered I understand this decision.
Justice League keeps the story going and I found myself focused throughout the entire thing. It doesn't have the problem of a too long drawn out end sequences that has been a problem in earlier DC movies and it didn't seem as long as it was as I was watching it. It has a lot going on but it wasn't too much to be completely distracting. Looking back on the movie I enjoyed it but there wasn't anything that really stood out as unique or revolutionary but was just a fun and entertaining comic book, superhero movie.
The CGI was obvious but I didn't find it that distracting. There were moments where there was CGI on CGI that I didn't like, specially with Superman, Cyborg, and Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf just looked like a video game and didn't seem to look like he fit in any of the sequences he was in. They really need to work on Superman flying and him not looking so fake and the times where Cyborg wants completely shown was the parts where he looked really weird. I hated him when he was in the sweat suit, absolutely thought he look really bad. A better costuming choice could have been made. I did see this movie in 2D and am sure that if I saw it in 3D I would have a lot more to complain about the CGI. I could tell that a lot of effort and production value was put into the CGI and making the film look the way it did.
Justice League was enjoyable and I really liked it. I really, really liked that this felt like one movie with a consist tone and forward moving plot. The one thing that the DC movies do for me more than other universe movies is that it makes me want to go home and rewatch all the movies that came before it and then go and see it again. Not because there are things happening that I am confused about or that there wasn't a good enough stand along set up (I think all movies even if part of a series or universe should stand alone) but because I remember that I enjoyed them and are excited about the characters again.
This movie is worth seeing if you like the other DC movies and I can see it as becoming one that I watch multiple times.
My Rating: 3
P.S. There are extra scenes and you need to wait until the end of the credits to see that final one.
Also check out my review for Batman v Superman http://myreviewsbyjane.blogspot.com/2016/03/batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice-2016.html
and
Wonder Woman http://myreviewsbyjane.blogspot.com/2017/06/womder-woman-2017-review.html
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