In response to the harsh criticism surrounding Batman vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Warner Bros. (WB for short) hired longtime comic book writer, Geoff Johns, as the co-chairman of DC related movies in order to construct a cohesive narrative for their superhero films. After “Wonder Woman” earned a bunch of critical acclaim and earning a lot of money at the box office. Fans of DC Comics felt happy to see their favorite superheroes getting their mojo back on the big screen, thus encouraged producers of DC Comics to recruit filmmakers to expand the franchise on solo movies, follow ups and future crossovers, the first film after Wonder Woman, is none other than “Justice League.”
Zack Snyder returns as in the Director’s chair, but unfortunately, his daughter Autumn, tragically committed suicide, causing him to step away from Post-Production, until Joss Whedon temporarily took over. The Cast & Crew dedicated Autumn as a token of respect to their fellow colleague.
Justice League received mixed reviews from critics. There’s a lot to talk about what’s good and what’s bad about the fifth installment of the DC Extended Universe or in this case, DCEU for short.
The following review contains no potential SPOILERS. You are allowed to read this blog, just in case if you haven’t got a chance to see it yet. Is Justice League a hit or miss? Time to find out!
NOTE FROM 2021: I disown Joss Whedon’s theatrical cut of Justice League. If you wish to scroll down, so be it. The Snyder Cut is your one way ticket for a legit Justice League movie. Stream it on HBO Max.
Positive & Negative Elements
Positive: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, & Ray Fisher, all did an excellent job for their respective performances as each iconic member of the titular team.
The Flash serves as The Comic Relief of the team, similar to his animated counterpart from Bruce Timm’s animated series. Ezra’s performance reminded me of Tom Holland’s role as Spider-Man.
Aquaman’s Metallica like appearance and fun personality is based on a combination of Bruce Timm’s Justice League cartoon and another animated series called “Batman: The Brave And The Bold.” The King Of Atlantis is no longer the Meg Griffin of DC Comics.
One of the members of the team, finally said his/her catchphrase from Justice League or Teen Titans, not “Teen Titans Go” the actual Teen Titans I grew up watching back when Cartoon Network was at it’s prime. It deserves an Extra Point for making me happy in a nostalgic way.
The roster of the team is based on The New 52 version of the comics.
Other Cast Members including J.K. Simmons, Connie Nielsen, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Amber Heard, & Billy Crudup, all did a great job on their performances.
Ciarán Hinds did a good job as Steppenwolf, who is Darkseid’s second-in-command. Ciarán also provides motion capture and voice over work for his character.
Fun Fact: Ben Affleck worked with J.K. Simmons in The Accountant. Ben’s character is described as Batman with guns. Plus, Jon Bernthal (The Punisher) played his onscreen brother.
Steppenwolf’s backstory sets up his quest on why he’s on a mission to retrieve Mother Boxes under his supervisor, Darkseid. You’ll be surprised that Thanos from Marvel, is based on Darkseid.
Unlike Batman vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Justice League has has a much lighter tone in a good way, for example, Superman is no longer acting like Ally Sheedy’s character from “The Breakfast Club.” You know, The Basket Case who’s always mopey.
After Superman’s noble sacrifice to defeat Doomsday, Batman no longer kills criminals as a sign of Character Development because he finally learns to act like a good person again such as mentoring The Flash, much like he did with Robin & Batgirl, in the past.
I’m not gonna tell you why Superman was A.W.O.L. after his “death,” you’ll have to see it for yourself.
Action Sequences got my testosterone rising off the charts. The Flash’s “Bullet Time” Sequence, is inspired by Quicksilver’s slow motion scenes from the X-Men films.
Visual Effects looked beautifully gorgeous. The C.G.I. is Class A, except for one problem listed on the negative side.
Film Composer, Danny Elfman, returns to orchestrate the Musical Score for the film. I’ll have to give him Bonus Points for including the 1989 Batman theme and John Williams’ Superman theme.
“The Avengers” director, Joss Whedon, helped out on re-writing the screenplay, by adding witty dialogue, references to previous DC related works and the chemistry between the team.
Christopher Nolan & Emma Thomas, return as Executive Producers for the movie. Besides Ben portraying Batman, he got promoted as an Executive Producer.
Remember the Comic Con teaser trailer that showed The Flash’s home? In the background, you can see an episode of Rick And Morty playing on one of his monitors. I’ll give this Easter Egg, Bonus Points for The Flash on being a huge Rick And Morty fan.
The White Stripes song, “Icky Thump,” appears in the background and it was played in the Comic Con trailer for the film.
There’s a Mid-Credits Scene that recreates a scene from Superman: The Animated Series, and a Post-Credits Scene which features one of my favorite characters from one of my favorite cartoons I grew up on. As a result, I’m gonna give it a boatload of Extra Points for making me squeed.
Negative: There are missing scenes from trailers, due to the fact that WB demanded on reshooting scenes to make sure they fit properly for the film. Perhaps they’ll be included in an extended cut, similar to Batman Vs. Superman, and Suicide Squad. For now I’ll give this con a pass.
The only thing that bothered me was The Visual Effects Team had to remove Henry’s mustache, because he signed a contract on not to shave it off for his role in the upcoming Mission Impossible 6. Whenever I see a Close-Up of Henry’s face, it’s as if he took some of Nicole Kidman’s Botox injections on his face. This is what happens when you reshoot scenes to bring your actors back in an unexpected time.
The Final Verdict: A- (FALSE)
True Final Verdict: D-
REMINDER: I despite the 2017 cut, watch The Snyder Cut. Stream it on HBO Max.
In my opinion, Justice League managed to keep me entertained, it felt like a live action adaptation of Bruce Timm’s cartoon. If I were you, I highly recommend it, if you’re a longtime fan of DC Comics like me. So what are you waiting for, get off your butt and support this picture, so we can get more movies from the DC Extended Universe. Trust me, your hard earned cash will definitely give you an amazing experience!
R.I.P. Autumn Snyder, you’re now in heaven with Christopher Reeve, teaching you how to fly.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 