Justice League Review

As the year comes to an end for superhero films after the supremely funny, satisfyingly entertaining return of Thor, we have one final comic book film of this year to close out 2017 with a bang.  That is the team-up, action/adventure film of DC’s mightiest heroes to form the Justice League.  This film has had an interesting journey to the cinema as it had two directors Zack Synder and Joss Whedon with Synder having to leave for personal reasons and Whedon stepping in to reshape and fix the issues the film might have had during its post-production edit.  That and the lukewarm opinions on the DC films as of late and it has an uphill battle to justify as well as revitalize the world for future installments of these iconic superheroes in cinematic form. Does this film succeed where the others have failed despite its fundamental flaws that were unavoidable due to the troubled production schedule and creative input or does it suffer the same issues as its predecessors before it with its tone-deaf storytelling or its disconnected direction on display? Let’s form up and really become heroes, just for this review by going into the story first.

It has only been a few months since Superman (Henry Cavill) gave his life to kill Doomsday and save Gotham City and Metropolis from destruction at the hands of the Kryptonian monster.  The world has spiraled back into its chaotic and violent ways with Batman (Ben Affleck) working in the shadows of Gotham City along with Wonder Woman (Gal Godot) remaining incognito from the problems of the world in Paris (with the occasional Superheroic acts from time to time).  However, that all changes when Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) invades Themysicra and defeats the Amazonians as his conquest of Earth begins, searching for the Mother Boxes.  This spurs Wonder Woman to work with Batman to recruit superheroes from all over the world with The Flash (Erza Miller) from Central City, Aquaman (Jason Momoa) who is living in exile in Iceland, and Cyborg (Ray Fisher), a Gotham varsity college student transformed into a cybernetic hybrid courtesy of his father and the Mother Box from S.T.A.R.R Labs after a tragic accident that claimed his mother’s life.  With the assault on Earth from Steppenwolf and his legion of Para demons, the superheroes from all the corners of the world must learn to work together and unite against a common enemy to form the Justice League, an organization of Superheroes united to defend the universe against all threats on a global and galactic level.

There is no easy way to write this but to be upfront, yes, this story is simplistic, straightforward and, yet it is quite a mess due to the troubled production problems that rear their ugly problems onto the big screen.  It is amazing to see a lack of narrative structure to each scene as it transitions moment to moment for each character to be developed or introduced as well as checking off the necessary clichés and troupes needed to get everyone to their starting positions before the mayhem begins.  However, it does move along briskly to allow for character moments to shine by letting the viewers really see how these characters click with each other.  It does come at the cost of plot inconsistences (to cover up for the creative choices made in previous films) and retcons to liven and present a fun, adventurous tone to the entire proceedings.  It works but it is a double-edged sword problem as well. 

To explain the consequences of simplifying the story, it lacks any form of emotional depth or the ambitious but darkly weighty themes/character arcs of the previous films before it.  This is evident to the connective tissues of each scenes absent from each cut that makes it a bit messy and nonsensical especially with the subplots being condensed into either a pointless action scene (Wonder Woman taking on European terrorists) or does not seems to matter to the plot at all (Supes and his first meeting with the Justice League, great scene but not relevant to the main plot).  There is also a stronger emphasis on a lighter, campy tone to the proceedings that it feels like it is in line with the animated efforts of the DC characters but not as compelling or memorable as those interpretations.  This clashes with the occasional grim and somber moments in the film that feels out of place with this lighter, audience friendly atmosphere of the story, unintentionally creating tonal shifts that can be felt throughout this film.

This is compounded by another aspect of the major reshoot that is evident in this film, mainly with the characters interacting as well as the quippy jokes and witty drawl dialogue writing being a trademark for Joss Whedon.  It does flesh out the characters with their own distinctive traits particularly the course correction with Batman to be less arrogant, as well as the fan favorite Flash (despite issues with the character and performance itself).  It is the moments when the heroes interact where the characters come into their own, the film really showcases what this film series should have established first especially with an organic, yet endearingly funny scene near the end involving Aquaman and a rope (enough said).  These moments are only sprinkled throughout the film in between generic, cookie cutter save the world plot with the dull villain and not so complex narrative structure and pacing on display here (as another critic pointed out, a discount version of Avengers with the cube like artifact that can destroy the world). 

There is just one more aspect to discuss regarding the story that does work, the team interactions and Superman himself (no spoilers with story elements that explains his purpose here).  These moments between the heroes are very much apparent reshoots and it adds some levity but also character personality to them, which were lacking in previous films.  When it was about the heroes themselves, the film shines brightest in what could have been with these series of films, but it is brought back down to mediocrity with its weak, generic brute of a villain and thin main plot to motivate the joining of these characters.  As for Superman, his resurrection is forced and contrived, with characters bringing up good points as to why that might be a bad idea, but the character is allowed to finally be the hopeful, powerful boy scout character that has made him endearing to fans of the comics for years.  If it seems like too few positives to establish with this film’s story, there is not much else to go on as it has literally been condensed, trimmed, and reshaped for better as well as for worse.

Let’s get into the cast of characters, starting with the Justice League themselves.  Ben Affleck returns as Batman/Bruce Wayne after his surprisingly memorable introduction in the previous film and his performance is an interesting one to explore.  He is still providing a solid portrayal of the character in his older years but there are unfortunate signs that his heart and enthusiasm is not in this as much as it was in the previous film.  It was apparent in the reshot scenes that he is phoning it in as some have mentioned, and it shows, especially when he is supposed to originally be the main center of the team (which may have shifted to another character due in part to the success of a certain DC film recently).  That is not to diminish what he has done for the character, but it really feels like he is coming to his end with the character and it matches how out of place the character is with this conflict feeling a bit out of his depth.  Anyway, a decent performance but isn’t quite as remarkable or intensely passionate as before in the previous films.

The real heroic center of the team is Wonder Woman played by Gal Godot, who is still passionate and absolutely game to be the Amazonian warrior we enjoyed watching in her origin film.  She provides a commendably solid performance and embodies that great qualities of the character once more as well as being reshaped in the reshot scenes to be the character that represents the qualities of a hero (this is evident in ADR lines that reword it for Wonder Woman instead of Superman as she was established better in her own film than even the Man of Steel).  Her moments with the characters are brief but she still has some great subdued moments with Batman, which especially her as a heroic figure that both Batman and Superman haven’t been in any of their film entries.  Her presences lift the film a bit but not enough to hide the fundamental problems with the script and tonally conflicted direction on display here in the final edit.

This brings us to the new additions to the team, starting with the speedster himself, the Flash played by Erza Miller.  He is one of the purposefully made comic relief characters brought in to liven up the proceedings and for at least most of the film, he works just fine as such.  Unfortunately, there are times when he tends to be annoying and a bit too tried hard to be cool with his personality and character, but Erza Miller is a proper fit for the role and does inspire some confidence in his solo outing in the future (when it happens).  He does provide some cool moments especially in showcasing the speed force of his powers despite the extensive use of slow motion as it is a trademark of the director’s visual style.  Barry Allen is a decent audience surrogate character despite being a bit obnoxious at times and the humor/quips being hit and miss from him.

Now with Aquaman played by Jason Momoa, this will be this character’s first ever live action debut in film form and it is certainly a unique yet a pleasantly fun addition to this series.  It must be said that he is clearly have a blast playing the Atlantean King that is tore between being a human and royalty.  He is another cast member that can bring some lively energy to the film and it clearly shows in his performance, making his scenes fun to watch for sure.  While his development is limited and condensed due in part to the studio mandate for the editing, he makes his character pop out and at least inspire interest in his upcoming solo outing at the end of next year.  Jason Momoa provides a good interpretation of the character for Aquaman’s first film outing and has the most fun out of the whole cast. 

The same can be said for Ray Fisher as Cyborg but it is the opposite as his performance and character development suffered the most from the reshoot and change in direction.  He is the moody, cynical new cybernetic hero that has difficulty conforming and accepting his rebirth after a tragic accident.  He kind of becomes the McGuffin of the story as well as just a techie of the team, as well as feeling like the least developed or interesting character in the team.  The actor is perfectly fine in the role and his character was liven up from the reshoot by injecting more snark to his personality.  Just about ok but not memorable or noteworthy to be a part of this team despite the adequate but bland performance from Ray Fisher.

To close out the cast of superheroes, we finally look at the Man of Steel himself, Superman played by Henry Cavill.  He finally gets the chance to play the character the way he was intended to be in the comics and other interpretations, but it feels like too little, too late in this case especially when he only factors into the last act of the film.  His performance is still adequate and is finally given the chance to have some semblance of a personality to his character for once.  However, his time is limited and is more of a Deus Ex Machina to resolve the conflict and act as a plot point that just brings the story to a close.  He finally showcases how he was a great choice for the character but he is still squandered in a shortened appearance in this film.

The next set of performers are clearly wasted or just generic to be forgettable and kind of pointless to the story at hand.  Many of the same actors from previous films like Lois Lane played by Amy Adams and Martha Kent played by Diane Lane return for brief roles and add very little to the characters we are focusing on this time around.  Even Commissioner Gordan played by J.K. Simmons is given only a brief time to set up an action sequence and that is it.  This is made worse with one of the dullest and cookie-cutter villain to ever grace superhero films so far Steppenwolf played by Ciarán Hinds and it really undercuts the motivation for this team-up to take place.  It really is the superheroes’ film and the supporting cast along with the average human being in these films are nothing but afterthoughts to its typical beat-em-up nature of the story itself.

Let’s get to the technical aspects of the film, starting with the action set pieces themselves which the film has plenty of throughout its runtime.  The film kicks off with Batman tracking down ParaDemons and it ends with one big, chaotic battle with the big baddie and his generic CGI army, making for a film that really gets weigh down by the action itself.  This is an interesting point to make but the film shows it promise when the characters interact with each other regarding the team building and developing their trust with one another.  The typical big superhero action sequences are rather pedestrian in contrast to the other films in this genre outside of the brief moments of creative energy with Superman’s return and the individual characters’ fights (Aquaman taking on Steppenwolf and Wonder Woman taking on terrorists in the opening act).  So, the film is at its most engaging when the punching and explosions don’t take place and that is a sign of how familiar and repetitive the action in these films have become in this sub-genre.

When it comes to CGI effects, this is where the film’s problematic post production work is put on display especially in the weightless, washed out quality of these effects throughout the entirety of the film.  It does look fine during the big battles in the beginning and displaying the character’s powers especially with the Flash’s speed force ability (which does look cool).  However, it does seem to have a rollercoaster rhythm of quality going from decent to just completely odd and fake looking especially with the controversial reshoot for Cavill and his removal of the mustache along with the floaty and rather dull finale when our heroes take on Steppenwolf and his para demons.  It really feels out of place at times as well with the actors being superimposed into the CGI environments along with dodgy character CGI especially with Cyborg feeling a bit overly designed at times, highlighting the effects too much.  The CGI is somewhat okay when it is just big battles but becomes questionably lackluster and lacks polish up close on certain characters and as the climax takes place.

This leads into the editing as it also suffers the woes of the rushed, shortened post production schedule as well.  The film would seem to be a byproduct of both directors, but it really is not as it feels more like a studio mandated film through and through.  To explain this further, it feels like it is both grim and serious, yet it is offset by the light, campy adventurous tone that seems to be evidence of the reshoot and change in direction for the film.  It also feels like studio executives influenced the edit by making sure there were jokes galore from Flash and everyone in the cast as well as rectifying all the criticized and problematic elements of previous films.  There is also a lack of connective tissues to critical scenes that are missing throughout the film, creating a bit of a mess in the narrative flow, making the scenes feel like moments that are unrelated to each other.  This has the unfortunate result of creating a disjointed rhythm to the whole edit that at times shines through when it gives the characters time to develop but becomes messy as it devolves into action set pieces especially for the majority of the second half.

Finally, we get to the musical score as it has also had problems behind the scene as well with Junkie XL leaving the production upon the start of post-production work and Danny Elfman stepping into start from scratch.  He brings back the iconic themes of Batman and Superman (composed by John William) in subtle but notable musical motifs that you can hear in different parts of the film featuring these characters.  Otherwise, the score is kind of background noise that really feels like typical epic soundscapes that does not leave much of an impression on its own.  It feels like the composer just recycling typical themes from his previous work, other composer’s themes, and even just what to expect from a superhero film along with lacking any distinctive main theme to be considered the music for Justice League.

There is a reason for the delays and struggle to convey the positives and negatives of this film and it is because Justice League is just an average, mediocre superhero film that checks off all the traits needed in this type of film as well as playing it safe to the genre’s troupes and clichés.  That is why this is painful but also frustrating in writing and discussing this film as it is just average, and this is a team up of all the iconic and remarkable superheroes of DC, but it was unable to inspire confidence, passion, and excitement for more adventures with characters we have not gotten used to besides Wonder Woman.  While it does steer the series into a more hopeful and fun tone/outlook for future films, it feels already dated by its similar yet tired plot of finding McGuffins to stop baddie from destroying the world along with been tone deaf and uncaring about the characters when the action kicks in.  The worst part of all this is that it may be fun and enjoyable on the surface, but it is a messy yet simplistic film that is good enough for a viewing but for fans that were excited to see this team-up in live action, it should not have been this forgettable.

Score *** out of *****

Justice League is the team-up of DC’s Mightiest Heroes teaming up to fight the dullest, bland villain to grace cinema in a long time while the entire film is quite a mess in its action, CGI and editing, it shines at its best when it takes time to develop the heroes as well as their interactions with each other.  There is a lighter tone and shorter run-time that at least feels like it has some form of narrative to follow easily but it comes at the cost of being too simplistic and lacking of emotional/character substance as well as trimming out necessary character development that might have been used to set up certain characters (Cyborg, Aquaman, and Flash suffered the most from the editing down of individual story elements).  It doesn’t help that the effects are rather inconsistent throughout and really shows clearly the effects of the reshoots in a negative light, along with the disjointed nature of the editing.  This could have been special and iconic like Marvel’s The Avengers, but it ended up being nothing more than a harmless, fun yet unremarkable superhero adventure film that leaves the series in limbo creatively as to where these DC characters can go next.