Justice League Movie Review

Justice League (2017)

Watch the trailer
Written by: Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon (screenplay by), Chris Terrio & Zack Snyder (story by), Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (Superman created by), Gardner Fox (Justice League of America created by), Bob Kane and Bill Finger (Batman created by), William Moulton Marston (Wonder Woman created by), Harry G. Peter (Wonder Woman co-created by, uncredited), Jack Kirby (Fourth World created by), Bob Kane and Don Cameron (character: Alfred Pennyworth, uncredited), Carmine Infantino and Robert Kanigher (character: Henry Bartholomew "Barry" Allen / The Flash, uncredited), Geoff Johns and Jim Lee (story "Justice League: Origin," uncredited), Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris (character: Arthur Curry / Aquaman, uncredited), Marv Wolfman and George Perez (character: Victor Stone / Cyborg, uncredited)
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, JK Simmons, Ciarán Hinds
Rated: R

Plot
Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally Diana Prince to face an even greater enemy. Forming an unprecedented league of heroes, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash must save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions. 

Verdict
This kind of movie has been done so much better. It's hard not to see this as DC trying to catch up to Marvel without building the necessary foundation. It's formulaic. The movie follows a checklist of what needs to be in a super hero genre movie, but doesn't know how to tie it all together. It feels like multiple movies cut into one. Worst of all it's forgettable.
Skip it.

Review
With an estimated production budget of $300 million not including marketing, Justice League is one of the most expensive films ever made. It's revenue was underwhelming.

I like the introduction. It's quick cuts and moody music as we see the after effects Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (read my review). That was a movie more concerned with spectacle than story.

A bug creature arrives as Batman is doing his vigilante scene? Who is this bug guy? He's a precursor to the real villain that has reappeared to wreak havoc. He's just in the movie to be a bad guy, and he's not very compelling.

The movie is disjointed. Instead of focusing on Batman gathering his crew, we see vignettes for each. I want to see an Aquaman movie, and it could be good, though at this point I don't trust DC's world building so it will probably be bad. Wonder Woman was great (read my review), DC created a truly heroic hero, something we just don't see in the other DC movies. I actively rooted for Wonder Woman, and she's great in this because she's coasting on her solo movie.

Marvel made individual movies to build the characters so that the Avengers movies didn't need much backstory. the hype was already there. DC is skipping the foundation and trying to do everything with just one movie.

I wish there was an underlying motivation for anything in this movie. Batman could easily be trying to pass the torch to these younger super heroes. The Flash asks Batman his superpower, which is weird because the Flash knows who Batman is, but the punch line is one of the few funny lines. Batman replies, "I'm rich." While other scenes show he clearly knows who Batman was and this was just an awkward way to drop a one liner. Most of the jokes fall flat. I like Flash as an outsider commenting on absurdity, but he just doesn't do it enough. That could have been a way to introduce humor.

The team exists just to fight the villain, the villain exists so the good guys need a team.Why is Steppenwolf? Why are those scenes not back with Steppenwolf the band music? There is a lot of CGI in this, and while it's not outright bad, I can easily spot what's CGI. With all that CGI there aren't any wow moments. The big fight doesn't show ingenious ways the characters work together. It's formulaic, the fights, the story, the conclusions.

If you've seen Batman v. Superman, and you still watched this more power to you, you know this movie has to undo that conclusion. That's the most interesting part of this movie and it doesn't happen until half way in. The reversal seemed plausible as far as this movie goes. This entire movie could have centered on that and delved into the morality of it.

I don't know if this is trying to copy Marvel movies or I'm just projecting. I keep going back to Marvel movies because they are enjoyable. Avengers Infinity War (read my review) is actually funny and introduces moral questions.