While my blog has distinct areas of focus and associated principles, I like to leave room for movie reviews. As stated in my bio, I have a love for Science Fiction and Super Hero movies going back to my childhood. In this review, I’m going to give my thoughts on the DC Extended Universe’s (DEU) Justice League movie starring Ben Affleck, Gail Gadot, Henry Camvill, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, and Ezra Miller.
I saw Justice League the weekend it opened, and with the release of the Avengers: Infinity War trailer, I want to give a quick recap before we all get swept back up into the excitement of Marvel’s upcoming offerings. After watching a couple of fan reviews of the Justice League movie over on YouTube, I’ve identified some common themes similar to those I thought of after seeing the movie myself. I’ll start with time. Before going to see the Justice League movie, I actually looked at the movie’s run time. After seeing that it was only two hours, I immediately thought that it would be a short amount of time for this type of film where DC would be bringing together some of its signature heroes for the first time. As I told my brother Amahl afterwards, I suspect the Blue Ray will be filled with extras – extended and deleted scenes.
Something about the movie felt rushed and disjointed similar to Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the Justice League because I did, but the production team had to cover a lot a of ground in a relatively short period time in terms of integrating Aquaman, Cyborg, and the Flash into the story all while also having to introduce the villain Steppenwolf. A key component to Super Hero, Fantasy and Science Fiction films are the villains who can literally make or break the stories. While Steppenwolf was physically imposing and brutally took out quite a few Amazons, there was something missing though I enjoyed the telling of his backstory which reminded me of something out of The Lord of the Rings. It let us know that we might in fact see some of the Green Lanterns in upcoming films.
I thought the members of the Justice League fit together pretty well once assembled – the chemistry of the group worked, and there were lots of laughs. The Flash delivered in terms of comedy and portraying a child-like innocence. Aquaman was a bit mysterious, as was Cyborg and their characters could’ve used a little more development. Growing up reading DC Comics more than Marvel, I was wondering how they would make a Justice League movie without Superman, and even if Krypton’s sole survivor would make an appearance in the film. I mean Superman is the leader of the Justice League. How could you have a movie without him? DEU’s answer to my question was unique and based upon my answer you’ve probably surmised that Superman does in fact return in the film completing this initial version of the team. Batman and Wonder Woman served as leaders of the Justice League until Superman returned and even had one of those stand off-like disagreements we usually see between the top members of Super Hero teams.
Similar to one of the reviews I watched on YouTube, I’ll give the Justice League a B-. In the next movie I want the villain and his or her plan to actually scare me, and make me wonder if the heroes will actually be able to save the world from some imminent destruction similar to the General Zod’s plan to turn the planet Earth into the new Krypton in the Man of Steel. This story teased us with that, but I want to feel it the next time. Based upon the clues left in the ending credits, the DEU may be setting us up for such a thing, and hopefully they’ll hit it out of the park the next time.
Thank you for taking the time to read this review. The next review on my blog will most likely be of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. If you enjoyed this one, you may also enjoy:
• A review of Thor: Ragnarok
• A review of Bladerunner 2049
• A review of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming
• A review of All Eyez on Me
• A review of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
• A review of Hidden Figures
• A review of Marvel’s Dr. Strange
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