"It's good to see you playing well with others."
"May be temporary."
- Commissioner Gordon (J.K. Simmons) and Batman (Ben Affleck), Justice League (2017)
Outside of the failed Dark Universe, there is perhaps no other cinematic universe that has been tied to Hollywood's whipping post quite like the DC Extended Universe. Starting with 2013's Man of Steel, DC has been trying its damnedest to catch up to the goldmine that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Zack Snyder, director of comic book adaptations like 300 and Watchmen, was put in the director's chair and while early trailers seemed promising, the movie did nothing but alienate people from the world's most famous superhero.
And worse was to come. Bringing together DC's two flagship characters as well as the live-action debut of its most famous female superhero should have been nothing short of a movie miracle. They even managed to cast Academy Award winner Ben Affleck, hot off his success with Argo, as the new Batman. Yet Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice became a laughingstock of 2016 pop culture; Sad Affleck and "MARTHA?! WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?!" spread across the Internet like wildfire. The salt was directly applied to the wound when Marvel Studios released Captain America: Civil War, another "superheroes fighting" movie, to both fan and critical acclaim. Marvel once again laughed its way to the bank, while DC limped back home with its pants down. DC's second shot in 2016 was the David Ayer film Suicide Squad featuring low rent DC villains (with the exception of Harley Quinn and the Joker) trying to be heroes, but the film was dismissed as a cheap imitation of Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy.
However, coming into the new year, there was a bright light at the end of the tunnel; the world's first major theatrical live-action female superhero movie directed by a woman. With its proper balance of intriguing drama, thrilling action and well-placed comedy as well as a star-making performance from Gal Gadot, Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman became a runaway success both at the box office and with critics. Many were drawing positive comparisons to Richard Donner's 1978 Superman, as a seminal superhero film; Donner himself proudly bestowed a literal baton pass to Jenkins at a recent event they both were headlining. DC and Warner Bros. finally had the ball in their corner. All they had to do was make the right shot and pray for a miracle...
Following the death of Superman, Batman/Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) - racked with guilt by his part in the actions that led to that event - begins an ambitious plan to bring together an alliance of powerful warriors that can combat an enormous threat coming to Earth. That threat is Steppenwolf (voice of Ciarán Hinds), an alien dictator that is seeking three ancient artifacts that - once connected - will spell the end of the world. Joining Batman is the immortal Amazon warrior princess Wonder Woman/Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), the burly and saracastic Atlantean Aquaman/Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), the energetic yet untested Flash/Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) and the reclusive Cyborg/Victor Stone (Ray Fisher). All of these heroes will be brought to their limits but, though they are stronger together, they find they may need more help.
It is practically important (and potentially straight dishonest) to talk about this movie without at least touching on its difficult post-production process. Earlier in the year, Warner Bros. and director Zack Snyder jointly announced that he was stepping down from all duties related to Justice League. It was revealed that weeks earlier, one of Snyder's daughters tragically committed suicide and that he and his family needed time to grieve. In a show of uncharacteristic generosity for a major Hollywood studio, Warners agreed that this was best for all involved and wished him nothing but the best. In Snyder's stead, the studio hired Avengers guru Joss Whedon to jump from Marvel to DC (with Kevin Feige's blessing) to take over all post-production duties. Interestingly, Whedon is not credited as director (per DGA rules and a sop to Snyder himself) but he did receive a co-screenwriting credit. Which begs the question: how much Joss Whedon is in this Zack Snyder movie?
What garnered most of the Internet's attention were reshoots Whedon scheduled with the whole cast. While the exact circumstances that prompted the reshoots is still questionable, Justice League began filming weeks after the dismal opening of Batman v. Superman with no time for course-correction. Believing that working with Marvel Studios gave him the magical calculation to making superhero movies work, Warner Bros. moved heaven and earth to give Whedon what he needed. Almost humorously, this involved pulling a contractually-mustachioed Henry Cavill off the set of Mission: Impossible 6 and making painstaking efforts to digitally fix his upper lip. But all of this would be for naught if the movie itself was not received well by the public. And unfortunately for DC, history has a way of repeating itself.
Well, at least to the majority of critics. Rotten Tomatoes, a company owned by Warner Bros., held off from releasing the film's initial percentage scoring until the day of the film's release; a move seen as consciously duplicitous. Rotten Tomatoes, whether people like it or not, has become a popular deciding factor for people to pick and choose what movies are worth their time. Movies have essentially died on the vine if Rotten Tomatoes seemingly says they are not up to snuff. But when it comes to a Warner Bros. property, hiding Justice League's score until the day of release... it shows the company does not hold good vibes for its future.
So after all this, we have finally gotten to my take on the movie (as I am sure you have gathered by now, I rarely subscribe to the "TL;DR" nature of the Internet). And to be perfectly honest, I thought the movie was absolutely 100%... okay. Not great. Not even good. Perfectly fine. Serviceable. Which would not matter if it was just another movie. But this is the Justice League movie; a movie that not even Academy Award winner George Miller (you know, Mad Max, Babe and Happy Feet) was allowed to make. It has all the DC mainstays (without Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern but the Corps is still represented in the movie briefly). This should be even bigger than The Avengers. And it is just not.
The cast is a mixed bag for me. I have never gotten the hate over Ben Affleck's performance as Batman. He is better here than he was in Batman v. Superman but in that movie he was pretty much just a bundle of rage in a Batman costume. Here he actually plays the Dark Knight in a way that just feels right. Gal Gadot returns for her role as Diana and she brings back that sense of genuine care and good-naturedness that makes her character likable. The newcomers are a bit of different story. I did not care for Ezra Miller in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. He is better here than he was in that film, but I could not muster goodwill for his take on The Flash. Jason Momoa plays Aquaman as the drunken badass of the group but that pretty much sums up his character. We get the feeling that he is resentful of his place in the world as someone who is half human. But that is not fleshed out in any way. Ray Fisher gets the short end of the stick as Cyborg - why he is in the Justice League as opposed to the Teen Titans is beyond me. He broods mostly and does not lighten up for anything. Even his trademark "Boo-ya" seems off.
Danny Elfman is the composer of this movie and he certainly is no stranger to superhero movies. He's composed scores for Spider-Man, Hulk and even Avengers: Age of Ultron for Joss Whedon. Most notably however is his theme for the 1989 Batman. When asked if he was going to come up with a theme befitting Ben Affleck's Batman, Elfman refused saying his theme personified Batman perfectly. However, Elfman also chose to bring back John Williams' classic Superman theme that was conducted for the 1978 Richard Donner film. Herein lies the problem: it is not that noticeable within the film itself unless you were actively hearing for it like I was. It can be heard, but themes that are that memorable call for memorable moments not just background nostalgia.
In most good superhero movies, there is almost always an inspiring speech that either the hero gives themselves or a loved one gives the hero. Something that sums up why they are the good guy, why it is important and why they should keep going. I can think of a few examples off the top of my head - Aunt May's "I believe there's a hero in all of us" from Spider-Man 2, Peter Quill's "Life takes more than it gives" from Guardians of the Galaxy and Nick Fury's "A group of remarkable people" from Marvel's The Avengers. Now where is this speech in Justice League? Just before their first battle against Steppenwolf where he is holding humans hostage, the Flash takes Batman aside and fearfully admits he has never actually done battle. Batman breaks it down for him,
"Save one. Save one person. Don't talk, don't fight. Get in, get one out."
I like how Batman breaks down the minutiae of supehero-ing to its core component: helping other people at risk to yourself. This could have been, should have been, a seminal moment for the movie. While it certainly seems to bolster Flash's courage in the following scene and in the rest of the movie, a more memorable signature moment would have been more appreciated.
If there is any improvement on any single returning character from the DCEU, it would have to be Superman, who is brought back from the dead by the Justice League in the second act. This is Henry Cavill's third run at this iconic character. And in this case, the third time might be the charm. At first, Superman is angry and confused; seemingly without his memory. Batman brings Lois Lane (Amy Adams) to him so she can help bring him back to himself. But naturally, the good old Superman we know comes in at the last minute to help save the day. He is smiling, cracking jokes and bringing his formidable powers to bear to help his fellow team members and civilians. This is as close to the Christopher Reeve Superman as we have gotten in quite a good long while; I do not count Superman III, IV and Returns (who would have guessed Kevin Spacey would have turned out to be a bigger villain than Lex Luthor). As long as Cavill is allowed to stay in this mode of Superman and not be the Big Brooding Boy Scout, I'll be glad to see Man of Steel 2. If it ever gets made.
DC's Justice League is not so much a misfire as it is a missed opportunity; an injustice if you will (be sure to tip your waitresses). The cast mostly plays well together, but the playground they are given could use some upkeep and maintenance. Trying to fix the mistake that is Batman v. Superman resulted in efforts too little, too late. I am not saying that the DCEU is beyond saving - Wonder Woman proved this - but it needs to be done quickly and smartly. I really like these characters and the comic book universe they reside in. It just needs more people who are willing to give the time and care they deserve to bring them to the silver screen.
P.S. Stay for the full end credits.
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