Justice League Non-Spoiler Review

In 2013 DC and Zack Snyder started the DCEU with Man Of Steel (2013). Kicking off a 3-part story arc for Superman (Henry Cavill) and the expansion of the world of DC. Being continued with Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016) and now is coming full circle with Justice League (2017). The DCEU has had something of a shaky existence, with critics being quite harsh on the majority of the films, and fans were divided on the quality of them. Although, with Wonder Woman (2017) becoming the most critically acclaimed Superhero movie, and the highest grossing Origin film of all time, it seems that DC's relationship with the critics might be changing. However, Justice League has had its fair share of drama behind the scenes, with director Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300) having to step down before reshoots due to an unfortunate family tragedy and Joss Whedon (Serenity, The Avengers) stepping in to finish production, it should be interesting how the two different directing styles blend, or clash, together.

First Thoughts

This film is incredible. The visuals are fantastic, the characters are really intriguing and the action is at its best. I think the best part of it is that it finds the right line between pleasing the fans of Zack Snyder's previous DC films and the those who preferred the older, classic portrayals of the characters. Justice League is the film version of having your cake and eating it too. However, the film isn't entirely perfect. There are a couple of factors that really hold the film back, some factors could have been dealt with at the script level. And some that clearly needed more thought put into during production. But they don't drag the film down to the point where it's not entertaining. It's still a brilliant fun watch. Regular film fans will like it and DC fans will love it!

Batman/Bruce Wayne/Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck (Gone Girl, The Accountant) returns in, what is quite frankly, the role he was born to play. Whilst he doesn't leave as much as an impression as he did in Batman V. Superman he still gives a pretty strong performance. in this film, Batman is shown more as a leader and it's a role that suits him just fine. His interactions with the other League members. He's quite blunt with most of them, in a tough love way. But what really got me was how much he lets the events of the previous films drive him. You definitely feel this sense of purpose and guilt behind every decision he makes in Justice League. I also really liked his action scenes, particularly in the third act. Yeah, Batman may be the one with no powers. But he anything but powerless! This film has made me even more excited about the Batman solo film. I know that there have been rumours flying about that Affleck won't be in that film but I highly doubt it.

Wonder Woman/Diane Prince/Gal Gadot

After this year's Wonder Woman I was really looking forward to how she would be portrayed in Justice League. As there's a huge time gap between the two films I imagined there would be a big difference between the two versions. And that appears to be the case. Diana (Gal Gadot) is more of a seasoned warrior who seems to take a lot of caution in her actions, which makes sense after what happened in Wonder Woman. Although, I wasn't too happy with the way she was treated in this film. She is more sexualised in this film, particularly with her male co-workers as it seems that all of them have some form of attraction to her. And I believe Joss Whedon is behind this as it's somewhat similar to the way he treated Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) in Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015).

Cyborg/Victor Stone/Ray Fisher

Behind Batman, this is perhaps the most comic-book accurate character in this film. Cyborg (Ray Fisher) takes this role and makes it his own! From the struggle between his humanity and his robotic side to his relationship with the other Leaguers. I quite enjoyed his more monotone, robotic moments where he appears to forget his humanity. But what I really liked was that he had a very interesting arc. I loved seeing him in action, particularly in the first fight with Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds). If you prefer the version of the character from Teen Titans (2003-2007) then you may feel disappointed but I believe that they've put the character onto a path that will lead to being more like that version of the character.

The Flash/Barry Allen/Ezra Miller

The Flash (Ezra Miller) is perhaps probably going to be a fan-favourite for a lot of people. I thought he was a good character but he did have his downsides to him. I did like the idea of The Flash being the kid of the group and feeling a bit insecure among the group, but at times it felt like he was too much of a kid. Luckily though, for the most part, Flash is a very enjoyable. He brings a lot of light-heartedness to the film, which at points it needs. Flash is probably the most human character in Justice League. With his insecurities and his eagerness to prove himself. I really hope that Flashpoint finally goes forward in production as demand for Flash will be pretty high after this film.

Aquaman/Arthur Curry/Jason Mamoa

This is a very different interpretation of Aquaman (Jason Momoa) that audiences are used to. Whilst he does share some elements from his comic counterparts, such as not feeling at home in either land or sea, he now has this laid back, Devil-May-Care deal going on. There's a bit more of Jason Mamoa's personality in here than Aquaman. Somewhat similar to how Robert Downey Jr. (Chaplin, The Avengers) put a lot of his personality into his portrayal of Iron Man. So this could be something of a double-edged sword for fans. Many might embrace the change and those die-hard Aquaman fans might not. Overall, I quite liked him, he was the pessimist of the group and his commentary on his fellow leaguers was fun to watch. I wish we could have had more from the Atlantean side of his life. There's only one scene around Atlantis and I really wanted to explore that part more. Luckily Aquaman (2018) is the next DC film lined up for release so perhaps we'll get to explore it more there.

Superman/Clark Kent/Henry Cavill

Don't worry! I'm not spoiling anything here. Everyone knows that Superman (Henry Cavill) is in this film, but I will not discuss the exact nature of his role. All I can say is that this portrayal of Superman is going to please both the fans of Snyder's work on the character and those who prefer his older incarnation. Snyder's Superman trilogy comes full circle and now Superman is on a good path for his future in the DCEU. What really got me was how important Superman was in the film. Particularly in scenes that he wasn't even in. You could feel is absence. I can't really say a lot about the character without giving a lot away but just know that Superman is given a high amount of respect in this film. 

Steppenwolf/Ciarán Hinds

This is where Justice League takes a serious nose-dive in terms of quality. Steppenwolf is not as strong a villain as was promised in the trailers. He was too focused on his mission that you never really got to know him as a character. This is similar to my criticism with Hela (Cate Blanchett) in Thor: Ragnarok (2017) where the character had a big backstory behind them that was alluded to but never truly dived into. Except with Justice League, I'm afraid the situation is slightly worse. Steppenwolf's backstory is alluded to in a flashback to his first invasion of Earth (Which was beautiful to watch, it was a shame it was only a minute long) and that's it. There's no real time to get to know why he needs to conquer Earth or his relationship with Darkseid, who only got one name drop in this film, something I found disappointing. However, I did like the way the character looked, I really enjoyed his fight scenes and the way he used his raw power was pretty great. But his 1-dimensional character really dragged that down. If he returns in future films, such as Justice League or the rumoured New Gods film, then perhaps he could be given more layers to his character. But until then, he's a disappointing villain.

Action

This is the element of film-making that Zack Snyder excels at. And it's clearly shown here! Yes, Justice League is jam-packed with action and it's a sight to behold! From the very first scene with Batman, which is practically a love letter to Batman fans, to the final act in Russia. The action here was incredible! Every league member got to shine in terms of their skill sets. It was made quite clear what each member was able to bring to the team and not one of them was overshadowed by other leaguers. Yes, if you're a big fan of Snyder-level action then this film will indeed satisfy you.

Tone

This is something of a touchy subject as fans and critics have been fighting over what should the overall tone for the DCEU. It was said by Snyder and writer Chris Terrio (Argo, Batman V Superman) that Justice League will take a lighter tone compared to the previous films, and it works in some parts quite well. But in other parts, it doesn't really fit. Instead of a smooth transition to a lighter tone, it seems just jump right into it and it can be somewhat jarring, particularly for fans of the more darker tone. The film is a lot more fun than BVS but I feel a fair bit was sacrificed to please fans who wanted light-heartedness. And I believe Joss Whedon is the main culprit here, as the scenes where the tone just shifts has a very different look compared to the rest of the film. The clash of styles is quite clear in places. I would very much like to see the original Snyder Cut of the film, just to see how big a change Whedon made. It doesn't stop you from enjoying the film. Because the film is heavily enjoyable, but you will notice it.

Score

The score for Justice League is one of the most forgettable Superhero film soundtracks I have ever listened too. And I blame Joss Whedon and composer Danny Elfman (Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice) because the music for DC films has been overall really good, something that they excel as compared to other Superhero franchises. But Elfman just doesn't live up to previous soundtracks. And it's so annoying! I believe if Whedon hadn't replaced Junkie XL (Mad Max: Fury Road, Batman V Superman) then we would have gotten a much better score for Justice League. There are some bits that were good such as adding the old Batman and Superman themes into the music, but that's it. The only memorable bits are just pure nostalgia and that just isn't enough.

Conclusion

This is a really good and fun film to watch. Its strengths come from the action, which is both incredible and beautiful to watch, and the main characters. They're chemistry together and the strength of their individual performances. As I said before, DC is on the right path to getting the right tone for their films. But at the moment, they're still a bit in flux at the moment. The only things that seem to drag this film down are the way the villain was handled, the forgettable score and the clear different directorial approaches to the film which clash more than blend at times. But overall, this is a great watch and it will satisfy both general audiences and DC fans alike.

So that's my non-spoiler review for Justice League. Is there anything I missed out? Anything you disagree with? If so then please leave a comment! And, if you like this review then please Follow Cinema_Stuff for more content and to follow me on Twitter to stay updated on posts. Thank you for reading. :)