JUSTICE LEAUGE (2017)
Directed by Zack Snyder
Written by Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon
Starring Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher
Another poster doubling as spoiler space just for added security here:
Okay, so I mentioned the possibility of spoilers, yes? Last warning to turn back.
Still here? Cool.
First off, I'm not particularly loyal to one of the "Big Two" comic companies. My two favorite characters throughout most of my comic-buying history were Spider-Man and Batman. DC or Marvel - made no difference to me. I also like Star Trek and Star Wars. Sue me.
Second off, I haven't been too keen on Zack Snyder's previous DC movies, MAN OF STEEL and BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. I did, however, really like Patty Jenkins's WONDER WOMAN (and thought Wonder Woman was pretty much the best part of the Bats/Supes film).
I hadn't been too sure I'd even go see this one in the theater, especially the way my work schedule went off the rails there for the last couple of months, but things have slowed down for the moment so I took off thru the snow to check it out. It helped that a couple of folks online whose opinions I value have seen it and said, essentially, "it's not that bad." Good enough for me.
And really, it wasn't. Maybe it was Joss Whedon's influence or maybe just a general reaction to the criticisms levelled at the first two. Wasn't there, can't say. All I know is it was nice to have some lighter characters and character moments in the mix, and in a lot of ways that's what saved the movie.
Because of the bass-ackwards way Warner Brothers went into this, forcing a big team-up full of characters we'd never seen before, not only did they have to shoehorn in the villian's story, but also introduce us to the Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg, and give them a reason to come together.
That reason is the appearance of Steppenwolf and his quest for the Mother Boxes, three objects of immense power that had been separated and split up between the Amazons, the Atlanteans, and the humans many, many years ago upon Steppenwolf's defeat the last time he tried to conquer Earth. Now that Earth's greatest champion, Superman, is dead, the boxes decide it's time and reactivate (tho who knows why they never bothered before Superman ever arrived on the scene?) bringing Steppenwolf and his band of Parademons back to cause trouble.
Batman and Wonder Woman, feeling that something big is in the wind, work on bringing the others into the fold to fight off the threat.
To the surprise of very few (here's where the big spoiler comes in, people)...
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| another postery spoiler space - i'm trying to look out for folks, here |
....Batman feels like the team that's gathered may not be enough and decides to use one of the Mother Boxes to power the Kryptonian ship and revive Superman. A move that also happens to alert Steppenwolf to the Box's location and he nabs it while the heroes have their hands full with a disoriented and rather annoyed Superman who has returned minus a few cards from his deck.
Eventually (of course), Superman regains his memories and control and joins the other heroes for the final showdown and everyone is saved and all is right with the world.
The movie was not without its flaws. As stated, it had to introduce a lot of people to get the story off the ground. It does this at just under two hours, apparently as part of a studio mandate to trim the running time after the two-and-a-half-hour Bats/Supes film. This made if feel a bit jumpy as it bounced from setpiece to setpiece. I think I actually wouldn't mind a longer cut on home video if it helps smooth the edges out.
Also, it continues one of my main gripes storyline-wise from DAWN OF JUSTICE where we keep getting told what a well-loved beaon of light and hope Superman was despite never really seeing it. Batman acts like he's lost an old friend and talks about what a great guy Clark was even tho he was barely around the guy and spent a large part of that time actively trying to kill him. I dunno, maybe it's just me.
But - as I mentioned above - they did manage to interject enough character beats that it was good to see these guys together and it'd be nice to see more of it. Aquaman and the Flash brought some much-needed lightness to the proceedings, and even the revived Superman acted much more like what I thought Superman should act like. Despite my general misgivings about MAN OF STEEL, I did think Cavill could be a good Superman and in this movie, he was. I'd like to see this guy in another solo outing if they let him play this version of Superman again.
And there is both a mid-credits and end-of-credits scene, so stay until the lights come up if that's your thing.
Next time....
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