Justice League

Hi! So my wife, daughter and I ventured forth from our Fortress of Ineptitude Sunday afternoon to go take our medicine and see the new Justice League movie. As I noted in Friday’s post, the reviews could be summed up as “Does not completely suck”. Nowhere as good as Wonder Woman but better than Batman Vs. Superman. But that was the reviewers.


What did I think?  

Does not completely suck. Nowhere as good as Wonder Woman but better than Batman Vs. Superman.

Actually, I will be a bit more positive and say that I actually enjoyed Justice League.  Yeah, there were weaknesses in the plot, storytelling and characterizations. But I came out of Justice League feeling good about the experience. Unlike feeling mugged and a bit depressed after viewing Batman Vs. Superman last year.  

So let's cover some good bits. 

Barry Allen/The Flash

I was prepared to not want to like this character. Why create a new Flash when there's a perfectly good one running around on the CW? 

But this Flash is sufficiently unique from his Arrowverse counterpart. As portrayed by Ezra Miller, this Barry Allen is young, uncertain and adorkably lacking in social skills. Ezra's Barry Allen keeps things light by providing the most human perspective of our heroes. Having super powers doesn't make someone automatically a super hero.

My favorite part with the Flash is when the team is confronting Steppenwolf who is holding hostages. Flash tells Batman that everyone there seems ready to go into battle but this is all new to him. Batman gives Flash one thing to do: save one person. Just one. Barry asks what happens after that and Batman replies, "You'll know what to do."  So Barry rescues 1 person. Then he does it again. And again. And again. Barry saves all the hostages. It's a cool moment for Barry that shows he can be  hero.

Arthur Curry/Aquaman

From the trailers, James Momoa's take on Aquaman was what I was most interested in seeing. A beer drinking bro-dude? Can't say I've ever seen that version of Aquaman before. 

There are unfortunately few surprises and revelations about our erstwhile King of the Sea. We know he has a chilly relationship with Atlantis and some mother issues apparently but otherwise, there's not a lot of depth (See what I did there?) to Aquaman. But he does get in one of the film's funniest bits when he shares with the team what he exactly thinks about everything bad (they're all going to die!) and good (Wonder Woman is hot). Whoops! Arthur's accidentally sitting on Diana's magic truth compelling lasso.   

I guess the idea is that Aquaman will have his own move coming out next year which will explain more about Mr. Curry. Which is an inherent and ongoing problem with making a movie with an eye on the franchise and not on the movie that's happening right now.

One more word about Aquaman: he's portrayed as very powerful, not the limp fish you might remember from Super Friends. He doesn't just talk to fish. (As he tells Bruce Wayne, "I talk to the ocean.")  

Victor Stone/Cyborg

Vic Stone is... the black guy. OK, I don't mean to short change Mr. Stone but let's be honest, the Justice League would be homogeneously white without Cyborg. He is also... the brooding young man, placed in circumstances he didn't want or ask for, robbed of his dreams and stripped of most of his humanity.

There's not a lot for Ray Fisher to work with but I'll concede that while Cyborg was not easy to love, I didn't dislike him. He has, to be blunt, every reason to be pissed off at life. But we really have no context for what Vic lost as he movie brings us into his life sometime after he's become Cyborg. But beneath all that machinery, Vic Stone is still a man and Ray Fisher lets that humanity shine through as the movie progresses.  During the final battle with Steppenwolf, Vic actually smiles and concedes he likes being alive.

And if you are fans of cyborg from Teen Titans Go, Cyborg does say "boo-yah" one time. 

Diana Prince/Wonder Woman

Gal Gadot rules!

OK, I could just leave it at that. But a couple of things:

• Diana has some mad "busting through a wall" skills. Give me a Wonder Woman movie where Diana busts through walls half the time, I'm good. 
• Her solo at the start of the movie against some crazy terrorists type demonstrates her ferocity but when a gunman opens fire on the hostages, its Diana's compassion that is really on display as without hesitancy she throws herself in the path of the bullets.
• It is a little weird that for a woman with such wonderful powers, Diana has kept a low profile in helping humanity. Ostensibly, her grief and guilt over the death of Steve Trevor is still a driving force in her life, even after 100 years. As a trained Amazon warrior, she would be more open and ready to taking a position of leadership and being a person of inspiration. By the end of the movie, we see Diana embracing these roles. 

 Clark Kent/Superman  

Life is not great post-death for Lois Lane who is still not back in her ol' reporter groove and Martha Kent who has lost the family farm back in Smallville to foreclosure. In fact, the world over all seems a less hopeful place since the death of Superman.

So when an opportunity presents itself to bring Superman back to life, no matter how insane and fraught with danger it may be, Bruce Wayne is all gung-ho to make it happen. Plus Steppenwolf clearly outclasses Bruce's team of heroes in raw power. Superman could give them the edge they need for victory.

Superman returns and he is a bit angry and confused as he takes on the Justice League. Thankfully Batman has a back up: Lois Lane. Calmed down, Supes flies away with Lois back to Smallville. The scene in the corn field in the trailer everyone figured was a dream sequence? Nope, it happens.

Then its time to suit up as Superman joins the battle royale against Steppenwolf for the fate of the planet.

It was so cool to see Superman back in action again. And for the first time, Henry Cavill looked like he was enjoying the experience.

Bruce Wayne/Batman

Batman is at core of this film. He knows something really bad is coming and loner that he is, even he knows he can't fight it alone.  Bruce Wayne's guilt over his actions towards Superman is pervasive. Superman was a symbol of hope and a being of great power, attributes that Batman does not share.  

There have been criticisms over Ben Affleck's performance, that he was as one reviewer put it "phoning it in". I will concede there's no real award winning acting going on here but I found Affleck to be fine. Just fine. I will note that Ben is more comfortable as Bruce Wayne than as Batman but hell, I could say the same about Christian Bale or Michael Keaton. I think that goes with the rubber padded Bat-suit. 

I cited this earlier as a favorite scene with Barry Allen but it works for Batman too, telling a nervous Flash to just save one person and trusting Barry to figure it out from there. Trust is not something we associate with Batman. It was a lack of trust that put him into conflict with Superman last year. So it's good to see Bruce reaching out to Barry and helping him with his fear, not just trying to coerce or demand him to do something. 

Maybe Batman can learn to play well with others. 

Other things I liked: 

• Jeremy Irons is wickedly ascerbic as Batman's aide, Alfred. 
• J. K. Simmons channels a perfectly dry Commissioner Gordon in his too brief appearance.   
• Batman, Diana & Vic pulling that vanishing thing while Gordon isn't looking but Flash is still there, looking flummoxed. The fastest man alive is the last to leave. Classic! 
• The mid credits scene with Superman and the Flash getting together for a race. That last freeze frame of Supes & Flash would make an awesome poster.  
• The flashback to Steppingwolf's last attack on Earth! Oh look! A Green Lantern? So cool! 

As for the not so good things? 

Steppenwolf

Oh God, another alien being of immense power out to destroy stuff because, well, that's what alien beings of immense power do.  Despite the overwhelming threat to life as we know it, I just never felt what was at stake. Stopping Steppingwolf gave the Justice League something to do. It looked awesome but did it feel...awesome?  

Maybe because we've seen this thing so much.

• Thor Vs. Hela, an alien being of immense power out to destroy stuff.  
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vs. Ronan, an alien being of immense power out to destroy stuff.  
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vs. Ego, an alien being of immense power out to destroy stuff. 
• Superman Vs. Zod, an alien being of immense power out to destroy stuff.  
• Avengers Vs. the Chitari, alien beings of immense power out to destroy stuff. 

You get the idea.  

Post credits scene

Lex Luthor is on the loose and he has Deathstroke with him.  God, I hate Jesse Eisenberg as Luthor and found this scene underwhelming. I think it would've been better to have had this scene (if we had to have it at all) as the mid credits scene and saved the Superman/Flash meet up for the end to wrap things up on a more uplifting note.   

Maybe for the next Justice League movie, Lex can assemble is League of Evil Leaguers for a more earthbound threat instead of fighting another alien being of immense power out to destroy stuff.  

Before I wrap this up....

What about Clark?

Both Superman AND Clark Kent were dead in the DCEU. How are we going to explain how Clark is back right after Superman returns? 

Of course, maybe secret identities are not that big of a deal in the DCEU. 

• Lois calls Superman "Clark" in front of Metropolis police officers.  
• Bruce Wayne does Batman's recruiting, even going so far as to throw a batarang at Barry Allen to test his reflexes.  

Anyway and in conclusion, Justice League does not completely suck. Nowhere as good as Wonder Woman but better than Batman Vs. Superman.

Be good to one another until next time.