Justice League

JUSTICE LEAGUE

Director : Zack Snyder

Year : 2017

Genre : Superhero

Rating : **1/2

It would seem that after five films, DC and Warner Bros. studios have finally started to get their act together with their floundering cinematic universe - but has the damage already been done by previous entries in the series? Following on from the underwhelming events of 'Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice', the overstuffed plot of 'Justice League' sees Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne and Gal Gadot's Diana Prince/Wonder Woman joining forces with a new group of gifted heroes including the water-loving Aquaman ('Game Of Thrones' star Jason Mamoa), the lightning-fast Flash (Ezra Miller) and the technologically enhanced Cyborg (Ray Fisher) to rid the planet of Steppenwolf, a hideous computer generated creation voiced by Ciaran Hinds who, like every other generic, two-dimensional comic book villain ever created has little motivation but to take over the world for his own nefarious devices.

For all of his failings as a filmmaker, director Zack Snyder (who sadly had to leave halfway through production due to unspeakable tragedy) certainly knows how to frame his movies in a way that deftly resembles a comic book and there are many scenes throughout 'Justice League' that boasts some simply beautiful cinematography. However, the frequently pleasant visuals are blighted by frankly terrible CGI that muddies the screen and blurs the action to near incoherency - the final 20 minutes are a particularly eye-scorching kaleidoscope of ugly hues and poorly realised character models. Throbbing underneath the explosion-laden mayhem is Danny Elfman's thunderous score which shamelessly steals the motifs from John Williams 'Superman' theme, Hans Zimmer's/Junkie XL score for 'Wonder Woman' and even his own iconic '89 'Batman' leitmotif. The end result is a pretty unpleasant assault on both the eyes and the ears that does little but remind the audience about better superhero films they could be instead be watching.

That being said, when compared to the dross that came before it, 'Justice League' is a surprisingly fun watch that manages to correct many of the wrongs of its predecessors. A great number of the action set pieces, while blemished with the aforementioned CG, are still very entertaining while the interactions between the various heroes have far more personality and wit than any seen in 'Man Of Steel', 'Batman v Superman : Dawn Of Justice' or even 'Suicide Squad'. This is most part due to the work by Joss Whedon who took hold of the reins after Snyder left the project and injects the film with a much-needed rush of his idiosyncratically witty, 'Marvel-esque' humour. This humour not only lightens the mood created by Snyder's dark visual aesthetics but also the temperaments of the characters. Once again, Ben Affleck impresses as the Caped Crusader who thanks to a welcome injection of self-deprecating comedy is absolutely unrecognizable from the unlikable gargoyle seen skulking around in 'Batman v Superman' while Gal Gadot (fresh from her starring role in Patty Jenkin's rather wonderful 'Wonder Woman') delivers another fine performance as the whip-cracking Amazonian and again proves to be this franchises brightest star. As is to be expected, the wooden Henry Cavill unfortunately returns as the supremely dull Superman and he is as balsa-like as ever. However, there is a certain enjoyment to be had with his character; that being the hilariously bad job the computer effects artists did with digitally removing his fulsome 'Mission Impossible' moustache. It's a truly dreadful effect that turns the Man of Steel into a deformed, buck-toothed goon who looks like he is about to bite the lips off Lois Lane (Amy Adams) rather than kiss them!

As for the numerous franchise newcomers, all do a good job but a distinct lack of development or screen time really prevents us from getting to know their characters beyond their most basic attributes. Trading in the fearsome Dothraki arakh of Khal Drogo for the impressive Quindent of Aquaman, the inexplicably handsome and regularly shirtless Jason Mamoa is expectedly beefy and charming while 'We Need to Talk About Kevin's Ezra Miller is delightfully daft in his role as the wise-cracking Flash. Gifted many of the films memorable zingers, Miller shines here and delivers the jokes with an infectious enthusiasm that is nigh-on impossible to resist. However, while Mamoa and Miller are given at least one standout action scene to exhibit their respective powers, poor Ray Fisher is barely given a look-in as Cyborg whose major characteristics are looking miserable and wearing a hoodie. I'm sure that we will come to know these characters better in future 'Justice League' outings and solo spin-off films but as an ensemble, the eponymous League severely lack the camaraderie of other cinematic superhero gangs such as 'The Avengers' or the 'X-Men'.  And as for the horned villain Steppenwolf, the less said, the better.

Far too eager to blindly follow in Marvel's box office-smashing footsteps without taking into account the logistics and methods used to execute it, DC have attempted to establish an entire cinematic universe without laying down the necessary foundations and as is to be expected, the results are decidedly wobbly; with an opening weekend total sure to dismay even the most light-fingered of movie executives. Replete with plot holes big enough for Superman himself to fly through, CGI that would look dodgy on a faulty PlayStation 2, characters that lack the depth or development of their Marvel cousins and a bloated budget of $300m, 'Justice League' is yet another disappointing misstep by DC Studios. However, to say that the movie is completely without merit like so many other reviewers have would be utterly unreasonable. It's far more entertaining than a majority of the previous entries in this series and despite my better judgement, I await future films with a certain degree of anticipation. Yes, 'Justice League' is far from a good film but is it truly deserving of the scathing critical reviews and frankly ridiculous 37%* rating on Rotten Tomatoes? Absolutely not.

*rating correct at time of writing