Justice League
The culmination of Zach Snyder’s trilogy of DC films is (for better or worse) noticeably different in tone and style from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Far more fun (and funny) than its predecessors, it’s also far more accessible, but for me, perhaps lacks just a little of the emotional impact of the earlier films.
Premise: Following the death of Superman (Henry Cavill), the world mourns as alien threats gather, while Batman (Ben Affleck) vows to protect Earth in Superman’s absence by finding and uniting the world’s most powerful heroes. With Wonder Woman’s (Gal Gadot) help, he sets out to recruit Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher).
Verdict:
It’s fair to say that I was in a minority of people who really enjoyed Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (in fact, it was my second favourite film of 2016), and so my take on Justice League is perhaps a little different from most people’s. The thing we can all seem to agree on, however, is that it is very different from its predecessor.
For one thing, it is a lot more fun and light-hearted than the super-sombre tone of BvS. Even Batman (Ben Affleck) has developed a sense of humour now, which certainly makes his character more accessible than he was in the last film (where, when all is said and done, he was effectively one of the villains of the film, after having allowed his guilt, grief and paranoia to be used against him).
“…Superman’s sacrifice has restored Batman’s faith in humanity…”
That’s not to say that the character has completely changed – in fact, guilt is still Batman’s main driving force (and it still leads to some questionable decisions), but now it’s his guilt over his role in the death of Superman (Henry Cavill), rather than his guilt over the deaths in Metropolis during Man of Steel. The real difference, as seen in the closing section of BvS, is that Superman’s sacrifice has restored Batman’s faith in humanity, and it’s that newfound sense of hope that allows him to crack a smile once in a while (at least when he’s out of costume). Batman gets a great line when he’s explaining to Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) why he could never fill Superman’s shoes, saying that for all his alien powers, Clark Kent chose to live in the real world, get a job and fall in love, which makes him far more “human” than Bruce Wayne has ever been.
While Batman has lightened up a bit, most of the humour comes from the new characters Flash (Ezra Miller) and Aquaman (Jason Momoa). Ezra Miller is practically the comic relief of the team, but he stays the right side of caricature, conveying a sense of social-awkwardness and unbridled enthusiasm that is refreshingly different from all of the other characters. Jason Momoa, on the other hand, finds the humour in playing Aquaman with a I-don’t-give-a-s**t swagger, that occasionally breaks down to show very different character underneath.
“…the central theme of the film is the ability to find hope again amidst the despair…”
As well as the increased humour, the film’s a lot more accessible than BvS, as the storyline is far less labyrinthine. It also has some fantastic action sequences, including a flashback to an ancient alliance of Amazons, Atlanteans, Olympian Gods, Green Lanterns and humans that wouldn’t have looked out of place in Lord of the Rings, and a tense sequence set on Themyscira with Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen). Once the Justice League itself is formed (although it is never referred to by that name on screen), the action sequences are very well choreographed, ensuring that everyone gets something to do and a moment to shine. In this respect, the treatment of Flash’s character is particularly interesting, as Batman explains to him that there’s more to being a hero than just fighting ability.
One of the things I loved about BvS was its subtext and themes, particularly in relation to Alfred’s (Jeremy Irons) warning that fear, suspicion and a feeling of helplessness can turn good men cruel. Justice League starts with the world a darker and meaner place following the death of Superman (no doubt echoing the inescapable feeling that the real world has done the same over the last couple of years), but the central theme of the film is the ability to find hope again amidst the despair, which is a poignantly timely message. The opening of Justice League is a flashback of Superman explaining that his father used to say “Hope is like car keys – easy to lose, but if you dig around, they’re easy to find”, and that is arguably the central message of the movie.
“…it’s refreshing for Justice League to feel like a complete film in its own right…”
Whilst there is a lot to enjoy in Justice League, it’s certainly not without its flaws. In particular, it suffers from the typical problems that affect most “team origin” films, namely having to spend so much time building the team and introducing its members that there’s not enough time left for anything more than a very straightforward plot and an uncomplicated (and unengaging) villain. These problems are nothing new (just look at Guardians of the Galaxy or Netflix’s The Defenders, for example), but they are particularly noticeable here.
The ultimate goal of the main villain, Steppenwolf, is far from clear – and although comic-book fans will know of his connection to Darkseid (the big-bad of the DC universe), it’s not even mentioned on screen, other than one fleeting mention of his name. That said, it’s refreshing for Justice League to feel like a complete film in its own right, rather than simply a set-up for a future sequel (like so many other films have done previously), and if Steppenwolf had been portrayed as just a underling of Darkseid, it would certainly have undermined the coherence of this film.
“…a longer runtime would be provided more space to explore the new characters’ backstories…”
And coherence is something that the film struggles with a little at times. The 2.5-hour cinematic release of BvS had a number of apparent plot holes that were eventually fully explained in the 3-hour “Ultimate Edition” on Blu-ray – and I can’t help but feel that the cuts that were made to Justice League to get it down to the studio-mandated 2-hour runtime have created a number of additional plot holes, or at least left certain areas underdeveloped. Lots of footage seen in the earlier trailers is not in the finished film (something that is becoming increasingly common with Hollywood blockbusters these days), and it appears that a lot of the cut material may have fleshed out the backstories for the new characters Cyborg, Flash and Aquaman (including the complete removal of Willem Dafoe and Kiersey Clemons’ characters).
Obviously, there have been some much publicised behind-the-scenes changes during the course of the film, including Zach Snyder stepping away from post-production due to a family tragedy, Joss Whedon stepping in for reshoots, and Danny Elfman replacing Junkie XL on the score, and these issues have no doubt taken their toll on the final version of the film. I personally can’t escape the feeling that a longer runtime would be provided more space to explore the backstories of the new main characters, as well as some of the supporting characters (for example, J. K. Simmons is on screen for about 60 seconds as Commissioner Gordon, and Amber Heard’s brief appearance as Mera is pretty confusing). On the plus side, Amy Adams does get a few decent scenes as Lois Lane, and Jeremy Irons continues to have a good line in barbed comments as Alfred.
“…whether or not you liked BvS, you should still find plenty to enjoy in Justice League…”
Ultimately, Justice League is a lot of fun, with great action and humour, but the slightly disjointed and inconsistent tone coupled with the typical “team origin” problems, meant that I didn’t feel that it had quite the same level of emotional impact that Man of Steel and BvS had for me. That said, I am in the minority of people who loved those earlier films, so perhaps the takeaway point is if you didn’t like them, you should still find plenty to enjoy in Justice League (and if, like me, you did enjoy the earlier films, you’ll also enjoy Justice League, albeit perhaps not quite as much).
I’ll also mention that you should make sure that you stay for the two mid- and post-credit scenes. Also, in a break from tradition, I have a short *spoiler* section below (after the photo), as there’s one aspect of the second half of the film that I feel warrants discussion.
* SPOILERS BELOW * Do not read further unless you want second half spoilers…
It was widely known beforehand that Superman would be returning in Justice League, but I would like to give credit to the marketing team for avoiding the temptation to plaster his resurrection all over the trailers and posters. This at least preserved some sense of mystery about the character’s future (and some kids may genuinely not be expecting his return).
And while the specifics of his resurrection were perhaps a little too “easy” for my liking, Superman’s return here does mark the culmination of a three-movie character arc. In Man of Steel he was unsure of his place in the world, unsure that he should even reveal his existence (especially given his father’s sacrifice to protect his anonymity), and then in BvS we saw an unsettlingly realistic vision of how the cynical and jaded modern world would seek to publically tear down such a selfless character. But despite everything that Batman, Luthor and Holly Hunter’s senator put him through in that film, in the end the “alien” embraced Earth as “his world” and sacrificed himself to save it.
In the first two films (particularly in Man of Steel), some viewers complained that the portrayal of Superman wasn’t accurate, particularly in relation to his allegedly cavalier attitude towards civilian casualties. I always thought that was unfair for a number of reasons – for one, Superman goes so far as to kill Zod to save civilians (even though he clearly doesn’t want to kill the only other remaining Kryptonian). Secondly, the character was still evolving, and it’s clear that the version of Superman seen in Man of Steel is not the “finished article”, and in fact, the controversy over the civilian casualties in Man of Steel is the main driving force for BvS. What’s nice is that in Justice League, his journey to become the version of Superman that everyone recognises is complete, for example, when he puts all other concerns aside to rescue civilians from the battle zone. His message that his “S”-symbol means hope is reinforced in Justice League, and is perhaps the strongest theme of Zach Snyder’s trilogy.
