"Justice" is Still Not Served

travishouze

score 5/10

I'm not a DC hater, nor am I a Marvel fanboy, and it's sad i have to start my review like this. I want DC to give Marvel some healthy competition while carving out their own identity, however Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Suicide Squad haven't given me hope. I had a good time with Wonder Woman but Justice League will be the deciding factor of it was one lucky shot or the beginning of correcting old faults.

Justice League takes place after the death of Superman as the world mourns, despite 70% of the world hating him how i remembered. A strange being by the name of Steppenwolf emerges and searches for three Mother Boxes that can bring a extreme level of destruction to the world. Bruce Wayne and Diana realize they can't do it all alone, so they bring a team together to fight and save the world.

As this is was a first time introduction to Cyborg, Aquaman and The Flash, the film does show they have some good chemistry back and forth with the team as they all individually show off their powers to help in a fight. Ezra Miller as The Flash in particular brings a lot of personality and Wonder Woman brings a sense of big sister keeping the little brothers together. Yes, we do get a moment with Superman and does lead to a fairly rousing moment.

But how does the villain feel on screen, well, honestly, STEPPENWOLF IS BORING. There is no character no clear motivation to why he is doing the things he is and proves that super villains just don't translate to live action (see X-Men: Apocalypse as a example). Also Cyborg, is interesting as his backstory seems, we never see it all come to play. The visuals are very much Zack Snyder, and at the same time there is a strangely over sexualized tone to Wonder Woman in how she is filmed (with occasional upskirt shots, and a lot of focus on her back) and poses the argument of the "male gaze" on several occasions.

To me, applauding Justice League for not sucking as much is like applauding a D student for getting a C on a final test. While there are moments of fun, some solid chemistry between the leads, i still feel like we still are a far distance for Justice to be truly served for the DC Extended Universe.

Also, there is a couple post credits scenes. One of them is a kind light hearted moment, and the other.....well go see and find out.

travishouze 16 November 2017

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3859949/