As an avid DC fan, most of the films in the DCEU so far have left much to be desired. Maybe it’s because they followed Christopher Nolan’s take on the caped crusader in his Batman trilogy. Maybe it’s because 5 films in, with the exception of Wonder Woman they still are trying to find their footing. That being said, I didn’t hate the film. In fact I liked it more than I thought I would. Going in I was expecting a similar experience to Batman v Superman, overall I would be on the fence on whether I liked the movie or not, but Wonder Woman would save the film for me overall. Justice League didn’t leave me in that state of mind, much to my surprise.
The additions of Aquaman, Cyborg, and Flash were strong ones in the film. The filmmakers did succeed in adding these characters to the universe by making their additions nearly equal to the superheroes we have already seen in the franchise. Jason Momoa’s take on Aquaman pleasantly surprised me, as his take on the Atlantean was much more gruff and dark than his comic interpretations. And although the DC Universe is notably darker than its main competitor Marvel, and often is criticized because of it, for me this darker version of Aquaman fit the universe well and made me look forward to the Aquaman movie coming later next year.
That all being said there are quite a few things that don’t work in this film. For one, the CGI in this film nearly reached the level of the Green Lantern film, meaning there was almost too much to justify it. Other superhero films that require high amounts of CGI can vouch for it by executing the digital effects in a highly stilled way. Justice League falls short in this department by creating glossy effects that take away from the ‘movie magic’ that digital effects are supposed to provide.
The overall plot, while not as tacky as Batman v Superman, wasn’t intriguing either. Almost replicating the superhero ensemble films that came before it, the League must stop the ‘big bad’ from destroying the world. And while the detail that the Amazons, the Atlanteans, and the humans having to protect 3 ‘mother boxes’ from the main villain Steppenwolf was a nice twist on the now cliché storyline, it wasn’t enough to be a compelling plot to the film.
Overall, Justice League didn’t reach Suicide Squad levels of disaster and for that I am grateful. But it wasn’t what DC needed to ‘save’ their film franchise, but then again I wasn’t expecting it to. After seeing and enjoying Wonder Woman, it became clear to me that the DC universe doesn’t have an overall problem with its storytelling or with its characters. It just needs some new direction in order for it to work. The plot mainly fell apart due to the screenwriting and with 2 screenwriters, Joss Whedon and Chris Terrio, that is no surprise. So to the DC executives I say this, before creating your next installment look back on the past ones. What worked/what didn’t? Take that into account when you are writing your next script, hopefully with one writer this time. Maybe then the box office turn out will be better and audiences can leave feeling fully satisfied.
That being said, I am not giving up on the DC Universe, after all I am still hanging on in hopes of a Nightwing movie. I look forward to watching the universe grow, as the next films in the series are solo character storylines like Wonder Woman, so DC has time to find its footing. As long as they reflect on the series so far to correct past mistakes, they aren’t as doomed as almost every media outlet is saying. Self-reflection never hurts so now it’s time for DC to give it a try.
