Justice League: Lacks the punch, still a good watch
After Superman Vs Batman did not manage to enthrall Warner Bros fans, the production team had its task cut out to compete with already successful Marvel studios. What followed was a successful Wonder Woman superhero movie that really got the expectations high enough, and finally Justice League; the ensemble cast of super heroes directed by Zack Synder is finally out. Do they follow trait of evil vs good? Does Superman return to save the world along with the rest of them? Well read on to find out
The plot is not all that hard to interpret, it’s what we saw in the trailers only on a high level extended version. With Superman gone, the crime rates are high, Batman realizes the need of the hour and gets ready for imminent danger. So what does one do when danger is breathing down the neck and if it is Bruce Wayne; the first thing he does is pull together a high profile gang who can give a lot of work to the CGI team. The gang includes previously established DC Comics heroes; Batman (Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), alongside a trio of lesser-known heroes recruited to help combat an extra-terrestrial invasion. There's Aquaman (Jason Momoa), a great swimmer and ferocious fighter from the underwater kingdom of Atlantis; the Flash (Ezra Miller), whose legs move almost as fast as his mouth; and Cyborg (Ray Fisher), who was saved from a terrible accident by his scientist dad and fused with a bunch of robot parts. They will need to put aside their differences and learn to work together if they have any hope of stopping an extremely unconvincing CGI monster named Steppenwolf from conquering the Earth.
The film opens with cellphone footage of some kids pondering over Superman with questions. "What's the best thing about planet Earth?" one asks. Superman cracks a smile and thinks about it - and the movie cuts to black. With the Man of Steel seemingly no more, society has begun to dissolve. Somehow looks like everyone has accepted that this demigod had been the only savior, Zack thrives on this specifics to urge the now new savior Batman to regroup his think-tank and find means to avenge his death by beating evil to pulp. The problem starts when the movie struggles to fit into a certain category; the director wants it to be dark, thicker but without a flashback like Nolan did in Batman series with an eerie past. Then it tries to be comical with Flash and Aquaman's "WhooooHaaaa" all the way. Marvel established itself with the fact that all the characters are light hearted, have a dose for humor but not to serious or dark, precisely why Justice League is not that enjoyable.
A somewhat inevitable mid-film twist changes the dynamic considerably, and officially over packs the story, but it at least enables one thrilling combat that's slightly more varied than the others. A quick gag involving Aquaman reveals more about him than the entire rest of the film’s two-hour runtime. Flash and Cyborg's moment, where they discover a small thing they have in common, feels like an important reckoning for one of them, and a chance for the other to finally find commonalities with another person. Justice league is more about the characters of the film rather than fighting evil, maybe for separate spin offs; Affleck is the older, wiser, even more bad-assed Bruce Wayne. Flash, played superbly by Ezra Miller as the comic relief, is star struck throughout. Aquaman is stupefied the guy has no powers and dresses up like a bat. Wonder Woman doesn't always agree with his style of leadership, but reluctantly knows he is the right man for the job. Cyborg is pivotal to their plans, turning what he thinks is a curse to a tremendous attribute.
Verdict: Justice League is not a bad movie, it is just confused in its own way. But walk in to the theatres without expectation and you might actually enjoy it to a good level.
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