This band of super heroes brings us the audience a different perspective of all of the superheroes in the DC Universe that we grew up with as children. Every Saturday morning and weekday after school I always watched Batman the animated series. I loved that show as a kid. Not so much with the Justice League. So that made characters such as Cyborg, Flash and Green Lantern new to me as I got older. This film however is mixed bag with content and storytelling that isn’t very consistent with what Zack Snyder initially planned. Due to a personal tragedy, Snyder was unable to continue with the project and directing was handed over to Josh Weadon. I don’t wish any tragedy on anyone, but this directory shift may have helped with the content slightly as Weadon is a better storyteller than Snyder.
The film is about Batman (Ben Affleck) traveling the globe to find other superheroes who can help defend the world from Steppenwolf since Superman died. Gal Gadot returns as Wonder Woman and Henry Cavill returns once more as Superman. This group of heroes worked well together once they were all on screen together. One of the best moments of comradery happens when Aquaman (Jason Mamoa) sits on something. Once you see it it’s really funny and creates a positive atmosphere. Overall, I liked how well the actors and heroes worked together on screen.
One negative I’m going to point out is the lack of a villain. Steppenwolf is a ‘big’ threat who never gets his due moment. I say that not as a way to segue his defeat, but never getting any real emotion or grit about him. Sure, he carries a big flaming axe, but that’s all that he does. Wields an axe and talks big. Not a real threat. He has such a vast history as I learned in the film and from comic book history, that I expected more from him in his dialogue, but all the company he had are zombie mosquitos. Poor company if you ask me. The second end credits scene makes me more hopeful with what villains are coming into play.
This film is a good one. Even though it has it’s limits with its villain and lack of story, I had a good time. One other complaint is that the action and fighting in the third act got a little convoluted. It made me a little bored and fatigued with how much as getting thrown at me. Snyder tends to do that with me. And there were some scenes at the beginning that showed that the world was in disarray because Superman was gone. One example was two white guys harassing g a Muslim owned corner shop. I definitely thought this was forced because this is somethings that Superman in no right would interfere with let alone the time. Clark Kent might. This was more of a social issue regarding political affiliates rather than the lack of a super hero. Speaking of which, we all knew Superman was coming back, but there are some major plot holes that don’t get addressed which are vital to explain with his return. This particularly is a concern with Clark Kent which I won’t spoil for you.
Ben Affleck (L) and Jason Mamoa (R) in “Justice League”
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