Justice League

First, let me say I pity Zack Snyder, who killed his potential quite thoroughly with DC Comics for several years to come. At the same time, however, I feel that the whole DC Comics universe made a significant step forward with this movie. It still looks like a Marvel movie from six years ago, but there is the occasional hint of a joke; for every two awkward ones, there is a quite funny one. This is a fair improvement when compared to the last battle between Batman and Superman. Story-wise, there is a lot of work to be done if they wish to pull themselves together because it is one big mess. And that says a lot considering the number of movie stars who star in the movie. Henry Cavill, together with Amy Adams and also surprisingly Ezra Miller made the strongest impression on me; we will see where they are standing in the years to come… (03/01/2019)

It never seemed to me that DC films would attempt to copy Marvel in terms of style, even in the case of Wonder Woman compared to Captain America. This time, however, yes, because Justice League is actually The Avengers, including humor at all costs, in which nothing happens (at least at first glance) that would somehow affect the film universe. Yes, it's about the resurrection of Superman, but it's kind of shallow, and Superman is different than before because of the script (“It itched" can boldly compete with the sand that Anakin Skywalker had everywhere). Plus, I didn't really recognize Zack Snyder's hand in the film. Compared to the excellent Man of Steel and even better Batman v Superman, Justice League felt almost too intimate, unimaginative and flat. Despite all that, my two hours at the movie theatre weren't wasted, because the film has some really good moments, I liked the music by Danny Elfman (the return of the Batman motif from Burton's films and the original Superman motif by John Williams!), and Ben Affleck is a really great Batman. (17/11/2017)

I don't know, I'm probably over-saturated, but I'm getting tired of this kind of expensive digital mess that are all on the same page lately. It kinda bothers me that every comic book movie lately has a villain from outer space (except Captain America: Winter Soldier), Batman vs Superman was pretty much holding its own until it culminated in digital madness again at the end, which makes my head hurt. Wonder Woman, Superman and Aquaman are great, Cyborg and Flash are annoyingly uninteresting and Batman didn't show much. The villain is artificial and classically useless even with his entire army. The action isn't very exciting (I prefer battles and shootouts to flying through the air) and the humor is rarely good. I wasn't bored, but I'm not satisfied either. 60%. (30/11/2017)

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice suffered from beginner's mistakes, but I was able to forgive it many things for its grandeur and its almost comical desire to encompass or touch an entire generation of stories with one film. However, Justice League does not learn any lessons from its predecessor and, on the contrary, is worse in every way. Special effects either get lost in the darkness or appear embarrassingly unfinished in the final battle, the dialogue between Clark and Lois seems like it came from the most awkwardly written fan fiction, and the introductions of Aquaman and Cyborg through summarizing dialogue confuse the viewer more than they clarify anything. A few added lines from Joss Whedon cannot hide the fact that this team movie feels loud and almost obnoxious on all fronts, and if it weren't for the genius of Ezra Miller and the unwavering messiah-like presence of Henry Cavill, the disaster would be complete. When I think about the criticism towards the villains in most of the Marvel movies and then look at the embarrassingly generic development of Steppenwolf, I feel quite ashamed of the barrage of criticism that has been dumped on DC's head after years of effort. The only way forward from here is through solo films, assuming that this path has not already come to an end. (15/11/2017)

If you've managed to tune in to those previous Snyder visions and thoroughly enjoyed the Wonder Woman solo film, then you need to see this. Justice League is straightforward popcorn entertainment. Everything that you have been waiting for so long is here - a team-up starring Gal Gadot and her lasso of truth. Next time there will be a solo film with Mera (and Aquaman by her side). Ok, then. Flash is funny, and Sups and Bat are only badass to the extent that Diana or Alfred will let them. It's nothing that would get a Pulitzer in the paper version, but that's not what these films are about, nor are they meant to be. For as much as I feared Gadot at first, I now see (and watch with some enthusiasm) that it's her cute face that saves the whole DC movie universe (and elevates it even where most would have given up). I'm curious to see what comes next. (28/05/2018)