From a young age, I have been a big fan of superheroes. I can’t even explain the amount of excitement in my life since DC and Marvel have branched into the film and television business in a way that is sweeping the nation. After seeing Wonder Woman, my hype was on another level for Justice League, which I had heard was coming out in November. The trailers looked fantastic, the cast looked great, but I had to admit that I wasn’t expecting much.
After Marvel released the Avengers films and Guardians of the Galaxy—both of which I really enjoyed—DC released Suicide Squad, which left a bad taste in my mouth. I did not really enjoy the film at all. I realized what turned me off the most was the lack of character background and rushed storytelling. The entire premise seemed forced. The Avengers films were successful because each of the main characters (excluding Black Widow and Hawkeye) had solo movies prior to the release of Avengers. The Avengers was a converging point between different heroes with different goals and personalities. Suicide Squad failed, I feel, mostly because they chose obscure and not well-known villains to converge without giving the audience much to relate our emotions to background-wise or personality-wise.
In comparison, Justice League did much better with getting some coverage for a few of the heroes beforehand. However Cyborg and Aquaman are, again, not very popular DC characters. DC places so much emphasis on Batman and Superman that other characters that are important get overshadowed. Even now in trying to pull other important characters out from the depths of anonymity, Justice League still seemed to favor Batman and Superman, even though it’s supposed to be a team (not going to lie, I sort of hoped Superman would stay dead). While Flash does have a solo show, I’m not sure how well this character lined up with the character in Flash that premiered on CW.
Cyborg, Flash, and Aquaman will be getting solo films sometime later, but for now, if a movie-goer saw Justice League and was not familiar with these characters and their backstories, he or she would be left with several questions after the end credits came on screen. Sure, the movie can be enjoyed without knowledge of the characters, but it is far more enjoyable when one possesses such knowledge.
On another note, Superman and Lois Lane’s romance was absolutely trifling. I could have done without their romance in this film, and I believe Lois received far too much screen time for her little use. Every scene with her and Superman was my least favorite scene.
Overall, there wasn’t much I liked about this movie. It felt rather bland, but I do have to point out a few things I did enjoy:
1. Let it be known that Alfred is my favorite character in Justice League. He is the only trustworthy old man in these hero films, I tell you. His nosey father-like personality really came through in this film and I appreciated it.
2. Aquaman’s character was changed dramatically, but that’s nothing new. Before, Aquaman had a Captain America-like personality—wholesome and good natured, but much less useful. For a while now, comics have been trying to make him more edgy, so he would no longer be the butt of DC Universe jokes. Justice League accomplished that, as he is now more the “brooding drunkard” type. Honestly it was like Batman and Thor’s personalities meshed together with a bit of a modern twist. I was just glad they didn’t make him a dunce.
3. Flash’s scene with Superman was hilarious. The cinematography there was delightful.
4. Batman was more human in Justice League than I’ve ever seen him before and it was amazing.
5. Wonder Woman. That’s it. That’s all.
What did you think of Justice League?