By Brennan Atkins and Noah Barnes
“Justice League,” directed by Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon, is the fifth installment of the DC Films Universe.
This series of movies started with “Man of Steel,” which was met with mixed reviews, and it left a bitter taste in loyal fans’ mouths. The next two installments, “Batman v. Superman” and “Suicide Squad” were met with even worse reviews, as the films were panned by critics and audiences alike.
Hope was all but lost for this series until June 2, when director Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” was released. Surprisingly, this movie was praised by fans for its accurate and charming portrayal of the princess of the Amazons. “Justice League” was announced shortly after and it left fans wondering – “Is this what we wanted and what the DC universe needed?”
No, not at all.
Eight months after the fall of the Man of Steel (Henry Cavill), Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck, who clearly did not want anything to do with this movie) finds out that an invasion is underway and must unite the league. Accompanied by Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Batman recruits three new characters, The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher). They all team up to protect the world from Steppenwolf, an alien overlord.
That’s the whole plot.
As fans, it felt lazily written and it really showed that they rushed this production. Usually in comic movies there’s some sort of character subplot or ulterior story going on. This doesn’t have that – it has one definitive goal, and that drives whole movie.
To be blunt, this movie doesn’t have real characters. The characters are empty shells of what they are supposed to represent. It’s nothing like what the original animated show or comics portrayed, and ultimately this is where the movie failed.
All they have to offer are silly one-liners that don’t land and melodramatic moments that don’t click. Guiltiest of this is the scarlet speedster himself, The Flash. Iterations of Flash have always been very personable, selfless and loyal. In this, he’s almost the opposite. He’s antisocial and really doesn’t seem to care throughout the movie. We can confidently say this movie would be the exact same if one of these main roles were simply removed – that’s how insignificant they are in the film.
This movie is the product of two directors with two different visions, struggling to put their pieces together. While they were trying to figure out this puzzle, it seems they must have dropped a piece because there are countless plot holes that discredit the whole film. The CGI in this movie is unheard of from a blockbuster movie. This is a $300 million movie that has CGI reminiscent of the first “Spy Kids” movie.
This movie, to put it simply, is a mess. It’s sad to see such a loved franchise ruined simply by the directors’ ignorance. The fans told them what they wanted fixed, and they butchered it even further.
It’s going to be hard to get excited for the next film considering how far DC has fallen.