With only a couple of days now until the main event, we have reached a fever pitch in anticipation. However, before every climax, our hero has to face their greatest fears and overcome their most difficult obstacles. So, in true Batman fashion, I’m doing the same by reviewing Justice League.
Released in 2017 as a part of the Detective Comics Universe (DCU), Justice League had been stuck in developmental hell since 2007. Trying not to step on the toes of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy and caught up in several legal battles, it wasn’t until 2016 that filming began. This coincided with backlash from critics and general audiences alike for Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, the previous Zak Snyder feature. Unfortunately, troubled times continued as Snyder stepped down from Justice League duties to cope with the death of his daughter. In his place, The Avengers director Joss Whedon, who proceeded to rewrite eighty pages of the script and re-shoot most of the movie with ‘only 10% of Snyder’s footage used’ and the rest deemed ‘unwatchable’. These quotes from cinematographer Fabian Wagner & journalist Matt Goldberg were also followed by Ray Fisher’s allegations, who claimed that Whedon was ‘gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable’ towards the cast & crew. Simply put, an unmitigated disaster from start to finish with ramifications still being felt to the present day.
Through immense pressure, though, diamonds can be created. The story of Justice League on-screen takes place after Batman vs Superman: DOJ in a post Superman World. Without the Kryptonian protecting it, Earth is vulnerable to what the universe has to offer and Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) knows it. Therefore, he travels the world to amass a team of heroes to stop the oncoming storm. Featuring Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), The Flash (Ezra Miller), and Aquaman (Jason Mamoa), can this group of powerful beings coexist? I was hesitant to watch this movie without having seen any of the films that preceded it. However, my lack of previous interest was rewarded when they spent the first 40 minutes of runtime (one third of the movie) with copious amounts of exposition. Not only is this uninteresting for a casual fan, it doesn’t reward any dedicated viewers who have seen all of the DC Universe films so far. Structurally, this affects the flow of the entire film to the extent that would make even The Flash feel slow. The pace never seems to quicken either, so there’s no rollercoaster of emotions and no increased sense of urgency, ending as flat as it starts.
Without the action and pacing to rely on, you would hope for some characters to sink your teeth in. Aquaman is the lone wolf, Wonder Woman is the Female Lead and The Flash is the comic relief. So far, so formulaic. Cyborg is the only character with a somewhat significant story and arc, crucial to the action, but he’s never given the spotlight as he’s the least known. Then, we have Batman, who is arguably the main character. Placed into this super team without superpowers, it really highlights all of his weaknesses. In one scene, Batman is seen struggling with a faceless grunt, the equivalent of Mario dying to a goomba. Stylistically, it presents an interesting idea for Batman, where he is slowly becoming irrelevant in the modern superhero world. This can be used to put over the younger, newer characters such as Cyborg whilst exploring an older Batman in a new independent film. It’s also something Batman can withstand as his popularity won’t wane. However, if this is the only character in the film with any depth, a superhero with no powers being constantly undermined by the supporting cast, it becomes indicative of the entire film and can be arguably extrapolated to the DCU as a whole.
Given how many issues I had with the narrative and characters, I haven’t had a chance to comment on what it looks like. Shoddy green screens and awkward fight choreography inconsistently lit, the shift in style exposes the change of director. Fortunately, there was some light at the end of the tunnel for fans of Zak Synder’s work, with an extended cut managed by the returning director released in 2021 receiving largely positive reviews. I, however, did not watch that version as it’s 4 hours long and not on Netflix. What I can take onboard from this though, is that somewhere in this 2017 version is an actual film with stakes and character development. It’s just not what I’ve watched here.