Review by CJ

Director:
Zack Snyder, Joss Whedon

Starring:
Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher

Other notable appearances:
Ciarán Hinds, Jeremy Irons, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Billy Crudup, Connie Nielsen, J.K. Simmons, Joe Morton, Amber Heard, Jesse Eisenberg, Joe Manganiello

Running time:
121 minutes

Watch this if you liked:
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Wonder Woman, The Avengers

 

After the death of Superman (Cavill), an ancient evil is drawn to Earth with insidious plans. It is up to Bruce Wayne (Affleck) and Diana Prince (Gadot) to join forces with other super-powered beings and try to save the world from annihilation.

Justice League is the fifth film in the DC Extended Universe.

Okay. Real talk. I walked out of Justice League … after watching both end credit scenes and immediately purchased a ticket to the next session. (Stick around for both end credits scenes. The first is lighthearted and fun while the second sets up the rest of the continuation of the universe well.)

Justice League does a great job of introducing new major characters, portraying their unique personalities and how they fit into the team, and telling an action-packed story — all in a two hour time frame that never feels overlong.

I didn’t think I would, but I loved Ezra Miller’s portrayal of Barry Allen. It is funny, heart-wrenching and a little awkward. A perfect combination for the young Flash.

Jason Momoa is easily one of the best things to happen to Aquaman. The character is often the butt of jokes when it comes to characters in the DC universe, but this changed a lot in recent years. To me, Momoa’s Aquaman is the final piece in the puzzle of making the character a total badass. There are still references to the character’s less than cool past, but they are done in a very humorous way and the character’s reactions are great.

Cyborg has never been my favourite character, even when he was a member of the Teen Titans, and his appearance in Justice League is no different. However, Fisher and the writing team have done a great job of keeping the character relevant and able to hold his own next to four of the biggest names in the DC universe.

Affleck, Cavill and Gadot return to their roles as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman respectively and continue giving great portrayals of their characters. These characters have taken on lives of their own in the DC Extended Universe that don’t always align with their comic book counterparts, but that still make great superheroes on the big screen.

The choice of Steppenwolf as the villain was a good one. To unite the Justice League you needed someone or something huge. DC has no shortage of big, powerful villains but it was great to see them choose one that wasn’t necessarily a safe choice and hadn’t been done to death.

The decision not to feature a Green Lantern in the Justice League line up is understandable, but I was glad that there is a nod to the Green Lanterns in a flashback sequence. This was done in a way that makes it a great set up for the Green Lantern Corps film currently planned for 2020 release.

The effects in Justice League feel straight out of a comic book. The focus is on the action and it often looks surreal. I loved the aesthetic of the Justice League from the costumes to the special effects and the set designs.

Can we agree that Danny Elfman is one of the best film composers in the history of film composition? Okay, good. Because Elfman’s work on the score for Justice League is a masterpiece. Not only does Elfman reinvent parts of his own work from 1989’s Batman, but he also manages to incorporate John Williams’s Superman theme, the amazing Wonder Woman theme from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and I’m sure many more that I missed. The score is simply chill inducing.

If you love superhero movies, I highly recommend checking out Justice League. Be warned that, like all films in the DC Extended Universe, Justice League has a different tone to the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Personally, I think is great. Superhero movies often walk a fine line when it comes to similarities so I’m very glad that the DC Extended Universe has a different feel to it than Marvel’s while still being enjoyable.

Rating:

“What are your superpowers again?”
“I’m rich.”