Justice League Review

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

Rating:  PG-13

Run time:  2hr

As I sit in the waiting room, anxiously waiting for my name to be called along with the rest of the victims at the dentist office, I wonder if this time is going to be just as bad as my previous visit.  I hope that the drugs will dull the pain and put me in an euphoric haze that as I come out on the other side, there is no pain, just bliss and enjoyment.

This best describes my feeling before viewing D.C. Comics movies.  When I went to see Justice League, attentively waiting for the credits to disappear and the feature to start, I had high hopes that by the end of the film, the experience would be enjoyable and not agonizing.  Was it painful? No.  A euphoric haze?  Definitely not.  But as I exited the theater and viewed others who were anxiously waiting with the same discernment that I had, they could tell by the expression on my face, that at least this visit was a satisfying one.

After the death of Superman (Cavill) and realizing that humanity is not a lost cause, Batman (Affleck) enlists the help of Wonder Woman (Gadot), Aquaman (Momoa), The Flash (Miller) and Cyborg (Fisher) to face Steppenwolf, the world’s newest supervillian.  But this newly created team, The Justice League, soon finds out that the lack of one crucial member of their team makes it almost impossible to save the world from Steppenwolf’s destruction.  They must devise a plan to either stop him or add a familiar face to join them.

Justice League’s casting is superb.  The actor’s characterization of the superheroes makes it seem that they have known each other for years.  The playful banter among them seems natural and not forced; making their lines funny and not silly or arbitrary.   As a viewer, I could not help but to laugh and enjoy the ruckus and insane situations they find themselves trying to survive.  One such scene has the Flash realizing a “moment of truth” when he sees that he is not as fast as he thinks as someone catches him out the corner of his eye in the middle of an intense battle.

Another praise for the casting gurus is the casting of Jason Momoa (Games of Thrones) as Aquaman.  As the standout performer of the film, his portrayal of Aquaman made the character full of life, fighting off the parademons with his trident, long hair and tattoos (total bad ass).  His keen sense of humor and renegade attitude was both refreshing and intriguing.  The film should have given more time to develop character to give you a better sense of his origins.  This would help establish an emotional connection and a better film, overall.  But I am sure this is not the last time we will see Mr. Momoa as Aquaman.

Like other D.C. films, Justice League lacks emotional connection with its characters.  This and story lines are the two most significant elements that sets it apart from Marvel films.  Unlike that of Marvel, with the exception of a few (i.e. Wonder Man and The Dark Knight), the lack of viewer relationships with the characters makes the films trivial and visual “eye candy”.  Marvel does a great job introducing characters on their own (reestablishing them as new and refreshing) in films of substance.  D.C. surrounds the character with a lot of special effects and action but misses the “care” factor.

Even though the plot is frivolous,  I did fall in love with the cast of characters, as a whole.  There is plenty of action, but the CGI was overdone, making it seem amateurish.  The movie is fun ride and entertaining but it  is a “B” version of The Avengers.  D.C. comics are getting close, but the makeup distance is great.  But it does give me hope for the next installment.

 

Your Average Movie Moe