Justice League
JUSTICE LEAGUE (12)
D: Zack Snyder (& Joss Whedon)
Warner Bros/Ratpac-Dune/DC/Atlas (Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder, Jon Berg & Geoff Johnson)
US 2017
120 mins
Action/Adventure/Fantasy
W: Chris Terrio & Joss Whedon [based on the comic book by Gardner Fox]
DP: Fabian Wagner
Ed: David Brenner, Richard Pearson & Martin Walsh
Mus: Danny Elfman
Ben Affleck (Bruce Wayne / Batman), Gal Gadot (Diana Prince / Wonder Woman), Ezra Miller (Barry Allen / The Flash), Jason Momoa (Arthur Curry / Aquaman), Ray Fisher (Victor Stone / Cyborg), Ciaran Hinds (Steppenwolf), Henry Cavill (Kal-El / Superman), Amy Adams (Lois Lane)
***SPOILER WARNINGS***
Following the disappointment of Batman vs Superman and the contrasting elation of Wonder Woman, I wasn't quite sure what my expectations would be for Justice League, which brings together all the big DC superheroes to battle the bad guys.
It's fundamentally important to have seen BVS and Wonder Woman before watching Justice League, and it's not possible to review this without spoilers for the forementioned (especially Batman vs Superman)
The film wastes no time with an opening action set piece, as Batman fights an alien being, who are popping up all over the world following the death of Superman. It soon emerges that they are scouts for a powerful being called Steppenwolf, who is seeking three powerful boxes entrusted to certain superheroes, with which he schemes to create his own apocalyptic world.
Bruce Wayne wastes no time assembling his team, although Aquaman and Cyborg are both initially reluctant to join.
Even when the five superheroes do unite, they are out of their depth against the demonic villain and plot to resurrect Superman, which may not bode so well for Batman.
The build up is a bit of a mess, settling for comic relief from Barry Allen (The Flash) rather than any serious character development, but when everything is all set up for the big showdown, it does have moments of excitement.
As a complete package, it's far from perfect, and Marvel don't have to worry about being knocked off their perch as the Superhero behemoth. Some of the effects are shoddy, especially the digital erasion of Henry Cavill's moustache and the CGI bad guy, who is a very one dimension character. Still, it isn't nearly as bad as its reputation would suggest.
5/10
D: Zack Snyder
HBO / Warner Bros / DC / Atlas / The Stone Quarry (Charles Roven & Deborah Snyder)
US 🇺🇸 2021
242 mins
Action/Adventure/Fantasy
W: Chris Terrio [based on characters created by DC comics]
DP: Fabian Wagner
Ed: David Brenner
Mus: Tom Holkenberg
Ben Affleck (Bruce Wayne / Batman), Gal Gadot (Diana Prince / Wonder Woman), Ezra Miller (Barry Allen / The Flash), Jason Momoa (Arthur Curry / Aquaman), Ray Fisher (Victor Stone / Cyborg), Ciaran Hinds (Steppenwolf), Henry Cavill (Kal-El / Superman), Amy Adams (Lois Lane)
For those not in the know, the original production of 2017’s Justice League was impacted when the original director (Zack Snyder) suffered a personal tragedy and had to step down, allowing another director to finish the film and edit the cut for its release. There was also much studio interference, resulting in a lighter touch to rival Marvel Studios.
Personally, I found the 2017 film to be a mess tonally, but I still had fun with it, and thought the internet cries for a Snyder Cut were completely ridiculous.
I was happy to be proved wrong however, as this is the far superior version of the film, with a much darker tone and far more back story for some of the characters - which was something I had a major problem with when I watched the first film.
Still, 242 minutes is a ridiculous length for a film, so it’s understandable why the studio wanted to hack huge portions out of the running time, especially since it was an incredibly expensive production and they wanted to make profit on it by getting more screenings and as many bums on seats as possible.
Unfortunately, there will always be a wrestling match between the studios and the artist who wants to get their individual vision to be expressed.
Yes, this is the better version, but I wouldn’t have gone to the cinema for it.
7/10
