n
n
n
n
nJustice League (2017)
n
n
n
n
n
nDirectors: Zack Snyder/Joss Whedon
n
n
n
nCast: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams, EzranMiller, J.K. Simmons, Jeremy Irons, Billy Crudup, Diane Lane, Amber Heard,nRobin Wright
n
n
n
nI started collecting comics when I was nine years old. Indiscovered the world of comic books through a neighbor of mine who hadnmountains of them. Back then, you were either a Marvel fan or a DC fan, it wasnalways a clash of who had the best superheroes. Who would win if they evernfought against each other? Who was the most powerful? And it was all aboutnthose big events like Marvel’s ‘Secret Wars’ , where all of the heroes gotntogether to defeat an all-powerful villain. Nowadays, these clashes haventranslated to the silver screen. Who makes the best comic book movies? Marvelnor DC? Are you with Warner Bros. or are ya with Disney? Maybe you’re like menand enjoy both sides equally, I mean, why side, when you can have all the funnand enjoy the whole shebang? Cool thing is that each production company isnalways trying to make the biggest and the baddest comic book film ever made,nall to please us, the viewer. They don’t always succeed, but boy is it fun tonwatch them try. Up to my writing this, I’d say that there’s no doubt thatnMarvel is winning the day in terms of who makes the best comic book movies. Marvelnseems to have the formula figured out, and they are ahead of the game, nondoubt. But DC is slowly learning from their mistakes. Is Justice League a stepnin the right direction?
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nThis time around, Batman is trying to gather superheroes tonform a group of heroes to protect the earth from a coming threat. Apparently, anvillain called Steppenwolf is hell bent on world domination, but in order to donso, he has to recollect three “mother boxes” that will give him the power henseeks in order to achieve his goals. Will Batman gather the team in time, andnif he does, will they be enough? How can this world without a Superman confrontnsuch a threat?
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nFor those of you not in the know, this film had a bumpy roadntowards the silver screen. Zack Snyder was directing it, but he suffered the deathnof a loved one, so he stepped down to deal with that. Warner Bros. decided tonhire Josh Whedon director of Avengers (2012) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)nin order to finish the film. Whedon did a couple of re-writes and reshoots andnboom, we got Justice League. Warner Bros. took the opportunity to make the filmna bit “lighter”, the reason for this being that audiences have felt that DCnmovies are “too dark and brooding”, well, at least when compared to Marvelnmovies, which are bright and shiny and know how to juggle heroic elements withncomedy.
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nThis whole making DC movies lighter thing has been going on for a whilennow. Warner Bros. has been reactionary in this sense, they react to whatevernMarvel does. And I think that’s actually part of the problem, they aren’t trendnsetters. They are following, reacting to whatever Marvel does. In this sense,nMarvel has proven themselves the leaders of this whole comic book movie craze.nWarner Bros tried making Suicide Squad (2016) lighter and funnier with some reshoots, butnthat turned out to be a failed experiment. With Justice League, DC finallynfound the right balance between comedy and super hero antics, and it’s all thanksnto Whedon’s influence in the project. The funny moments are truly funny, wellnwritten and effective, so I’d say you guys can rest assured the film delivers.
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nIn terms of these six heroes coming together, I’d say theyndid a good job as well. I gotta say I had a kick out of seeing all these heroesntogether on the silver screen. Nobody is left behind, they all shine, they allnkick ass, they work together. It’s cool seeing their different personalitiesnclash. Some are seasoned veterans, others are just learning how to be heroes.nHow cool is it to see Flash afraid of getting into battle? I’d say he is thenone that grows the most as a character, learning how to grow into the role of anhero. Flash also has the funniest lines in the film. For the record, I like BennAffleck as Batman. Momoa is the badboy of the group as Aquaman. Cyborg isnsurprisingly crucial to the story. And Wonder Woman is growing to be the leadernof the pack. And speaking of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, she looks even morenbeautiful on this one, I have a crush on this girl. She’s just stunning on thisnfilm.
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nOn the negative side, the villain is your typical “worldndomination” type, which felt very “been there done that”. The villain being ancompletely computer generated character didn’t help matters much in terms ofngiving it life, Hollywood has to learn that lesson. We want thespiansnHollywood, not pixels. No matter how cool they may look, nothing will evernreplace the performance of a real actor. In this type of film, the villainsnshenanigans are just a trigger to get our heroes in motion and what really mattersnis how they get from here to there, how they go about it. The McGuffin thisntime are three powerful items called “The Mother Boxes” and basically, they arenwhat moves the plot along. It’s the type of film where the villains motivationsndon’t matter as long as we get that cool superhero action, which can be seen asna negative point. In a good honest to god great film, everything is that much betternif we care about what’s moving the story along. You definetly feel the voice of two different directors, and a bunch of producers messing with the movie, as a result the film does feel a bit uneven. It feels a bit disjointed in terms of tone and style. But whatever, Justice League isna no brainer. It’s meant to be a fun movie and in that sense, it delivers everynstep of the way. There are surprises and cool moments that will have thosengeeky fans wetting their pants with joy. Stay for the two extra endings!
n
n
n
n
n
nRating: 3 out of 5
n
n
n
n
n
n
