Review: Justice League + DC Cinematic Universe Commentary
I really wanted to enjoy this movie. A considerable part of me did, and a considerable part of me did not, but unlike The Last Jedi, at least a second and third viewing incrementally improved my opinion.
“No protectors here. No Lanterns. No Kryptonian. This world will fall, like all the others.”
Points for brevity.
I am unapologetically more inclined to follow DC than I would Marvel. It is an issue of preference because I feel like DC is inherently more... human.
However, since I value objectivity (not to be confused with 'like') I will say that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been done about as right as we have possibly ever seen, and perhaps will see. Patience + deliberate storytelling built a foundation that has given us several movies, mostly solo films + big event ensembles. The buildup to bringing the Avengers together was exciting and dare I say monumental.
Let's start from the beginning shall we?
Man of Steel was a tough movie --- sure it made a ton of money, but it also cost a ton of money. Superman was brooding, a bit dark, and very antithetical to the 'hope' premise that his interrogation room speech wanted us to absorb and accept. Not sure if it was deliberate, but Batman v. Superman was almost apologetic in that it was as though Superman was on a redemption tour, with his death being rather hefty paid due.
Tons of opinion were thrown at the amount of destruction and collateral damage suffered in the fight between him and Zod. Even more were expressed when Superman killed Zod.
I did not mind either. DC really wanted to show off how responsible its cast of heroes needed to be in order to be who they are. This was a stark contrast to Marvel's approach by pinning such tragedies on a very well defined set of villains. So in a sense Marvel draws an obvious line between hero and villain, where DC blurs it with the 'one bad day' belief.
“That’s how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day. You had a bad day once, am I right? I know I am. I can tell. You had a bad day and everything changed. Why else would you dress up as a flying rat? You had a bad day, and it drove you as crazy as everybody else... Only you won’t admit it!”
The DCCU is far from perfect, but this 'one bad day' condition that seems to plague our marquee heroes, whether it be having been orphaned in an alley, to the responsibility of the death of thousands, the consequences of these vulnerabilities are remarkably human. These circumstances in some way contribute to the failings of our heroes. Marvel, on the other hand, the circumstances are much different.
Both DC and Marvel have a very structured set of power origins: Tech, Science, Magic, and Mutant.
Marvel thrives on creating these groups into their own set of issues and stories. While both DC and Marvel bring these elements together, the conflict is always contained to the archetypes and their position in the world as said archetype, taking a very evolutionary position as though this is what the world is becoming, to where even though humans are valued, they are a secondary character in my opinion. DC characters, the conflict is always contained to the archetypes and their position in the world as 'humans', and figuring out how can they exist in the humans' world, and how to protect the human way of life, putting their own respective powers/origins in a secondary position of responsibility rather than adaptation, as though humanity is the next step in evolution.
“The world needs Superman... the team needs Clark. He’s more human I am. He lived in this world, fell in love, had a job. In spite of all that power.”
“There are heroes among us. Not to make us feel smaller, but to remind us of what makes us great.”
In watching the Justice League, sure it was not a perfect film. The Snyder/Whedon mashup was shaky and the story seemingly continues to tease Darkseid. The MCU has slowly built up the mythos of Thanos, the film fell short of implying that Darkseid is coming. People are genuinely excited (as I am) for Thanos and his wielding of the Infinity gauntlet. On the DC side of things, only BvS and JL have made reference to Darkseid. There is so much left to be told about other characters that are in the DC universe that remain so very disconnected to where there is literally zero predictability and that zero predictability is a negative. We can guess that Darkseid is coming, but no one cares yet. Thanos on the other hand, has been the orchestrator of the MCU's otherworldly threats since the first Avengers film, and Marvel has thus created a sustainable line of storytelling and connected solo films.
So this all goes back to Batman v. Superman. Justice League in all its covering of sin, still manages to put BvS in the corner of poorly executed universe building. Doomsday and Superman's death should have followed the comics better, rather than being a combination of The Dark Knight Returns, and the Death of Superman as the lead-in vehicle for Justice League.
This opinion is not an original one, many critics have voiced this same opinion.
My gripe with Justice League is basically that we the audience are being rushed to accept known entities that we actually want to see fleshed out on the big screen. We want the MCU formula, but with DC's characters.
However, Justice League was a great preview of the potential that the DCCU has. An even better preview though was 2017's Wonder Woman which was phenomenal, and I think many fans would agree that DC finally produced a film that captured the fantasy of superheroes in a depth that made sense. This could be the start of a really good streak.
My opinion is that BvS and Justice League can work out to be great films (as far as story goes) in hindsight if we get some really solid solo films before Darkseid arrives and gives the audience something to care about. Man of Steel failed to endear us to Superman, but people still search for that. Wonder Woman made people care, let us hope that DC can recapture that in their solo films.
Now, to focus on Justice League as a movie...
Ben Affleck is a great Batman, and Jeremy Irons is an under-used asset so far.
Ezra Miller surprisingly holds his own as Barry Allen/Flash given the action genre is not really his source of notoriety.
Jason Momoa is a fine actor, and gives Aquaman that modern update to tone down some of the camp that comes with 'talking to fish'.
Henry Cavill continues to be a solid choice for Superman, and CGI mishaps aside, this is a Superman we need to see more of.
Ray Fisher as Cyborg --- I have no idea who he is as an actor, but he carries his role with authority, the kind I think DC can replicate in the way that Chadwick Bozeman did for Black Panther.
Gal Gadot reprises her role as Wonder Woman, and while we saw moments of her character as she was in her solo outing, the ensemble format dampens her impact considerably. However, her conflict in Justice League was very well stated:
“You were pushing me to lead the team, but leaders get people killed. I fought, always, when I was needed. But to lead, step into the light and to say to people, “This is worth your life”... it’s your fault. They’re all Steve Trevor.”
“Diana Prince: You should move on from mourning for your parents.
Bruce Wayne: You’re one to talk, you ran away for a hundred years because your boyfriend died.”
Overall, the characters' dialog was not so bad. There are enough profound moments hidden in the conversations (as I hope is evidenced by my use of quotes, except the Joker one) to where the injected humor of the Flash, or Aquaman's jock bravado is fairly balanced.
Steppenwolf as the main villain may not have been the marquee villain that makes a great good vs. evil storyline, but for being a precursor to Darkseid, I will let it slide. Not much is known about Steppenwolf due to his secondary role already, but that is what sort of makes his appearance strangely appropriate in the JL's first outing. "Who is this guy?" is actually what his character is supposed to make people think.
The Mother Box mythos was actually neat, albeit an oversimplified version of the Infinity Gauntlet. That being said, I did prefer the New52's Justice League: WAR interpretation of the Mother Boxes as being the means of invasion.
In conclusion, Justice League did not blow my socks off nor did I sit back afterwards and think 'Wow, what a great film." I did come away from it though with a sense of hope that DC has made a desperately needed course correction and that the 'age of heroes' is in fact coming.
