Justice League: Not The Avengers, but Thankfuly Not Batman V Superman Either

    Justice Leagues is a film that has been under pressure since it was announced. It is a movie that cannot escape controversy. Depending on the day, Ben Affleck is or isn't staying on as Batman. Zack Snyder has lost all creative control. Jos Whedon was brought in for re shoots. All of this stuff is not fake news. The problem starts with Batman V Superman being so bad and Wonder Woman being so good. Warner/ DC cannot afford another failure. While I cannot say that Justice League is not on the same level as The Avengers, it is a definite step in the right direction.


   The world is mourning Superman. Crime and chaos are on the rise. Batman is discovering that something bad is on the horizon and is working on putting a team together to stop it. He gets help from Wonder Woman, who has some inside knowledge of threat, and the two of them set out to recruit Aquaman, Flash, and Cyborg. The team has to work together and hope that they can defeat the world conquering Steppenwolf without the help of Superman.

   Let's talk about what worked. The team and their chemistry. When the team is together, it is fun to watch! The interactions between the characters is really good. They all have their moments to shine and we get an idea of who they are. Sure we'd like more back story of each of them, but much like Wonder Woman it will come in another movie. We get a glimpse of Atlantis and it comes across better than I thought it would. The pace is good in comparison to Batman V Superman and it does leave you wanting more.

There are some things that do not work. The beginning has it's cool moments, but it is also very choppy. I feel like an extra 20-30 min would really have helped out the story and eliminated this. It also heavily swallowed in C.G.I. The character C.G.I. is OK, especially with Batman. The elimination of the, "super 'stache," is awkward. The film underwent heavy re shoots and it took time. Henry Cavil is filming the latest Mission Impossible and is contractually obligated to keep his mustache. Meaning they had to digitally remove it from the film. It leaves Clark looking a little awkward. Steppenwolf is another C.G.I. throw away villain, but is serviceable for the story. I would rather have seen more practical effects used.

Gal Gadot is still fantastic as Wonder Woman. She is gorgeous and really looks comfortable in the role. We get a slight follow up to her origin story even though it is a little off with continuity. She is a great character and it by far still the tent pole of this universe. The scenes between her and Bruce Wayne are fantastic. There is chemistry there and it would be nice to see it followed up on down the road. Cyborg also fits well with the context of this story and Flash has some great moments. Ezra Miller is good, but I still prefer the TV version of Barry Allen.

Ben Affleck is the best Batman to ever grace the screen. It is not up for debate. The look is still perfect and he really adds another level to the character. I hope that he stays in the role and does the forthcoming Matt Reeves planned trilogy. He is a fan boy with this character and it shows. He has probably already bailed on the role and it's just not public yet. That is very unfortunate if it is truly the case.

Where this movie shines the brightest is Superman. It is the third time we have seen Henry Cavil as the Man of Steel and it by far his best outing. The suit is brighter and it should be. His personality is more like the character and it definitely works. Man Of Steel had it's flaws and Batman V Superman was just a whole new level of awful. It took only one small moment in the film to give me goose bumps. It was less than four seconds of screen time that made me want to jump out of my seat and cheer! This is the Superman that we deserve and it doesn't disappoint.

Stay for the two post credit scenes. One of which is golden the other I struggled with. They had opportunities to erase a mistake and they didn't. Justice League isn't perfect. It is not garbage either. It suffers from the fact that it's predecessor was so bad and it is forced to build on those bad decisions. It gets more right than it does wrong. I enjoyed this two hour trip through the DC Universe. If left me wanting more and it's good moments are enough to overcome its mistakes. Fun, but flawed and worth the watch.