In the five year history of the DC Extended Universe, perhaps the strongest connective tissue has been the painfully obvious lack of an overall plan. The cinematic universe got off to a flawed, yet promising, start in 2013 with Man of Steel, but the decision to immediately double triple down on director Zach Snyder, who many people pointed to as the source of the film’s major failings, was the first sign that things were not shaping up as hoped. The three-year gap before the next film, Batman v Superman, which tried to cram in several movies worth of storylines and world-building, and the subsequent release of the bafflingly incoherent and seemingly irrelevant Suicide Squad cemented the idea that the DCEU’s failure would ultimately be of its own doing. Even the lone unquestionable bright spot of the universe, this summer’s Wonder Woman, illustrated this lack of plan, though in this instance, it turned out for the best. Its standalone nature, characterization of its main hero, and message of hope greatly contrasted with the DCEU’s aesthetic thus far, suggesting that the future of the cinematic universe might be best served in singular efforts under the guiding hand of directors best suited for that particular hero, as Patty Jenkins was for Wonder Woman. However, DC was already too far gone in its attempts to catch up to Marvel for one great movie to pull them out, and the production of a team-up film built on the back of Batman V Superman was unavoidable. Much like the against-all-odds success of The Avengers was the obvious result of Marvel’s carefulness, Justice League is the expected conclusion of this uncertainty. Justice League is an often-incoherent amalgam of two directorial visions and corporate demands, strung together by obvious reshoot work. However, somewhat miraculously, DC still managed to make the best of a bad situation. Justice League perhaps works better as a trailer for a more colorful, hopeful vision of the DC Universe in the future than it does as a film, but its streamlined editing, lighter tone, and great cast should be enough to justify audiences giving the DCEU another chance.
Justice League, unfortunately but inescapably, picks up in the aftermath of the events of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. With Superman (Henry Cavill) dead, Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) must scramble to assemble a team of new heroes, including Aquaman (Jason Mamoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller), and Cyborg (Ray Fischer), in order to combat a looming alien invasion. The team must race against the villainous Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) and his army of Parademons to collect the Mother Boxes, three pieces of alien technology capable of transforming Earth into the apocalyptic hellscape of Steppenwolf’s home planet, and restore hope to the world.
Even boiling Justice League down into a basic synopsis requires an abundance of new names, new threats, and new MacGuffins that no amount of non-sequitur dream sequences from prior films has prepared audiences for. The film itself piles much more onto that, introducing side-characters from each hero’s solo film, taking the viewer from Gotham to Themyscira to Atlantis, as well as teasing bits of larger DC Comics lore that may or may not pay-off in the future. The film has to make up a lot of ground, and even casual comic book fans may find themselves lost trying to make sense of it all. Left once again with enough material for at least three other movies, the under two-hour runtime (the shortest DCEU film yet) seems initially questionable. However, the streamlined editing approach manages to work wonders at making the film enjoyable, especially compared to the three-hour slog of Batman V Superman’s Ultimate Edition, the only watchable version of that film. Taking inspiration from both DC’s recent line of rebooted New 52 comics, as well as the classic Japanese film Seven Samurai, the film’s pure team-up action keeps things moving from humorous character interaction to riveting action sequence with little regard for coherence, but a lot of regard for good old-fashioned summer blockbuster joy.
This joy is achievable mainly through the strength of the ensemble cast. Much has already been said about the comic-book accurate intimidating-physicality of Ben Affleck’s Batman, but the character has traded in his murderous tendencies for pathos and even a bit of humor this time around. Fans of the Wonder Woman movie may be disappointed at the lack of focus given to the DCEU’s standout-hero, and possibly annoyed at Justice League’s misguided attempts to build off her solo-film’s character arc, but that solo film transformed Gal Gadot into one of Hollywood’s biggest stars for a reason, and she shines here yet again. The biggest success of the film, however, is endearing the viewer to the three new heroes hopeful for starring roles in the future. Momoa’s badass thrill-seeking Aquaman easily brushes off any potential jokes about the character, while Miller’s Flash manages to earn his place alongside his TV counterpart through his eager yet socially-awkward interpretation of the hero. The most surprising element of the film is Fischer’s Cyborg, whose 2020 solo film announcement was met with a huge amount of apprehension. However, the anxiety about, yet potential of, quickly-evolving technology expressed by his power-set and captured by Fischer’s tormented yet humorous portrayal is fascinating, timely material that seems primed for further exploration going forward.
While the film is convincing proof of each hero’s readiness for headlining their own feature, one of the most enjoyable elements of Justice League is the interactions between the various characters. Many of the biggest laughs of the film (the running gag about Aquaman’s ability to talk to fish, the exchanges between Flash and Cyborg as two teens in way over their heads) bear the distinct impression of Joss Whedon’s touch, who received a co-writing credit on the film after taking control of the movie’s post-production. Attempts to discern what parts of the film’s troubled production came from Whedon and what came from Zach Snyder may be impossible (though the poor CGI-mustache-removal on Henry Cavill reveals how much of the film was reshot late in the game), the film is quite obviously a clash between two very distinct visionary styles. Those who appreciated the (pompous) exploration of heroism that Snyder developed over his prior two DCEU films will be disappointed to discover that this thematic throughline is suddenly dropped, with no real substance to replace it. However, for most, the newfound levity of the characters will be a massive relief.
For as much contempt as this hastily reassembled film seems to have for its own credited director, Snyder’s vision still leaks through, sometimes to the movie’s benefit, but often not. Snyder’s greatest strength as a director has always been his eye for striking visuals, and the cinematography here often provides shots that feel just like gorgeous comic book splash pages. Much like the film’s narrative is a Frankenstein’s monster though, the film’s visual styling is similarly uneven. Given the massive reported production budget (at least $300 million after the extensive reshoots), it’s embarrassing how frequently terrible the film’s visual effects are, including the aforementioned uncanny valley of its mustache-removal, as well as a particularly ugly instance of fast-growing plants late in the film. Still, the action scenes are fun and dynamic, both in its team action and in the heroes’ singular efforts, such as an especially thrilling terrorist-thwarting Wonder Woman scene at the film’s beginning.
Given the five-year build-up within the universe itself, as well as the decades-long attempt to bring the superhero team to the big screen, it’s undeniably disappointing that the film ended up being the rushed, uneven result of a lack of planning. The notion that this wasn’t the Justice League film anyone was really hoping for is perhaps best evidenced by its villain, Steppenwolf, a C-list character from the comics best known for being the herald of an actual notable threat, with dreadfully confusing motivations. Even Starro the Conquerer was a better justification for needing this many heroes to band together.
Perhaps the film’s best reason for bringing these heroes together though is to finally relieve Warner Bros.’ anxiety about wanting a comic-book crossover of their own. After many long years, they’ve finally made their film. It’s shaping up to be a critical and commercial failure, but it’s over and done with. The Justice League has reached the big screen. They can finally move on, and if the course-correction the film does provide, including its lighter tone and actually inspiring and likable heroes, is any indication, the whole endeavor can still be salvaged, as long as they can understand why Wonder Woman became their critical outlier. The 2018 Aquaman film by James Wan, and the 2019 Shazam! film starring Zachary Levi, appear to be solid next steps though. Justice League may not do its heroes justice, but the fun it provides lays the groundwork for a new visionary, one with a great plan, to avenge them in the future.
Justice League, also starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, and J.K. Simmons, is in theaters now.
