Justice League – Review

Before I begin, I have a confession.

Occasionally, I must preface my review with a warning that my initial impressions have been heavily influenced by outside objects or persons.  In this instance, my good pal, Kevin and I walked into the Raleigh Mission Valley Theater in a highly spirited mood that stemmed from our mutual pleasure of each other’s company coupled with our recent consumption of large quantities of coffee.  Kevin — a man of many enviable traits including his insatiable appetite for life, a hearty laugh and good humor — accompanied me to the theater while sharing my disdain for DC’s previous comic book films (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad).  We expected no better from Justice League.  

And then the movie began…

Justice League is not a good movie.  Let me emphasize this point before I confess to the numerous occasions when Kevin and I exchanged infectious giggles that slowly eroded or grew (depending on how define such things) into bouts of chuckles that finally crescendoed in explosive cackles.  Desperate to conceal my amusement, I covered my mouth frequently, but mistakenly took that time to survey the audience from the back of the theater.  When the screen basked in white, I could see the dead, vacant expressions of my fellow theater patrons.  Their seemingly defeated faces only exasperated my growing personal amusement.

The reasons for our shared laughter are hard to explain or justify.  My pleasure of Justice League was akin to the same delights I have whenever I watch a 1980’s action film starring Jean Claude Van Damme or Chuck Norris.  Those movies are cheesy, stupid, senseless and un-apologetically entertaining.  There’s an innocence to them.  You get the sense that lots of effort was made to entertain.  When it fails, it’s like watching a person slip on a banana peal.

Justice League doesn’t derail completely.  There was legitimate joy to be had from the very beginning when Danny Elfman’s (assuming musical duties from Hans Zimmer) brassy chords creates a much desired light-hardheartedness to the whole affair.  When Batman (Ben Affleck) appears, Elfman’s music sneaks in cues from his iconic theme to the 1989 Tim Burton Batman flick.  This creative self-plagiarism creates a mood that runs counter to the dour, gritty tone of Affleck’s first foray as the Caped Crusader in last year’s Batman v Superman.  The end results resembles a YouTube video in which someone thought mixing elements from two films disparate in tone would be amusing.

The giggling starts…

We’re then reintroduced to Diana, aka “Wonder Woman” (Gal Gadot, who still shines here) as she takes down a terrorist hostage scene in a fun opening battle.  Diana eventually pals up with Affleck on a hunt to find other meta-humans in order to prepare for the coming of evil, Steppanwolf (Ciarin Hinds) who plans to conquer the Earth by using the power of three hidden “mother boxes”.  These cinematic MacGuffins are protected by Diana’s mother on the island of Themyscira and by the sub-aquatic Atlantian guardians, including the meta-human, Aquaman (Jason Momoa).

While Batman courts Aquaman, Victor Stone, aka “The Cyborg” (Ray Fisher) and the speedster, Barry Allen, aka “The Flash (Ezra Miller), Steppanwolf engages in battles with each respective army before claiming two of these precious boxes.

These sequences epitomize my first legitimate concern with Justice League.  Many reviewers have complained that Warner Bros’ limited two-hour running time provision inhibits the film.  I would argue that two hours would have been sufficient time had the producers settled for a better solution.  Let’s consider two possibilities.  First, you could take the 40 scenes and excise those that are not pertinent to the story.  Alternatively, you could just shorten many scenes.  It appears the producers aimed for the latter.  As a result, the crucial sequences feel rushed and the extraneous (aka, fan service only) moments, such as Steppenwolf’s prolonged (and futile) battles with the armies in Themyscira and Atlantis remain intact.

The Atlantis underwater battle is ridiculous and is the first of the unintended, big chuckle moments.

The more vital elements, such as in which Batman meet-and-greet with his new League members are criminally rushed.  Seriously, Affleck is suddenly in a bar and Aquaman is just standing there!  No surprise, no grandiose reveal!

The chuckling continues…

Justice League is so different tonally from its predecessors that those who wish to marathon the DC films risk whiplash after migrating from Batman v Superman to Justice League.  Despite sharing directors, Zack Snyder’s normal flair for grainy stoicism has been replaced with a brighter, lighter palette.  Instead, the aesthetic is much more in keeping with Joss Whedon, who took the reigns after Snyder left the project due to a family tragedy.

Whedon’s signature is all over Justice  League, including lots of jokes, which mostly fail — hard!  The humor is bestowed almost entirely to Miller’s Flash, whose primary role is to serve as the film’s comic relief,.  But his material is primarily artificial and desperate (save for a couple of references to Children of the Corn and one glance exchange with another hero).  Instead, Miller is relegated to looking in awe at his new superhero pals and turns in a performance that is more annoying than it is endearing.  That leaves Aquaman in the unfortunate position of being second fiddle in the comic department, who does have one key comic gem that remains the film’s humorous highlight.

Yet Justice League’s comic sufferings soon blossomed to my sadistic delight.  Despite the film’s allegedly $300 million budget, Justice League frequently looks cheap — or at least unfinished.  The film’s chaotic climax is a just to behold in the number of shots that look like a YouTuber superimposed characters from a different movie.  The finale is a dizzying orgy of unimpressive CGI compounded with terrible jokes and heroes forcing loud smiles and outbursts.

This is when I start my chuckling marathon…

Despite the abridged sequences, terrible effects and feeble humor, Justice League succeeds more than its previous installments (save for the terrific Wonder Woman).  First, it’s fun!  The characters have engaged exchanges that aren’t the confused, self-indulgent diatribes of earlier entries.  There are some fun pairings during the Justice League’s second half that permit the heroes time to connect and fill in backstory gaps.

Also, as a person who grew up on Christopher Reeves’ Superman (I still have the PJs to prove it!) I can honestly attest that Henry Cavill’s Superman is given a new lease on life — both literally and cinematically.  Yes, I think it’s safe to reveal that Superman makes an appearance in Justice League, despite the weird marketing campaign that wishes to keep that element a secret.  Cavill is delightful in that his Superman and is finally allowed to express emotions outside of being mopey (yes, for the love of all things Holy, Superman finally smiles!).  Also, Cavill has a share of quips that — magically — do not feel forced.  Even Supes reunion with his family is given some sense of weight.

Justice League is a huge step in the right direction for the DC Universe.  The producers have finally decided to embrace its insane and ridiculous premise with a sense of humor and optimism.  Its plot, villain and overall narrative remain just as messy and convoluted as before.  Also, there are multiple sequences that seemingly feel misplaced and disorderly.  I’m convinced Aquaman’s second scene should have been his introduction sequence and there are various exposition scenes to the “mother box” plot that would been better saved for the film’s opening.  But there are plentiful instances when the film hits levels of absurdity (There should be a drinking game for every time you spot Henry Cavill’s mustache CGI removal) that I can only imagine will lend itself to film viewings in 20 years the way some of us watch films from the 90s and 80s today.

When the credits rolled, I was still laughing.  Kevin, also chuckling, looked at me and asked, “What did I just watch!?”  I answered back, “I don’t know.  It was bad…and, yet, I kinda love it!”