Justice League: An Entertaining Mess

The DC Extended Universe hasn’t been the most successful since its conception. With Batman vs. Superman and Suicide Squad both being critical failures, it was up to Justice League to make a course correction. It wasn’t the most effective, but it’s a step in the right path.

Right off the bat, the differences in tone between previous DCEU movies and Justice League were evident. The DCEU has never been known for its jokes (aside from the light-heartedness of Wonder Woman), which made Justice League feel like a separate entity from the rest of the films. It is obvious this is due to the back lash of Batman vs. Superman (which was critically demolished for its dark tone), and it feels as if they got it right tonally this time around. The film didn’t take itself too seriously, which made it more enjoyable. The performances were also astoundingly impressive, causing the audience to lose any awareness of the fact that the performers were indeed actors. From Jason Momoa’s brutally divided Aquaman to Ezra Miller’s witty and dorky Barry Allen, the actors portray these characters exactly as their comic book counterparts. The chemistry between the actors is also seemingly strong, as it appeared that they bounced off each other with ease. When Bruce Wayne (Batman) is trying to recruit Barry Allen (Flash) into the Justice League, the interaction feels incredibly organic and humorous.

This movie wasn’t without its faults, however. The plot was incredibly generic, as if the studio was playing it safe. It didn’t provide anything fresh or ambitious, and that was sort of disappointing, as I felt Batman vs. Superman had some elements they could have incorporated into the final product. The villain also wasn’t anything special, and in my opinion, bland. His presence never really held much weight when he was on and off screen (which may be because of the shorter length of the film). Lastly, the special effects were incredibly underwhelming, which is insane as it takes up a good margin of the movie. At times, the color palette looked extremely bland and unappealing.

***** 3/5 Good

Like the leader of this entourage, Justice League is a mess. The plot is generic, the villain is bland, the special effects were unimpressive, and yet, it is still an enjoyable film. The characters and the lighter tone allowed the audience to look past some of these issues. The end product will have fans pumped for the future of the DCEU.