By Brett Blake JUSTICE LEAGUE is a mess. A fun mess, but a mess. The end result of an indecisive studio and extensive reshoots, the movie does manage to (nominally) rise above that and offer up some entertaining character moments and a sense of playfulness that has been almost entirely absent from the recent films based on DC Comics characters. In the aftermath of Superman’s (Henry Cavill) death - the climax of BATMAN v SUPERMAN - an ancient evil entity called Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) invades Earth intent on remaking the planet in his own image. To stop him, Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) must put together a team of superpowered individuals - The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) - and thwart the destruction of the planet. A simple premise. Perhaps too simple. An interesting aspect of JUSTICE LEAGUE is the way in which we get to watch DC and Warner Bros. attempt to change course, tonally and (somewhat) aesthetically, basically in real time. The final cut that we’re seeing here is undoubtedly a radically different film than the one that was written before last year’s BATMAN v SUPERMAN came out. So much of JUSTICE LEAGUE feels like an unfolding response to the criticisms of that movie, and yet there are still tiny glimpses of that darker, more expansive earlier version peeking out through the cracks. The plot is mostly a threadbare, flimsy excuse to get the heroes into scenes where they can interact with each other and then battle the villain and his minion hordes. There is no great narrative thrust here, nothing noteworthy in terms of the mechanics or structure. BATMAN v SUPERMAN was an enormously flawed movie, but it was also an ambitious one, and it tried to tell a grand, operatic, complex story about heroism. There is no such ambition in JUSTICE LEAGUE. It just wants to be a crowd-pleasing blockbuster action movie, and that drop-off in terms of intention is extremely noticeable; it’s as if we can actually hear Warner Bros. sighing and saying, “Well, the last thing we tried didn’t work, so let’s just dumb it down.” That said, it does essentially succeed at being a crowd-pleasing blockbuster. This is, tonally, as far removed from BATMAN v SUPERMAN as you could possibly get while still inhabiting the same universe. Characters smile, exchange humorous banter, enjoy each others company, and just generally behave like decent people instead of angry assholes. The film also moves along at such a breathless clip that we are carried from scene to scene with propulsion... likely to keep us from asking too many logical questions, sure, but it also results in a movie with fairly lively energy. All of the central performers do fine work, and if the movie is worth seeing, it’s because of them. Affleck continues to hone his Bruce Wayne/Batman persona, who is here a man trying to make amends as best he can for his mistakes in BATMAN v SUPERMAN, and he’s a solid anchor around which the Justice League team forms. Gadot delivers the same warmth and humanity that made her Wonder Woman so appealing earlier this year, while Momoa and Fisher establish Aquaman and Cyborg, respectively, as cool characters with intriguing abilities (and Fisher has the most distinct character arc of them all to play, which helps Cyborg connect more than he might otherwise have). The real scene-stealer, though, is Miller’s Flash; openly comedic and wide-eyed, he’s a real breath of fresh air and adds much needed youthful spirit to the proceedings. Then there’s the question of how Superman figures into all of this. I don’t consider this a spoiler (because Henry Cavill’s name is prominent in the movie’s opening credits, and the character has been featured in some of the ad campaign), but those who are uneasy about such talk can jump down to the next paragraph. In any case, when Superman comes back, we finally get the version of the character I’ve been hoping and waiting to see Cavill get a chance to play, and he nails it. There are some wonderful moments in here that will make true Superman fans smile, and if this is any indication, things are looking up for the Man of Steel (assuming we get to see him in another movie anytime soon). The hero characters are all pretty much winners, so where does the movie head south (after the pedestrian storyline)? The movie’s biggest flaw is that its villain, Steppenwolf, is hot garbage, an absolute dumpster fire on visual and character levels. He’s an ultra-generic CGI humanoid entity almost totally devoid of any personality or even menace. Calling him a stock villain would be an insult to stock villains, and that’s a shame, because Ciaran Hinds - the voice of the character - is a very fine and capable actor who could have easily brought some gravitas to the role had he been allowed to physically play the part in live action. But alas, Steppenwolf is a total whiff, and one of the worst computer generated characters to appear in a major role in years. He’s also one of the most dreadfully dull comic book movie villains to show up since the 1990s. The action is curiously limp, as well. There are a few token beats that feature nifty ideas or neat choreography, but for the most part, the setpieces are - at best - pretty standard sequences. The climax, peppered though it is with terrific character moments, also features some truly garish digital effects work, turning some shots into nightmarish concoctions of CGI tendrils, energy beams, blobs, and other assorted glop. It’s also a curiously low stakes finale despite its “world ending” implications, and that speaks again to the script’s weaknesses. Perhaps one of the more controversial elements of the film is Danny Elfman’s score. Elfman was brought on board after the previous movies in this DC Cinematic Universe had their scores crafted by the Hans Zimmer school of film music; Elfman’s style is markedly different than Zimmer's, and though Elfman does incorporate some of the thematic content that Zimmer and Co. came up with for MAN OF STEEL, BATMAN v SUPERMAN, and WONDER WOMAN, the overall feel of the score is radically different than those scores... in a good way, I’d argue. It won’t work for everybody because of how much of a departure it is, but what we have here is Elfman back in full-throated heroism mode, complete with brassy overtones and even statements of his own iconic Batman theme from the Tim Burton films. Maybe I’m just easy (I probably am), but it’s difficult to not get at least a little bit of a thrill out of hearing that incredible theme in a movie theater again underscoring Batman’s heroics. Ultimately, despite its flaws and its clearly evident production troubles, it’s hard to argue that JUSTICE LEAGUE isn’t at least another slight step in the right direction for DC, and there are some simple, entertaining pleasures to be found. However, considering the resources and talent that were poured into this film, the end result really should be a lot more than just a slight step in the right direction.
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