(spoiler free)
Love it or loathe it the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) has been a constant source of debate and discussion among film fans from its inception in 2013 with ‘Man of Steel’. Since then, we’ve had the hugely divisive ‘Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice’, the almost unanimously panned ‘Suicide Squad’ and finally ‘Wonder Woman’ who many would say ‘saved’ the DCEU entirely. All of these films have been leading to the cinematic debut of one of the all time greatest comic book superhero teams; the Justice League.
‘Justice League’ sees Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) assembling a team of individuals with very special abilities in order to defend earth from an impending invasion. Some have been fully introduced to audiences whilst others still have some mystery around them. It’s engaging enough watching Wayne pursue this team, as the audience witness new characters and settings however it’s simultaneously a lot to process. This entry into the DCEU is a much more colourful and vibrant comic book movie than what has come before it, this will come as much of a relief to those critics of the more serious tone held by the DCEU. However, I found this new style to clash with that already established darker atmosphere that this universe has created. As a result I found it hard to become accustomed to as it’s quite a drastic change. Despite this change the action here is still as enjoyable as ever. The narrative allows for much of this and through a combination of entertaining choreography, character interaction and comedy the action is always far from dull.
It’s a shame that the settings for these action sequences often let the film down. On too many occasions it’s apparent that the cast are performing on sets rather than actual locations. This takes away from the action and the drama of scenes just made up of dialogue, it makes the film feel terribly staged and again far from what we’ve seen before in this universe. Furthermore, the whole ascetic to the film just didn’t look right. There are too many different designs to take in here that simply don’t mesh together to create something that’s appealing to watch. The enhanced colours make everything feel more cartoonish, our characters look more like action figures than actual people. The CGI didn’t combine with this particularity well either. Albeit the narrative demands a range of designs but ultimately the film struggles to manage these ending up with a disappointingly messy look to it.
What about the sound though? Hans Zimmer has been responsible for some of the more memorable musical moments of this cinematic universe but unfortunately didn’t return to score ‘Justice League’. His fellow ‘Batman V Superman’ collaborator Junkie XL was set to fill his shoes but he too was replaced by Batman veteran Danny Elfman. The promise of the classic character themes was enough to maintain excitement but the finished product is a little uninspiring. Whilst it’s exciting to hear extracts of these fan favourite themes they’re never fully realised or allowed to shine. The rest of the score similarly lacks impact and makes Zimmer’s absence rather obvious.
One element that’s absence is definitely not felt is the amount of characters featured. Naturally this story requires an ensemble cast but how did the film cope with so many heroes and not such a large running time? Well it’s safe to say that ‘Justice League’ would have benefited from a few more solo movies first. The assembling of the team never feels as earned as it should, as well as some special character moments. There’s too much to be shoehorned in and unfortunately it all feels a little rushed. Nonetheless, the cast all do a good job, although their performances much like their already discussed ascetic are far more cartoonish than before. The villain of the piece, Steppenwolf suffers from poor CGI and a generic bad guy plan despite the enjoyable voice work of Ciarán Hinds. The other newcomers do well too and it’s my biggest pleasure to report that Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen is the beating heart of this film. He gives the best performance by a mile and makes ‘Justice League’ so much fun. He’ll for sure be a fan favourite and whilst ‘Justice League’ as a whole hasn’t particularly wet my appetite for more of the DCEU Miller’s performance as the Flash most certainly has!
Ultimately ‘Justice League’ will continue the divisive trend that the DCEU can’t seem to shake. It will be most enjoyed when viewed for what it is, a spirited and radiant comic book movie, rather than what fans want it to be. Ironically it works better in isolation from its predecessors and if audiences are capable of viewing it like this there’s no reason why it can’t be enjoyed. It is somewhat naive to expect this though as I know many fans of the previous films in the DCEU, myself included, might take some time getting used to the differences in tone, look and feel of this film. In the end though it’s always entertaining watching these much loved characters at the cinema and enough is done to create an entertaining experience with Ezra Miller making the price of admission worth it alone.
Written by Hamish Calvert
Rating – 6/10
Question: How do you rank the DCEU so far?
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