(reviewed by our guest critic, The Movie Knight) Superman is dead! The world is slowing falling into chaos. Batman (Ben Affleck) does his part to keep Gotham City clean and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) will stop a terrorist group when she can, but a much bigger threat is coming. One neither can handle on their own. More super powered individuals will be needed for the upcoming fight. The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) all join their team, but with no Superman, will it be enough?
There were rumors that the first cut that director Zack Snyder turned in of Justice League was “unwatchable.” While this cannot be confirmed, given how poorly reviewed Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was, it’s easy to see how that could have been true. However, Snyder had to bow out of the movie during post-production and Joss Weaton was brought in for the “reshoots.” Apparently it was much more than just pick-up shots. Wheaton, who first brought Marvel’s The Avengers to the big screen, not only was the director for these filmed scenes; he rewrote so much of the script that he was given a co-writer credit. The final result? It’s a cohesive fun ride that audiences will enjoy this holiday season and that the DC Universe can be proud of.
One major difference between this story as opposed to most of the other DC ones is that the adventure is not so dark and bleak. There are a lot of light moment s and good humor throughout. Also, the action sequences are pretty rocking. One of the many complaints about the DC comic movies is that some of the action in them could be labeled as dull and not too exciting. Not this time.
Another positive element is that while some of these characters have not been properly introduced yet, the filmmakers do not rush the story along, yet it doesn’t feel like a long movie either. It moves quite quickly. They even make sure the personal stories going on are not glossed over, a sweet touch to provide a human element to a movie with all these extraordinary people.
Is it perfect? No, but years ago the thought of a Justice League movie would generate a ton of excitement among fans, but today, instead is being met with a lot of trepidation. It will be satisfying for them to know they have something to be enthusiastic about. Not only that, this now lays out the groundwork for them to look forward to upcoming individual stories from these heroes until they are forced to band together once again. On that note, be sure to side through all the end credits. You won’t walk away disappointed.
3 tiaras.