She Geek Critique – Bringing the League Together

If you follow me or Geek Watch One, you know I’m a Marvel chick. The Marvel style, characters, stories – it’s just my preference. But this doesn’t mean I hate DC. In fact, as a kid, Marvel and DC were both part of my life and I had a particular fondness for the Justice League. And this past weekend the world finally got to see the team in action on the big screen. Unfortunately, it wasn’t all that satisfying. 

Let me warn you that this is going to get a bit spoilery regarding the movie. But talking to a few people over the weekend who have not yet seen the movie, no one seemed to care enough to avoid the spoilers. Not sure if that says something in particular about who I was talking to, but there seems to be a lack of excitement over Justice League, even among some diehard DC fans.

I will say that the movie is enjoyable, but it’s not great. Comparing it to other recent DC films, it’s better than Suicide Squad (which isn’t saying much) and about on par with Batman v Superman. It doesn’t come anywhere near the quality of Wonder Woman. And of the five superhero movies this year (though, admittedly, three were Marvel properties), it’s definitely in fifth place.

So let’s get into the good and the not so good. First off, even if they don’t quite look like the team I loved as a child, seeing the JLA on the big screen was cool. There were moments when I definitely felt I was watching the Justice League (or Super Friends, for that matter), especially when they were getting to know each other and simply talking together. Seeing them develop as a team may have been the best part of the movie. On the flip side, bringing in the new members of the team dragged on for too long. It’s a problem I have with most movies or serialized shows that involve getting the band together. There are lots of things to nitpick when, for example, Wonder Woman visits Cyborg to convince him to join and he’s all moody, but feels the need to tell her the street lights are going out because of power surges from his system. And the plot holes… so many plot holes. For example, why were all the motherboxes left on Earth if there were factions that helped previously defeat Steppenwolf that were from space or elsewhere?!

And the new additions are hit or miss too. Yes Cyborg is moody, but he was that way in the comics for a bit too. Plus, they’ve gone with the almost fully enhanced version that upgrades itself and can repair Victor’s body when damaged. And there’s a “boo-yah”, which made me really happy when it finally happened (you need to know the character to get it). There is, however, a big Cyborg holdover plot hole from B v S having to do with when the motherboxes awoke. Aquaman is basically Aquabro – he wants to be left alone at first, but when Atlantis is attacked and he’s pretty much forced into joining the team, he’s suddenly cool with everything. It was really Jason Momoa playing Jason Momoa (which isn’t a bad thing when the shirt comes off). But then there’s Flash.

If you don’t know much about Barry Allen as the Flash, the portrayal of the character likely won’t bother you much. But if you’ve read any of the comics or watched the tv series, I don’t think there’s a way to like what they’ve done in this movie. Barry is younger than he should be, he already has his powers but doesn’t get his job with the police until the end of the movie (this seriously screws with his entire back story!), he has a huge amount of computer equipment and a high-tech suit but he has little money and there’s no explanation about how he obtained all of this (is Barry a thief now?!) AND he’s incredibly dopey. In the history of DC, Barry Allen has always been highly intelligent. In Justice League, the only Russian he knows to say to a Russian girl he has just saved is “Dostoyevsky”. Really?!

Then there’s Superman. We all know he died at the end of B v S, but we also all know that he was going to be coming back somehow in Justice League. And he did, with what was essentially a jacked defibrillator. But the film could almost have been called Superman and the Justice League, because even before they brought him back, no one would stop talking about Superman and the hope he gave to the world and how hope was gone now that he was dead. It took away from the team spirit of the film and made it sound like Supe was the most important member. And also, how are people just supposed to accept that Clark Kent came back from the dead?!

Overall, if you’re into comics and superheroes and you’ve seen all the other movies, you’re going to want to see Justice League, even if you wait until DVD. Even though there is a lot of fighting and big battles, I don’t think it’s necessary to see on the big screen. There was talk throughout filming that Justice League would have a lighter tone than other DC movies, but I don’t think that worked the way they intended it to. Of course, we all know that Zack Snyder goes dark, so it’s not surprising. And some of the questionably lighter moments may have been thanks to Joss Whedon. But in the end, the movie provides further progression in the DC universe and sets up the characters who are next in line for their own movies.

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