Justice League

First, let me say I pity Zack Snyder, who killed his potential quite thoroughly with DC Comics for several years to come. At the same time, however, I feel that the whole DC Comics universe made a significant step forward with this movie. It still looks like a Marvel movie from six years ago, but there is the occasional hint of a joke; for every two awkward ones, there is a quite funny one. This is a fair improvement when compared to the last battle between Batman and Superman. Story-wise, there is a lot of work to be done if they wish to pull themselves together because it is one big mess. And that says a lot considering the number of movie stars who star in the movie. Henry Cavill, together with Amy Adams and also surprisingly Ezra Miller made the strongest impression on me; we will see where they are standing in the years to come… (03/01/2019)

No. I've got nothing to hold on to and nothing to praise. It may look good and you can see that a lot of money has been poured into it, but that's about it. What didn't work in Batman vs Superman is repeated here, so the characters are woefully flat, the action is digitally overwrought and the characters, however usually interesting, come across as incredibly boring and there is zero chemistry between the heroes. And the fact that there are six of them this time around makes the situation worse rather than better. The dull Cyborg, the childishly cool Aquaman and the downright awkward Flash are heroes that are hard to spend two hours with, and to be honest, I can't imagine how I'll handle their solos. Zack Snyder's style wore out and stopped being interesting about halfway through the last film. So those two hours in the cinema were downright physical torture for me, and I was just waiting for the whole thing to be over so I could forget about it. I want to like this movie at least a little bit, but I can't. Nothing works. Throw it out, burn it, and try to start over in a few years. Something different. Completely different. (27/07/2018)

I don't know, I'm probably over-saturated, but I'm getting tired of this kind of expensive digital mess that are all on the same page lately. It kinda bothers me that every comic book movie lately has a villain from outer space (except Captain America: Winter Soldier), Batman vs Superman was pretty much holding its own until it culminated in digital madness again at the end, which makes my head hurt. Wonder Woman, Superman and Aquaman are great, Cyborg and Flash are annoyingly uninteresting and Batman didn't show much. The villain is artificial and classically useless even with his entire army. The action isn't very exciting (I prefer battles and shootouts to flying through the air) and the humor is rarely good. I wasn't bored, but I'm not satisfied either. 60%. (30/11/2017)

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice suffered from beginner's mistakes, but I was able to forgive it many things for its grandeur and its almost comical desire to encompass or touch an entire generation of stories with one film. However, Justice League does not learn any lessons from its predecessor and, on the contrary, is worse in every way. Special effects either get lost in the darkness or appear embarrassingly unfinished in the final battle, the dialogue between Clark and Lois seems like it came from the most awkwardly written fan fiction, and the introductions of Aquaman and Cyborg through summarizing dialogue confuse the viewer more than they clarify anything. A few added lines from Joss Whedon cannot hide the fact that this team movie feels loud and almost obnoxious on all fronts, and if it weren't for the genius of Ezra Miller and the unwavering messiah-like presence of Henry Cavill, the disaster would be complete. When I think about the criticism towards the villains in most of the Marvel movies and then look at the embarrassingly generic development of Steppenwolf, I feel quite ashamed of the barrage of criticism that has been dumped on DC's head after years of effort. The only way forward from here is through solo films, assuming that this path has not already come to an end. (15/11/2017)

It’s not so bad as everyone was saying it would be, but it’s not … well… that great either. Two directors, reshoots, digital waxing of Cavill’s porno-moustache from M:I-6 and studio politics. I’m disappointed that after the promising serious tone of Man of Steel and the beginning of BvS, DC decided on generic action scenes, simple side-plots and dumb twists. So it’s good not to think too much when watching. Even so, the movie flows by merrily, despite not making much sense and most of what is worth seeing appearing just out of duty. Just the scene with the resurrection really impacts on the viewer and that idea would evidently be enough to carry the entire movie, if only they weren’t always in such a hurry. As for the new characters, Cyborg was a pleasant surprise and Aquaman certainly has greater potential even though he starts making dumb faces in the second half. The humorous correspondence is a plus, the villain is one-dimensional and uninteresting. On one hand I’m glad it was just two hours long and it was a good watch, on the other I would appreciate greater sophistication and explanations of the motivation driving members of the league. Restart please, this time without the studio bosses involved. So far, everything is subordinate to promotion. You’re an exception man. Confident, just and fair. You like luxury and know how to appreciate it. As one of a very few, treat yourself to a limited edition Police watch. (02/12/2017)

If you've managed to tune in to those previous Snyder visions and thoroughly enjoyed the Wonder Woman solo film, then you need to see this. Justice League is straightforward popcorn entertainment. Everything that you have been waiting for so long is here - a team-up starring Gal Gadot and her lasso of truth. Next time there will be a solo film with Mera (and Aquaman by her side). Ok, then. Flash is funny, and Sups and Bat are only badass to the extent that Diana or Alfred will let them. It's nothing that would get a Pulitzer in the paper version, but that's not what these films are about, nor are they meant to be. For as much as I feared Gadot at first, I now see (and watch with some enthusiasm) that it's her cute face that saves the whole DC movie universe (and elevates it even where most would have given up). I'm curious to see what comes next. (28/05/2018)

We all know that Batman vs Superman wasn’t great, but it was spectacular, broad in plot and ambitious in scope – that's where Marvel is not even close. Unfortunately, the second time around, instead of a peak, there is a fall. Not only did Snyder ease off the gas, both the darkness and the climactic action are gone, but halfway through, the film seamlessly switches to Whedon’s style, goofing around like in Avengers, which feels stupid for a dark comic book that often takes itself deadly serious. Straight up skip the main CGI villain with zero charisma and the whole thing about saving the world. Yes, really, someone wanted to destroy the world with a magic artefact, again, a cube this time. That leaves only the main characters, who are fine separately and together, but the screenwriting pile of shit around them doesn't give them much room to stand out and instead brings out the secondary roles of the not-so-important characters (Lane, Crudup, Nielsen). Compared to "first one", it's a downgrade in quality and, nothing against Joss Whedon, but when a joke-cap director takes on a pompous and properly dark intergalactic drama-material, it turns out to be exactly the kind of CGI mess we have here. (20/11/2017)

It never seemed to me that DC films would attempt to copy Marvel in terms of style, even in the case of Wonder Woman compared to Captain America. This time, however, yes, because Justice League is actually The Avengers, including humor at all costs, in which nothing happens (at least at first glance) that would somehow affect the film universe. Yes, it's about the resurrection of Superman, but it's kind of shallow, and Superman is different than before because of the script (“It itched" can boldly compete with the sand that Anakin Skywalker had everywhere). Plus, I didn't really recognize Zack Snyder's hand in the film. Compared to the excellent Man of Steel and even better Batman v Superman, Justice League felt almost too intimate, unimaginative and flat. Despite all that, my two hours at the movie theatre weren't wasted, because the film has some really good moments, I liked the music by Danny Elfman (the return of the Batman motif from Burton's films and the original Superman motif by John Williams!), and Ben Affleck is a really great Batman. (17/11/2017)

Rien de neuf sous le soleil, mais cette bande m’est bien sympathique. Et quand on y ajoute Amy Adams et Amber Heart, l’impression générale est juste excellente. Peaufiner le tout n’aurait pas fait de tort, mais ne faisons pas la fine bouche. (21/11/2017)

It looks like DC wanted to make another team-up film. Which is exactly what happened. A comic book team-up that features a lot of familiar characters, but which works as a team-up for about the last five or ten minutes. The plot is extremely predictable and the villain is very boring, and unfortunately, so is the team of heroes. Flash is at least entertaining. And that is all. (21/11/2017)

There are so many things wrong with this movie that I don't even feel like going into much detail. A total mess that makes absolutely no sense, with a plot that has been seen a million times before (and practically never works) and a completely generic villain. It was all edited by a lunatic who managed to cut it down to a two-hour runtime but gave up on any kind of continuity, leaving gaping holes in the story. The whole screenplay is synonymous with stupidity. Even good actors give poor performances, as those idiotic dialogues really don’t leave them much of a choice. Moreover, the lack of previous solo movies led to a large number of superfluous supporting characters. Despite an insanely big budget, it’s overloaded with some terrible CGI. You can also tell that everything was filmed in a studio (there is a total absence of extras, so even though it’s about saving the world, there are altogether 30 people in this movie). I could go on. I would highlight some good jokes and (the visual aspect of) Gal Gadot, otherwise it’s a complete waste of potential, the result being an undisputed flop. (11/02/2018)