Justice League – A well-acted yet disappointing superhero film

Posted on 8 December 2017
By Roisin Gordon
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The DCEU have been pretty hit and miss with their films so far, especially how their first three films didn’t quite live up to expectations.

After the success of Wonder Woman, we hoped that the future of DC films would become more promising, but sadly their much anticipated team up Justice League has let them down once more.

This was supposed to be DC’s epic superhero team-up, that would keep us even more excited for future installments, but in the end, it leaves you feeling unsatisfied and less hopeful for their future films.

There was initial promise for the film, as it had a talented main cast, some decent action sequences and even had input from Joss Whedon who helmed the first two Avengers movies.

However, the plot fails to keep you completely invested throughout its two hour runtime, and it doesn’t help that the pacing is so slow and has very few entertaining moments to make it all seem worthwhile.

The production design heavily relies on CGI which gives a bleak and depressed look to the film, probably to allude to its own depressing and bland plot. Although to the films credit, it does give itself a nice stylized look.

Along with a CGI heavy world, is the bland CG villain Steppenwolf. DC has some of the coolest superhero villains that we could have looked forward to seeing the Justice League battling against, but there is virtually nothing memorable or epic about Steppenwolf for us to get excited about.

The main strength of Justice League was the performances and chemistry between the lead actors, which created such a genuine feel to the film as we see the different personalities clash and bond with each other as they work to defeat Steppenwolf. Had this element not worked, then the film would have been in further trouble than they already were.

Ray Fisher gave a sincere yet emotional performance as Victor Stone/Cyborg, as we see him still coming to terms with his new appearance and identity after an almost fatal car accident, as well as him gradually come out of his shell when he becomes part of the Justice League.

Ezra Miller’s portrayal of Barry Allen/The Flash was one of the highlights of the film, he perfectly captured the awkward yet charismatic teenager with brilliantly witty one liners and providing the laughs with the way he bounces off his interactions with the other characters.

Jason Momoa was entertaining as Aquaman, being badass throughout the fight sequences but also provided some humor to the character. One moment being when he accidentally reveals his true feelings before realising he has been sitting on the lasso of truth.

Batman is one of the most iconic characters and despite a prominent role in the film, it feels like he hasn’t been given much to work with. Ben Affleck did perform his action sequences with the grit and intensity that we love about the character, but his performance is outshined by other characters and even his occasional quips sound dull.

Wonder Woman is by far one of the best characters in the DCEU, and yet again Gal Gadot still shined in the role, making everything she does look so effortless and badass.

A memorable moment for her was her opening scene, where she defuses a bomb and rescues the hostages, which really has you excited for what she has in store for us in this film and she didn’t disappoint.

Although the lead cast gave good performances, Justice League doesn’t pack as much of a punch as we’d have liked.

3/5 – Justice is not served

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