Justice League (2017) - Movie Review

Cast: Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Henry Cavill as Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry / Aquaman, Ezra Miller as Barry Allen / The Flash, Ray Fisher as Victor Stone / Cyborg, Ciaran Hinds as Steppenwolf, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta & J.K. Simmons as Commissioner James Gordon. Directed by Zack Snyder.

YOU CAN'T SAVE THE WORLD ALONE

Justice League is the fifth installment in the DC Extended Universe, taking place after the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and it involves Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) recruiting The Flash (Barry Allen), Cyborg (Victor Stone) and Aquaman (Arthur Curry) to form the Justice League, in the honor of Superman, and to save the planet from the threat of Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons.

All eyes were in this movie, so many people were thinking this was going to be horrible while others, want this movie to be great and does it succeed...in my opinion it does but, it does have a couple of flaws. Now, this is a pretty straightforward movie because a lot of people and critics hated the multiple story-lines in Dawn of Justice, so Warner Bros/DC decided it needed to be a linear plot and for the most part, I liked it, it didn't need to be this EPIC story. I really hope this movie does well at the box office because all of the characters that were in this movie had there moment to shine.


First, I'm going to break down each of the League members special moments but, don't worry I won't spoil the whole scene. Wonder Woman is undoubtedly the best character in the movie, she really is the leader of Justice League, where I thought Batman would be because he's the one who first thought of the idea that they should find more metahumans to protect the world. Her fight scenes with Steppenwolf and with the robbers in the beginning of the movie are great and visually appealing. You can really tell that Gal Gadot was born to play this role and the standout character in the DCEU, I can't imagine anyone else playing as her. One of my favorite moments is in the third act and it's a comedic scene, it's straight up from the comic books but, it involves a different character and it's by far my favorite moment.

Wonder Woman is the highlight of the movie. Gal Gadot perfectly embodies the character

Steppenwolf vs Wonder Woman (Diana Prince)

Batman (Ben Affleck) was great in this movie, I'm pretty sure that most of the fans can agree that Ben Affleck is the definitive Batman. His fight scenes with the parademons are really cool and there are some iconic shots of him that are frame by frame from the comics, you can tell that he knows that he can't be the one to lead the team because he still thinks he let Superman down and he's pushing Diana (Wonder Woman) to lead the team. I will say he was more light-hearted in this movie, he wasn't angry all the time, and he pulled off some very good dry humors.

Justice League brought more of a lighter side to Batman (Ben Affleck) which I really liked.

Ben Affleck to me is the definitive Batman (Bruce Wayne)

Now onto the newcomers of the League, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg. In my opinion, I think Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa & Ray Fisher, respectively, nailed their character. The Flash was the heart of this movie. He knew when to throw in his comedic lines at the right moment where it didn't feel forced. Superheroes should be fun and optimistic, they shouldn't be serious and depressed all the time. His action scenes were really cool, the visual effects of The Flash, using the Speed Force were such a stand out that I can't wait to see his solo movie (Flashpoint) and him going up against Reverse-Flash. My other favorite scene is when Barry asks Batman, what is he suppose to do because he never been into battle before and Batman (Ben Affleck) gave him a really great/inspiring line, save one person, just one person and then you will know what to do.

Possibly, one of my favorite moments in the entire movie

I can't rewatch this scene multiple times

While, Ezra Miller showed his comedic side to the movie, he also showed his emotional moments in the movie, where he had to visit his dad in prison and he made him a promise to get his dad out of there, for a crime in which he didn't commit. I really hope in future DC Films, we get to see more drama related scenes in their movies because that's one of big things that is lacking in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Jason Momoa as Aquaman is such a rockstar in this movie, there's no other way to say it. I felt Jason Momoa put his own unique take on the character. He likes to drink beer, listen to rock music and I for one really liked that. I know that some might be turned off by it because they want to see him be Aquaman from the comics but, sometimes change is good. Wonder Woman and Aquaman are the main big guns to go up against Steppenwolf, his strengths show that he can take him on. I can't wait to see Aquaman in his solo movie next year, I know James Wan is going to nail it and the underwater scenes were really great, we never had a superhero movie that took place underwater for a small chunk of time. And one of the downsides of that scene was that we didn't get to see enough of Mera. Mera is one of my favorite female characters in the DC Comics so I was bummed out that she wasn't in it for long but, Amber Heard looks the part and I think she going to be another stand out in the Aquaman movie. We didn't get to see much of Atlantis, I think they want to set that up for his solo movie.

Jason Momoa is a rockstar, his take was gold. He is going to be great in his solo movie

Amber Heard looks great as Mera, sadly we didn't get to see much of her. Can't wait to see more of her in Aquaman

Now for Ray Fisher as Cyborg, his character was spot on. He was the one who kept the Justice League together and he was the main plot device for the movie. I really like how Fisher brought a sense of tragedy to the character because 80% - 90% of his body (I think) is covered in technology and he is unable to live a normal life. He is secluded to the outside world and he hasn't left his apartment in over a year, I believe. Fisher and Miller really had great chemistry together, they were like brothers in the third act of the movie, I hope we see more of Ray Fisher in the DC Films and in other genres of movies because he is a great actor. His CGI was perfect and it looked really cool and eye capturing and throughout the movie, his CGI didn't look awful, it was consistent throughout.

Cyborg (Victor Stone), played by Ray Fisher was the foundation of the League

Ray Fisher brought his A-game with Cyborg

However, with all the positives of the movies, there are some negatives that stood out to me. Steppenwolf as the villain is pretty generic, he basically wants to invade Earth and that's about it. In perfect summary, he is a Marvel villain. I didn't have any connection or sympathy with the character, he was one dimensional. Some people said his CGI was bad but, I thought it was fine, will have to see it again to find out. Ciaran Hinds voiced him really well and his fate at the end of the movie, I think it's left to your own interpretation. I don't know if that was a Warner Bros Studio thing, or Joss Whedon or even Geoff Johns had involvement in that particular scene. I believe, if this is successful, we will see him again in Justice League 3 or as I think it will be called Justice League: Darkseid War.

Great voice acting by Hinds but, he was a weak villain

Could the DC Extended Universe be setting up for Justice League: Darkseid War in Justice League 3

Now this isn't a big spoiler but, Superman (Henry Cavill) is in the movie and if you don't know, Henry Cavill had a mustache during his re-shoots in the film and he couldn't remove it because he was filming another movie and he was contracted to keep it, so the VFX team had to CGI his face to be cleanly shaven. And from what I could tell, it wasn't noticeable to me, but I did see where they edited out. If they had more time to work on that, I don't think it would have been a big issue. Again, I need to see it to confirm it. The first act was a little bit rushed, you will notice that it quickly jumps to each character in like 5 to 10 mins. If they, added 20 to 30 mins to the 2 hour run-time of the film, I felt the pacing of that first part of the movie will be great.


In the end, is Justice League a perfect movie, no. A perfect movie to me is whatever YOU decide. I for one thought this movie was excellent, despite all the flaws and production troubles it had during the year, it managed to steer the DCEU into the right direction and the Wonder Woman movie (in which you can find my review, HERE), also helped. I can guarantee, if you were turned off by Man of Steel, Dawn of Justice & Suicide Squad, you will walk out of this movie and you will like it. This was a movie for fans and for the newcomers.

The cast worked well together, they all had great chemistry together, the action scenes are visually appealing and funny, thanks to Ezra Miller in one scene. The score (music) of the movie wasn't the best, I prefer Hans Zimmer or Junkie XL to do the music for it. It does have its flaws but, no movie is a masterpiece, it entirely depends on you. I really hope this movie becomes successful, these DC characters deserve to be on the big screen, not just the Marvel movies.

The Justice League are here to stay

P.S. There are two post credit scenes, so stay until the very end. They are huge easter eggs for DC Comics fans not just for the post-credit scene but, in the second act, we get to see an unknown character wield a certain ring on his finger. And a character in which I would never have guessed we would see him in costume as that character is in it and it could set up the sequel. I'm going to give Justice League movie:

Grade C - A great movie, definitely worth watching it again.

So, Justice League, have you seen it and what do you think about it? I couldn't cover everything in the movie, I might do a spoiler review. What was your favorite moment in the movie? What actor/character stood out to you most? And are you looking forward to the next DCEU movie (Aquaman - Decemeber 2018)? Comment below, spread this article around, tell your friends to watch it and follow me on twitter (@dmyxxxx) and I'll see you next time. Later.