Justice League

2.5/4

Starring: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Ciaran Hinds

Rated PG-13 for Sequences of Sci-Fi Violence and Action

Everyone is trying to mimic Marvel Cinematic Universe: an unending series of interconnected films built on fan loyalty and the build-up to a final smackdown.  Legendary Pictures has MonsterVerse, where all the cinematic monsters will duke it out.  Universal tried to get the so-called Dark Universe going with this year's "The Mummy," but considering how badly that movie was received, it's doubtful it's going anywhere (despite best attempts to set the stage for a zillion characters).  Warner Bros. has DC, and while fans of Batman, Superman and the rest of the DC ensemble rival that of Marvel, the studio has yet to capture even a fraction of the MCU magic.  Considering that the critical and audience reception to this movie has been tepid, and it was DOA at the box office, I doubt that it will change their fortune.  The performance of "Avengers: Infinity Wars" will determine if my hopes of the dying superhero genre will be answered.

After the self-sacrifice of Superman (Cavill) in "Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice," the world has entered a state of melancholy and depression.  Without the Man of Steel's beacon of hope, Earth has become a bleak place.  That leaves an opening for Steppenwolf (Hinds), a demon who is a destroyer of worlds (duh) to come in and turn Earth into his own private Hell (getting the obvious out of the way, "Born to be Wild" does not play once during the movie).  It's up to Bruce Wayne, aka Batman (Affleck), Wonder Woman, aka Diana Prince (Gadot), to assemble a group of heroes to save the day.  These include a "badass" merman named Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman (Momoa), an annoying nerd named Barry Gordon, aka The Flash (Miller), and a cyborg named Victor Stone, aka Cyborg (Fisher).

"Justice League" feels like a cheap rip-off of "The Avengers."  I didn't like that movie if you recall, but it had the fact that it was "new" in the sense that we had never seen a superhero team-up before.  "Justice League" does the exact same thing: gather the supers, have their egos battle, and set aside their differences to become a team and defeat evil.  At least Joss Whedon's movie had conviction.  This feels like a cynical cash grab.  Probably because it is.

The performances are adequate, at least.  Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot slide easily back into their roles, not that they're asked to do anything that stretches their limited talents.  The newcomers are a mixed bag, primarily because they're so underdeveloped.  Jason Momoa hardly has any time to create a character (hopefully James Wan will take advantage of his screen presence in his stand-alone film that comes out next year).  Newcomer Ray Fisher is the most intriguing character, but like everyone else, his role is underwritten.  The weak link is, surprisingly, Ezra Miller.  Whether he's miscast or his role is badly written, the result is the same: The Flash is extremely irritating.

"Justice League" was primarily directed by Zack Snyder, but he and his wife (one of the producers) bowed out towards the end of principal photography after the suicide of his daughter.  Joss Whedon stepped in to finish the film uncredited.  Save for a new score and a new ending, nothing has changed, and as the film plays out, the change in directors isn't noticeable.  This is still a Zack Snyder movie, with aggressive special effects and stunts.  The camerawork is at times too frenetic to get a grasp of what's going on, but at least it's not awful.

"Justice League" has its pleasures, but it would be best served to watch at home.  Unless you're a die-hard DC fan.  In which case you've probably seen it three times already.