Movie Review: “Justice League”

Like many other superhero movies, “Justice League” deploys a star-studded cast, a heavy
dose of fight scenes, and a considerable amount of special effects and computer-generated
imagery (CGI). Justice League stars faces familiar to any fan of recent DC movies, with the main
characters being Ben Affleck as Batman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman
and Henry Cavill as Superman.

The movie builds off the events that occurred in “Batman v. Superman”, a movie that
held mixed reviews despite starring two of DC’s most beloved characters. The beginning scene
of Superman being asked questions by children and talking about hope has tie ins from “Batman
vs. Superman” and earlier Superman movies. It might be hard to fully understand what’s going
on in “Justice League” without having seen “Batman v. Superman.”

The story of the movie was interesting but felt accelerated at times. It follows Batman’s
efforts to get a group, coined the Justice League, together to stop a villain called Steppenwolf,
played by Ciaran Hinds, and his plot to destroy the world. Steppenwolf and his minions,
monsters fitted with wings and ray guns, try to retrieve three Mother Boxes, which combine to
form a destructive and powerful thing called Unity. Steppenwolf desired to turn the Earth into a
hellish landscape that resembled his homelands by using Unity.

The Justice League ended up consisting of Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg
and the Flash. The movie did a good job of following each member’s individual story through
the early parts of the movie, giving background information needed for advancement of the plot.

There is also a perspective from a normal family that is hiding in their house in the middle of
Steppenwolf”s destructive plans. The end of the movie, especially the final fight scene, felt
rushed and was anticlimactic in a sense.

While “Justice League” has its obvious moments of intensity and conflict between
characters, comedic relief is provided at points throughout the movie, mostly by Jason Momoa
and Ezra Miller, who starred as Aquaman and the Flash respectively. While sometimes tacky,
Momoa’s mocking of Batman’s bat suit and Miller’s childlike attitude and overall awkwardness
at moments added needed humor to the movie.

Aesthetically, the film had beautiful shots and had solid sound and musical selections.
There scenes filmed in and of Gotham City do it justice in capturing its dreariness. Some scenes
were placed in an underwater environment which was interesting. There were choppy transitions
between a couple of scenes throughout the movie. Proper music was used for tense situations and
for building suspense. Some of the coolest scenes were when time slowed down for the Flash as
he was running, doing whatever he wanted while other people stood idle and in slow motion as
electricity arced all over the place.

Dialogue between characters seemed forced at times. One scene between Batman and
Wonder Woman comes to mind that did not seem natural between the two characters. While a
tense moment between the characters should bring out some changes in dialogue between the
characters, this scene felt as though it was two actors having a conversation instead of Batman
and Wonder Woman having one.

“Justice League” is a movie that brings together many people’s favorite superheroes to
fight as one. While it had its flaws, it was an overall solid movie that accomplished its goal: to
show a group of superheroes beat up a bunch of bad guys and save the day. If anything, the
spectacle of having these storied superheroes fighting together on one screen makes the movie
worth the watch.