Waited a long time to see The Flash on the movie screen...and it was worth it.

Rating: 8/10 (25 November 2017)

A lot of us comic book fans have waited a very long time to get a JUSTICE LEAGUE movie, and we certainly had high hopes for it after the smashing success of WONDER WOMAN this past summer. Does this movie live up to those high hopes? As usual, the answer is both yes and no; JUSTICE LEAGUE is certainly an improvement on BATMAN V SUPERMAN, but this latest teaming of the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel, again directed by Zack Snyder, never quite finds the perfect pitch that Patty Jenkins found for WONDER WOMAN. There are no painfully awkward "Martha" moments from Synder's first film, which is a very good thing, but this incarnation of the JL never achieves the easy camaraderie that comes so easy to many of the DC animated movies or Bruce Timm's cartoon series, although it certainly tries very hard and comes close in a number of scenes. One of the joys of a JL film is seeing the interaction between Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, and, yes, Superman, yet this seems to be the hardest thing to pull off for a scriptwriter on the page and the actors on the screen.
The story picks up where B v S left off as Bruce Wayne/Batman goes about assembling a team to meet the sinister cosmic threat that was hinted at the end of the earlier film. DC already screwed this premise up with SUICIDE SQUAD, and we do have to go through the requisite scenes where Bruce Wayne if initially rebuffed by Aquaman, has the novice Barry Allen jump at the chance to work with the big guys, while Wonder Woman tries to convince a reluctant Cyborg to join up. I give them credit for dispensing with a lot clunky origin exposition scenes and dialog, which keeps the movie down of a very manageable two hour running time (a Warner Bros mandate). But I wouldn't have minded if they jumped into a story where the Justice League was already formed and ready to go; we simply do not need to waste any more time telling back story. By my count, there were at least four well staged action scenes where heroes and villains throw down, including a flashback battle sequence that will bring joy to any DC comic fan, the resurrection of Superman, and the final confrontation in a village in Russia. This is what brings us fans to the theater.
For me, the Big Bad, Steppenwolf, is a problem in that he is just another big ugly and angry super powered brute bent on taking over/destroying the Earth for no other real reason than he is just hateful and mean. Steppenwolf, a ten foot tall CGI creation, voiced by the excellent actor, Ciaran Hinds, is almost interchangeable with Ares from WONDER WOMAN, Ronan the Accuser from GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, or that other super tall guy from SUICIDE SQUAD. One good thing about Steppenwolf is that he is a brawler, so we are spared another climax where two super beings hurl bolts of energy at each other until one just gives up. I would add this, if you are going to use characters from Jack Kirby's New Gods, go really big and give us Darkseid himself, along with all his minions, don't hold back for a sequel that may never get produced.
I think Ben Affleck is the best Bruce Wayne/Batman after Michael Keaton, and Henry Cavil (and his big white teeth) makes for good Superman – at least they let him smile in this one. Gal Gadot is just as impressive here as she was in her stand alone film, in fact, I wish they had given her more to do. Amy Adams and Diane Lane are back as Lois Lane and Martha Kent, along with Jeremy Irons as Alfred. Ray Fisher makes a good impression as Cyborg, even if his character is underdeveloped. The newcomers who make the best impression are Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman, who is properly physically imposing, along with having a great voice, and Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash. The Flash might be my favorite DC hero, and I wasn't bothered by Miller's unique take on him: playing Barry as a Jewish nerd, at least he gets the best lines in the movie. Seeing J.K. Simmons as Inspector Gordon only made me hope that much more that he will reprise his J. Jonah Jameson in the next Spider-Man movie.
JUSTICE LEAGUE has under performed, which means that if the DC movie universe is to continue, there will surely be some changes going forward; Affleck and Cavil could be jettisoned and their parts recast, along with the sacking of Zack Snyder. This is may be because of the lingering animosity from BATMAN V SUPERMAN, which earned the eternal fury of many die-hard fans, so much so, that many of them wanted nothing to do with another film with the same production team and stars. One thing I would suggest Warner Brothers do is hire Joss Whedon, who did extensive re-shoots on the film after Snyder had to abruptly leave (Whedon may be responsible for much of the humor in the film), and bring back Richard Donner, even if he is too old to direct another movie, he should certainly be consulted on the script and production, as his first Superman movie is still the best take on any DC hero and the one that set the mold.
There are two post credits scenes, one where two heroes attempt to answer and age old fan question, and another that brings back a previous villain (and his controversial casting), but also has appearance by a universally favorite bad guy. This scene alone, gives me hope that we will see the JL on the screen once again in some form.