DC's The Avengers

Rating: 5/10 (24 November 2017)

I went into Justice League, DC'S most recent grab at Marvel's success, with trepidation. Other than Wonder Woman, each DCEU film has left me somewhere between "meh" and "ugh". Even when Joss Whedon (Avengers) came in to help a grieving Snyder finish the movie, their exponentially different styles worried me, and that worry was mostly found true. Yes, Whedon's wit does bring a welcome shine to the gloomy proceedings, and unlike Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad, keeps this from being an all-out slog. Still, it's an awkward epic that can't overcome the franchise's dark doldrums. Just like every other superhero movie ever made, a charisma-less and bland villain with limitless power appears, bent on destroying Earth because of "reasons". Superman still dead, the world must depend on lesser heroes to save them. Affleck is still a pretty good Batman, Flash is light-hearted fun, Aquaman is kinda cool, Cyborg is dull and dour, and Wonder Woman is still the standout. There are still certainly some interesting moments between the characters, but they're mostly overshadowed by superhero-ethic clichés, stupid drama, bad CGI, and nonsensical logic (why are these guys such quick allies?) There really is just so much that doesn't work: specific jokes, bad visuals, interpersonal relationships, muddy action, plot predictability. The main problem, though, is that DC and Warner Bros. think, through their previous films, they've given us enough reasons to care about this universe, and they haven't. The positives here, mainly just seeing these heroes together on-screen, have left me mildly curious about the future of the franchise, but only barely. Otherwise, Justice League is easily the worst superhero movie of the year.