Justice League is a step in the right direction!

Rating: 7/10 (19 November 2017)

JUSTICE LEAGUE is a highly entertaining movie that grabs your attention and doesn't let you go. Compared to many superhero movies this one is among the most action-packed. It literally an action movie from beginning to the end.
The best thing about this movie is the dynamic relationship between all the JL members. There is a sense of comradeship, dedication and commitment amongst the characters: WW and Batman, WW and Cyborg, Batman and Flash, Batman and Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg, even briefly Cyborg and Aquaman, Superman and Batman, FLASH, WW. I liked that this wasn't that team squabbling which I think is so cliché. Rather the team actually gels quite well. There are some team friction especially between WW and Batman over what to do with Superman and it adds gravity to the movie. This friction isn't over the top but natural for a team that actually gels and is dedicated to each other. It's actually quite different from the Avengers.
The tone is actually quite refreshing here as it embraces some humour from all its characters. However, I do miss the darkness that Man of Steel brought to the screen. The JL animation series were actually quite dark, if not, darker than Marvel animation series. This is what sets it apart from the MCU. JL does have that darkness but it is however swirled with the lightheartness.
The cool thing is that each character brought some sense of fun to the movie. Each character contributed in many ways to the movement of this movie and because of that every character got some sort of development that made me care about them.
The action sequences were just nothing short of awesome greatness. It reminded me of the Justice League animated series. The cinematography is very impressive and the angles were very well done when the action was revving up. Towards the 3rd act the action was just pure adrenaline with the explosions, the racing, the flying, the fighting, the saving the civilians, the parademons. It was just one crazy 3rd act.
My favorite scene and I think the best scene in the movie was the fight between Superman and JL. Everything about how he came back to the fighting the JL was so intense. Of course I think they could have done his resurrection MUCH better, but it was his interaction with the JL especially Batman that made for a really intense situation. This scene made me scared for JL because of his incredible power. They really emphasize on the power of Kryptonians. Among the best action sequences of any superhero movie.
I really wanted them to dig into the Fourth World. They didn't get into where Steppenwolf and his Parademons come from. They didn't reveal much about the legend of the Fourth World, the history, the New Gods, boomtubes, and more explanation on the mother boxes. I believe the revelations about the Fourth World would have created much needed urgency for this movie that was really missing. Steppenwolf is a great villain that although an afterthought, could have been made a compelling character that could impose fear and awe in the face of JL and the people of Earth. Unfortunately he just became more of a disposable villain. He was however extremely powerful as he is a New God and every time he was on the screen he commanded that attention (something X-men's Apocalypse failed to do).
Not incorporating more revelations of the Fourth World, JL did not feel as epic as it should have been. This was suppose to be an event of gigantic proportions. Because the urgency and stakes were nearly not felt as it were in Man of Steel, it lacked that epic sense of all these heroes joining into a team. The reason for the team would have been of major proportions if the threat was larger than life. The Fourth World lore is larger than life and was so neglected here and its a shame.
The villains plan was already seen in Man of Steel...terraforming. I didn't care so much that Steppenwolf wanted the mother boxes and that unfortunate because the Mother Boxes is a massive deal in the the DC lore and I felt they were downplayed and not given much emphasis or importance rather seem almost non-valuable. Also what happen to them in the end????
I really loved this movie and I want to own the ultimate edition on blu-ray, but it was not as epic as it should have been. It was extremely entertaining and for all its flaws it did the Justice League right. They are going in the right direction and I hope they will now take their time to flesh out the stories for the DCEU.
7.8/10 because it is highly entertaining, pure action movie, and the dynamic portrayal of JL team.