Better direction for DCEU with Justice League

Rating: 7/10 (17 November 2017)

Honestly, being a fan of the DCAU and after watching Justice League the first time around (yes I watched it twice so far), I was torn between liking the movie or not. The choice was between re-watching JL War instead of the movie a second time round. In a way, I appreciated the movie better afterwards, but was also bugged by the inconsistencies in the plot as well. To start off with what I did not like (spoilers ahead), the parademons - the movie started with introducing them as creatures that fed on fear as well as ones whom transformed from the defeated enemies of war. There was no way any unarmed civilians can survive an encounter and the number of parademons should had increased immensely with every scene. The movie tried to move the audience with the focus on 1 Russian family, who were paralyzed with fear, nothing apart from Hollywood magic could have saved them. Especially, after seeing how quickly they turned on Steppenwolf. Next, there was an inconsistency in the battle scenes. The best action sequence was the one on Themyscira, unbelievable CGI aside, this was the only scene that was given enough time to show the length the Amazonians would go, to protect the motherbox. The Atlantians sequence saw maybe 3 whom tried to stop Steppenwolf, and we only saw a boomtube when the motherbox was taken from mankind. Movie screen time unfortunately, spent in prior scenes on rounding up Star Lab staff for questioning. Now, on the commendable side, I liked how the female characters were the heart and soul of the team as well as the movie, while the male counterparts brought the muscle and charm. Flash was relatable and lovable, Aquaman was a towering presence of cool, Cyborg was slowly embracing what he is. On to the DC Trinity, Superman as the muscle, Wonder Woman as the heart and Batman as the brain of the team. The movie version chose an older version of Batman, a little battle weary, and undoubtedly convinced that he was not enough to fight against the invasion. His singular focus was to improve the chances of mission success, even if it meant sacrificing himself. Overall, the theme of the movie is that everyone recognises their flaws, and finding their feet (pun intended) as well as place in the team. With the calibre of the actors attached to DCEU, may the big round table with 6 chairs, but with room for more, be filled.