More Heroes but still a Zero Sum movie

Rating: 4/10 (20 November 2017)

So the highly anticipated DCU ensemble movie is finally here.
I've always been a fan, got the comics and have known the characters since childhood and I wanted to like this movie. Unlike the Avengers sequels which I expected to be mere shadows of the first installment but weren't, I truly expected to enjoy this newest adventure but didn't.
More accurately, I couldn't. Perhaps it is still a bit much to relate to yet another Batman and Superman. Or perhaps it was the stilted acting or the corny lines. Maybe it was because the scriptwriters were so busy trying to weave multiple characters together that they forgot to give the villain, Steppenwulf, a personality. The obvious CGI gave us a paper-mache anti-hero who was not interesting enough to take seriously, let alone dislike. In comparison, the android Ultron was more convincing.
I also had difficulty caring if Superman lived or died and I doubt Lois or Ma Kent felt any different in their reunion scenes. He may have the body and the looks but let's face it, Henry will never score high on charisma or presence. Then there is the Flash who like Marvel's Spiderman was reduced to being an juvenile crackhead whose every scene only enhanced his awkward cringe-worthiness. As for Affleck's stint as the bat, I am amazed he can walk, let alone fight in his sumo suit. Come on DC, less is more? He's supposed to be a genius, one who doesn't need to be padded like an Abrams tank.
Put these caricatures together with Gadot, Momoa and Fisher and you have 2 hours of big budget, underwhelming action. Hence, zero sum, the exciting is canceled out by the mediocre.
Am I being harsh? Well just ask yourself if you would pay to see a standalone Batman, Superman or Flash movie? We already know how badly the Man of Steel tanked on his solo outing so no need to go there again. Batman and Superman together didn't fare better.
Go see this and judge for yourselves. The JLA legacy deserves that much but I'd sooner watch another Diana Prince movie than a Justice League sequel. With this ensemble and production team, less would definitely have been more.