One of the better DC comic adaptations in recent years.

Rating: 7/10 (19 November 2017)

I have been a DC fan since my childhood in the early-mid-80's, a time when I would get up early to watch "Super Friends" via antenna TV, or read the John Byrne reboot mini-series "Man of Steel" when it first hit newsstands. By my teens, Christopher Reeve and Michael Keaton personified Superman and Batman on the big screen and had not been recast or rebooted or reloaded or re-whatevered. And they had not been surrounded by countless Marvel competitors for moviegoers' increasingly limited attention spans. It is this audience that "Justice League" must contend for, which is sad, because the movie deserves a less hostile audience than the spoiled "rotten" one it has ultimately found.
This is not a perfect movie. But the good absolutely outweighs the bad, especially if you're specifically a "DC fan" and seeing some classic imagery done justice on the big screen is a treat. There is a good handful of images in this movie that genuinely tickled the DC comics nerd in me in ways that none of these films have as of yet. I don't think "Justice League" is quite made for general audiences in ways that Marvel films have tended to be; with geeks Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon calling the shots, it's no surprise that this film will appeal more to geeks than general audiences. That's not a defense of the movie, just an attempt to say who this may work for and who it may not.
The worst thing, by far, is the villain: Steppenwolf. I am simply baffled that talented and highly-paid people allowed this horrible CGI monstrosity to happen. He is every bit as terrible as the CGI villain from 2011's "Green Lantern" or the Necromancer from "The Hobbit"- suffering from having a complete lack of personality and expressiveness.
Apart from Steppenwolf my complaints are mostly nitpicks... I really do love a lot of this flick. Perhaps most importantly, and I expect this will be general sentiment: I loved the whole League! Flash is hilarious. I want his movie out much quicker than 2020. Aquaman- a joke of a hero just a few years ago- is rad in this, and I very much look forward to more of him. Cyborg was never very interesting to me in the comics, and he's surprisingly good here. Wonder Woman gets to take her character up another notch from her movie, and Batman is much more likable here than in "Batman V. Superman". And... my god. My favorite superhero of all time, Superman: THANK YOU FOR GETTING SUPERMAN RIGHT. It was soooo refreshing seeing him SMILE. And be NICE. And LAUGH.
Danny Elfman's score is a lot of fun, particularly for its nods toward classic hero themes. CGI- aside from Steppenwolf and a certain hero's digitally-erased mustache- is mostly quite good. The pace was very quick- which is good and sort bad; I really hope a longer cut comes out at some point- the idea that "Justice League" is far shorter than all other DCEU films to date is very odd, and I did feel it was a little too light in some aspects. Being a fan of the 3 hour Ultimate Cut of BVS, I would personally love to see an extended cut of this.
I don't think this movie is for everybody. But I do feel it is worth viewing more than critics may have you believe. It is not the "Citizen Kane" of superhero movies, however it is a very fun ride and if these characters mean anything to you at all it may be all you need to enjoy the ride. Snyder and Whedon treat these heroes as genuine icons and don't overburden us with origins and dramatic or pretentious dialogue. "Justice League" is fun, surprisingly light, epic, and quick. I am looking forward to seeing this team assemble again.