DC needs to rethink its strategy

Rating: 8/10 (2 April 2018)

DC's response to "The Avengers", "Justice League" should have been the film that would wash every unsuccessful attempt the gigantic comic book publisher ever displayed on-screen as a live-action superhero movie. Sadly, it just falls into the deep pit of every other work from the DC Cinematic Universe.
I strongly believed in this movie before it came out, especially after the rave reviews of "Wonder Woman", this should have set a new ground in terms of quality for DC.
"Justice League" centers around a team of superheroes formed by Batman, played by Ben Affleck, in order to stop the menacing force crowned as Steppenwolf. Batman enlists the help of other people with special abilities, such as Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman or Cyborg. Despite shaping up Earth's first line of defense, Steppenwolf withstands the mighty team. Now Batman is forced to find a new way to stop the menace and only one person could face up to the task at hand, Superman.
The plot is a classic comic-book story that feels to have entered a little late in the superhero genre. If the movie was developed and released in the early stages, pre-Iron Man era, then I would have given it a pass, but in this age of ever-pouring comic-book movies year by year, it just doesn't stand up to the standards.
Aside from the main story, the script has been revised by Joss Whedon who's hand was seen throughout the movie, giving it a lighter more comical touch. This was a slight improvement to the DC Universe, but not enough to save the movie.
Steppenwolf was really just a bland villain bringing absolutely nothing new to the table. The villain is an important part of the superhero movie process and they misfired once again after "Suicide Squad".
Instead of following the Marvel formula by having each individual superhero origin story told first and only then connecting the storyline unto one epic stage like the "The Avengers", DC rushed production by postponing several key characters' own films. There may have been slight hints in "Batman vs Superman" of The Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman but not enough to make they're involvement aware to the audience. There is no true indication that Marvel's way is the only path to success and even so, DC still did not take the right approach.
The casting and acting was great, Ben Affleck does an amazing job as Bruce Wayne, probably the second best live-action Batman portrayal after Michael Keaton. Ezra Miller, Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa also fit well within their character's personalities.
"Justice League" had serious development troubles with two months of re-shoots and script rewriting, not to mention Henry Cavill's digitally removed mustache.
Famed composer Hans Zimmer did not return to score the soundtrack after "Batman Vs Superman" and was replaced by Danny Elfman, who in one way or another brought back the enjoyable theme song from 89's "Batman". Elfman's work matched the pace of earlier parts of the movie very well, but in the latter half, just like the script, it started to not amount to anything.
I know that an 8/10 is a high rating, but even with all the above being said, I actually enjoyed the movie and I truly hope DC is going to learn from its mistakes and turn it all around with "Justice League 2". Marvel needs a big competitor and DC needs to step up its game.