Solid middle-of-the-pack

Rating: 6/10 (21 November 2017)

Seeing this was a "nostalgia moment" because as a kid, I must have had every Justice League comic book in print. (Sold them all later, but that's a different story.) I wanted to see the film to see the treatment given to my childhood heroes.
First, comparing The Avengers and Justice League, it is clear that the two are not on the same level of excellence. OK, maybe not fair to compare, but you know everyone who has seen both movies WILL compare them. The chemistry among the Avengers is there; among the Justice League, not so much. There is a sense of strain among the members.
Some fans don't like Ben Affleck's Batman but he's not so very bad. Compare vs. the Val Kilmer or George Clooney incarnations and he is better. Not as good as Christian Bale or Michael Keaton but not so bad either.
Gal Gadot is still excellent as Wonder Woman, complete with her compassion when (SPOILER) the League discusses reviving Superman. She worries not about the other league members; she worries about Kal-El.
Cyborg was done well. No complaints, but then again, no expectations because we have no comparison base except for a cartoon series. This is a viable superhero and his effects are mostly well done.
Aquaman was a touch snarky, which seems non-canonical but then again, his back story of being left with his father and never knowing his mother might lead him to have an attitude, so not terrible.
My big complaint is that the Flash, one of DC's best and most likable characters and the one with the most compassion, is portrayed as a naive and maybe even a slightly repressed kid. He had the lightning; he had the speed; but he didn't have the maturity or the charity of the canonical Flash.
The villain of the piece is Steppenwolf, strictly a CGI nightmare who looks like a Draughr from Skyrim with a Flaming Pole Axe, Elven armor, and a Horned Steel helmet. His one reference to Darkseid is so fleeting that folks not familiar with the Darkseid canon would miss it or misunderstand it. Some of the professional reviewers appear to NOT be familiar with the canon of Steppenwolf and so totally missed him as the herald of Darkseid. He and the parademons seem slightly hokey.
Most of the finale was shot in a CGI environment that was over-the-top artificial in appearance - which means poor blending. So in some places the effects detracted from rather than enhanced the movie.
You've seem my negative comments. But I still rate this as not a total bomb based on the action sequences and pacing. I might add this to my DVD library but only after the price drops enough for it to find a home in the $5 discount rack at the discount store.