Just another average comic book film, despite a very strong beating heart.

Rating: 6/10 (19 November 2019)

Like most DC fans out there, I grew up watching old school cartoons. Super Friends, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman, and Justice League (2001) all had a part to play in the love we all share, not including the comic lines. And when DC decided to take a page from Marvel's playbook it became enticing to see how they'd pull what most believe is impossible: making a live action Justice League film.
Something as gargantuan as this would need multiple components to ensure its success. The most critical of those components are as follows:
1. Their respective heroes, built with backstory, traits, and motivation:
a.) This must also include the team dynamic that merges all three.
b.) Included should be a strong motivation for the team assembling.
2. Strong world building that capitalizes on previous films.
3. A unique, compelling villain that puts the team dynamic to the test.
4. Clear and concise direction on where this universe wants to go.
Does Justice League (2017) fulfill these objectives and create something that can rival Marvel's monstrous success? The answer varies based off your own personal stance, but in the end it's a mixed bag only made worse by studio interference and issues behind the scenes.

Not long after the death of Superman, the world becomes the target for an alien invasion when an intergalactic being known as Steppenwolf begins a crusade to hunt down artifacts known as Motherboxes and terraform the planet in the process. It's up to the Justice League to form up to put a stop to Steppenwolf.....and that's as far as the plot goes.
While the formula is simple, and at times effective, it's not as strong as it should be here, thanks mostly to a major lack in narrative consistency. The first half hour feels incomprehensibly rushed in order to introduce each member of the league as fast as possible, with obvious portions missing (more on that later) that lead to awkward edits and moments that don't feel like they belong. Pacing is another serious issue, as some scenes feel shuffled around. The film starts off Batman capturing a parademon and basically force-feeding exposition to the audience as to what's going on. What follows is a scene of Wonder Woman stopping terrorists from blowing up a building; while the subtext of terrorists coming from the woodworks in the wake of Superman's death is commendable, it still doesn't explain the pacing and random placement of the scene.
This is quite frequent throughout the film, and the obvious culprit is Warner Bros.
Rumors of Zack Snyder being fired or outright leaving the project due to personal issues abound, but regardless Warner Bros. brought in Joss Whedon to help finalize the film by way of adding ample doses of humor and changes to the story. After the utter grimness that was BvS, the studio aimed for more humor and lightheartedness. The story goes Snyder had roughly 3 1/2 hours of footage, of which Whedon compressed into 2 hours, resulting in a film that greatly suffers under the weight of time crunch. It's made very clear which scenes are Snyder's and which are Whedon's, from the slo-mo shots to the comic relief added last-minute (of which is painfully obvious at times).
The studio tampering doesn't stop there, as the main villain is perhaps the biggest narrative blight in the film, through pacing and mere presence. Steppenwolf is, universally, the worst villain in any modern comic book adaptation. He's hollow, uninteresting, and devoid of any personality that makes him an eligible threat to the Justice League. It doesn't help that he's entirely CG, and can't even be elevated by Ciarán Hinds unconvincing voice capture. Supposedly he had much more of a menacing presence in the original cut, but was cut down to serve the two hour runtime. The only positive mark that can be said about him is that he does get quite a few fight scenes, at least one with each member of the league.
When looking past the studio problems, the more fascinating elements begin to emerge. For starters, the League's dynamic with one another is top notch. While not all members get enough time to shine, their camaraderie and teamwork really makes them feel like a single unit. Bruce conversing with Aquaman, Bruce tutoring Barry Allen/Flash, Flash fighting alongside Cyborg, Wonder Woman fighting alongside all of them. It's just a beauty to behold, something ripped straight from the 2001 animated show and done justice, pun intended.
Without spoiling anything too significant there are individual moments as well for each character that help flesh them out in the DCEU world, supplying the right amounts of bravado and fervor that's much needed after the dark void that was BvS. Barry Allen in particular is given the the more fleshed out backstory, albeit in crash course mode; by the end there's even a small payoff for his character's central arc. Bruce Wayne/Batman is a more PG version of himself than before, relying way less on stabbing thugs and blowing stuff up and instead playing custodian to the League itself along with Alfred's guidance. We no longer see a grizzled man pushing the limits, but instead see him acknowledge his own limits and mortality after being surrounded by gods and monsters. It's a unique paradigm shift for the character, and is sure to cause some division amongst the fanbase.
Aquaman and Cyborg make awesome additions to the team with their unique personalities and powers, but aren't given enough space to breath in an already shallow runtime. Aquaman is given a very brief crash course introduction, and Cyborg's introduction is all but glossed over with only the vaguest explanation of how he received his powers. Of the established heroes Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg were properly introduced until this movie, so that's three origins/backstories that need realizing before the plot can move forward, which is already hard because of the hackneyed runtime. The only new hero that works is the Flash because he gets the lion's share of backstory. This not-too-effectively makes the first half hour of the film a crash course introduction to the team.
(By now you've heard the words "crash course" multiple times, because that's the only appropriate way to describe the majority of the film. It condenses too much information and attempts to make it work within the allotted time given. Secret Origins, the pilot to the 2001 animated show, was a clear inspiration to the movie, but even when divided into three parts the pilot served as a well-balanced rendition of what the team should be.)
Justice League mostly nails its heroes, even if some feel rushed with little to no backstory. Their dynamic is spot-on, but their motivation is shoddy thanks to a villain who just doesn't provide enough challenge, let alone any personality or charisma. The world building is done right after BvS, opening multiple avenues by the film's end (even though those ends are unlikely to be explored now that DC is attempting another soft reboot of their universe.) In the end the runtime is the cardinal sin that damns most of the final product into being just another average comic book film, despite a very strong beating heart.