Perhaps not the best DC film, but by far the COOLEST!

Rating: 8/10 (16 November 2017)

(Major spoilers ahead)
Justice League may not be the best DC film but it sure is the coolest of them all and I believe it is the epitome of what a comic book film should be. A good blend of darkness and camp, comedy and philosophy;-inspiration, and loads of eye candy. The action scenes were fantastic, which I'm sure is to be expected in a Justice League film, but what about the other components of the movie? The ones that DC fans were all worried about?
Well, I'll start off by talking about the plot, which many critics have deemed as simple. On the outside it appears that way but many of these characters are used symbolically, especially Superman and Steppenwolf. Superman was beacon for humanity, he represents the hope people have that people need to climb out of despair. After his death, hope for Earth was all but gone, giving rise to the awakening of Steppenwolf, a symbol of Fear and a destroyer of civilizations.
Steppenwolf, basically a reiteration of a devilish figure, was the culprit of the falling of several civilizations in the past, including Atlantis, which if you're familiar with the myth of Atlantis, you'll know that it represents human civilization at its highest peak, both technologically and spiritually. Atlantis' sinking is metaphorical, in that it sank, as in failed, due to misused science and its history is lost and buried. And so Steppenwolf claimed that without Superman (hope) on Earth, Earth is destined to repeat as another fallen human civilization. Our doom is inevitable.
And so as Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince set out to recruit the Metahumans they've been watching, encouraging them to climb out of their shells and trying best to restore their faith in humanity. What I loved about the characterizations in this film is that they rely heavily on anti-social behavior. Whether it'd be Aquaman, Cyborg or Flash, all three of those characters were either jobless, drunks, depressed or recluses.
Throughout the film, as the team gets together, they seemed to gel pretty well together, as they all come to grips with the reasons why they shut down and lost their faith in humanity and also faith in themselves. There was a touching scene between Bruce and Diana, who I swear, seemed really close to kissing in this movie! Aquaman was very snarky in this film, and Momoa is more than just an aesthetic quality, he is a pretty damn good actor. The Flash was a complete neurotic mess and his comedic lines never felt out of place or took away any sense of urgency. And so despite creating such a formidable team, their attempts to thwart Steppenwolf failed, and after losing a battle, Bruce Wayne realizes that one sure thing will be needed to defeat Steppenwolf (fear), and that is Superman. (hope)
The problem is, that he's dead. So how do you bring him back? The same thing that brought Cyborg back from the dead, with a Motherbox. The Motherboxes in this film were representations of technology that could recreate DNA. This story touches heavily on aspects of Transhumanism and the many iterations of superheroes. Whether it'd be Wonder Woman, the old soul, or Aquaman, the man out of time. The Flash, struck by lighting and reborn, and of course Cyborg, a man made superman, who is depicted in a very Frankenstein way in this film. Cyborg warns Bruce that the Motherbox contains the power to write DNA to create humans but it doesn't always get it right, himself being a poster boy for that, in that he considers himself a failed experiment because he has no control of his powers and that his soul is too strong for his body, causing both cellular and nervous breakdown.
And so Bruce's idea of stealing Superman's body and using the Motherbox to rekindle his DNA is dangerous and the result could be something monstrous and not the hero we hoped would return from the dead. But there was no other choice. This is when Justice League really takes off, which is right after Superman's resurrection. Superman stole the show in this film, he was so bad ass that he even made Batman smile. The action in this film, at times, got chaotic, but for the most part, the choreography was sound. Wonder Woman had the best hand to hand combat scenes, Aquaman and The Flash looked great in slow motion, and Batman didn't get a duplicate of his awesome warehouse scene from BVS but he was more of a General in this film, sitting back, barking out commands, and letting his technology do the work for him.
Visually speaking, this is Zack Snyder's magnum opus. There are scenes that are absolutely gorgeous as the team stood side by side, capes billowing in the wind in slow motion;- absolutely beautifully shot and directed. It's really hard to complain about anything in this film, except that it should've been longer. I thought Superman needed an extra scene after his resurrection, to acclimate and deal with the side effects he was feeling. I was hoping for a little more Hans Zimmer music from previous films. Although I admit, the Danny Elfman score is growing on me and so not many complaints. Even the little things I was hoping to see in the movie, such as Superman using his frost breath and the appearance of Green Lanterns, happened!
Final score 9/10. Better than BVS and as heartfelt as Wonder Woman.