Justice League (film)

**Justice League** is a 2011 superhero film based on the DC Comics superhero team Justice League. The film is a crossover between/sequel to *Batman: Year One*, *The Flash*, *Wonder Woman*, *Aquaman*, *Batman 2*, and *Superman: The Last Son of Krypton* and was directed by Zack Snyder and stars Tom Pelphrey, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Andrew Garfield, Tessa Thompson, Charlie Hunnam, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Irons, Keri Russell, Chris Pine, Adrianne Palicki, Michael Rosenbaum, and Angela Bassett. It was released on May 6, 2011 and grossed $1.239 billion against a $200 million budget. It ran 152 minutes and received critical acclaim, with praise for its visuals, acting, musical score, and action sequences. *Justice League: Brainiac* was released on May 2, 2014, followed by *Justice League: Darkseid*on April 28, 2017, and *Justice League: Final Crisis*on April 27, 2018.

## Plot

In deep space, Sinestro is broken out of an Oan prison and brought to a mysterious figure who tasks him with collecting the three Mother Boxes on Earth. In the A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters in Washington D.C., Amanda Waller views experiments using Kryptonite, an alien rock with the ability to connect with the spacetime continuum, allowing travel between planets in seconds. The Kryptonite activates suddenly, despite none of the scientists touching it. Sinestro arrives out of a portal and informs them that he is a Yellow Lantern who wants to retrieve his "Battery". Waller realizes he is talking about the Yellow Lantern Battery they came into posession of just weeks ago. Agents Steve Trevor and Dinah Lance go to their vault to protect the Battery, but Sinestro finds them and knocks them out before taking the Battery and disappearing with it. Realizing that Sinestro has not left Earth, Waller decides to call in the Justice League. She splits them up to retrieve each proposed member.

Lance travels to Star City, where she visits Senator Oliver Queen, her former boyfriend who was once an agent of A.R.G.U.S. before running for Senate. She convinces him to retake his codename "Green Arrow" as will she: "Black Canary". Trevor flies to Central City, where he finds Barry Allen/The Flash and reveals that A.R.G.U.S. has been tracking him since he first became the Flash. Barry agrees to join the team. Waller is on her way to Gotham when her helicopter is attacked by Sinestro, who now has an army of Yellow Lanterns, brought to Earth by the Battery. Waller is taken captive, but she is able to send a signal to Diana Prince first. In Themyscira, Diana receives Waller's signal and travels to Atlantis to recruit Arthur Curry/Aquaman, the King of Atlantis. The two are suddenly attacked by Yellow Lanterns, who are there to collect Atlantis's Mother Box. After fending them off, Arthur seals Atlantis off to protect it.

In Gotham City, Bruce Wayne is visited by Clark Kent and Lois Lane, who have come to Gotham to investigate a series of reports saying Bruce has connections to Batman. However, an attack downtown from Sinestro interrupts their meeting. Clark gets Lois to safety, revealing his identity as Superman to Wayne, who claims he already knew and reveals himself as Batman in return. The duo fight Sinestro, who claims that his plan is already in motion. Lance, Queen, Barry, and Trevor meet back in Washington D.C., where they learn of Waller's capture and Sinestro's descent on Gotham. Despite the evacuation efforts there, the four make it through and are able to track Waller's location. Finding her, they are able to rescue her, though Trevor is injured in the fight. Clark and Wayne appear and help them escape via a Wayne Enterprises jet. Waller receives word of an incoming energy signature and the Yellow Lanterns begin running away, as Diana and Arthur, on horseback, lead legions of Amazons and Atlanteans into the city. Sinestro is forced to escape. Diana and Arthur meet the others in an A.R.G.U.S. bunker located under Gotham. They begin making a plan to stop Sinestro once he is located again.

Clark and Wayne begin fighting with one another over their differences, but Diana calms them down. Sinestro attacks them again, attracted to Diana's sword. Due to the team only just meeting, they are unable to work as a team and lose to Sinestro, who retrieves the sword and gets away. Diana reveals that her sword is a Mother Box, collected by Themyscira when Apokolips came to Earth millennia ago. The Box was forged into the sword, which was then used by the Amazons. Waller comes to the conclusion that Sinestro wants all three, which is why he went to Atlantis. However, none of them have knowledge of where the final Mother Box is located, and presumably neither does Sinestro. Atlantis is soon invaded by Sinestro, who destroys the barrier and takes the Mother Box. Waller tracks Sinestro's path to deduce he is going to Metropolis. The team heads there before Sinestro and A.R.G.U.S. begins a mass evacuation. Sinestro and the Yellow Lantern arrive and reveal that they plan to destroy Earth to get rid of the Justice League and find the final Mother Box. They also set up a forcefield around the city, preventing the Amazon or Atlantean armies to enter.

Waller realizes that if they can get one of the Mother Boxes already in Metropolis, they will be able to find the location of the third. Clark, Diana, and Wayne go after Sinestro, while Barry and Arthur take on the army, and Lance and Queen help get the citizens to safety. Sinestro is ambushed by the heroes, who take back both Mother Boxes, but Sinestro quickly shows that both are only decoys created by him. He already has both Mother Boxes set to react together and destroy the city. The seven heroes unite downtown and use their various abilities to stop the Boxes from exploding and stop Sinestro as well. The Yellow Lanterns retreat into space, while Clark, Diana, and Wayne take Sinestro back to Oa, meeting the Green Lantern Corps in the process. The seven heroes are called the Justice League, though they go their separate ways, promissing to return when the world needs them to. In a mid-credits scene, Sinestro's employer is revealed to be Darkseid, who promises to regain the Mother Boxes and destroy the Justice League. In a post-credits scene, the Justice League reunites quickly after the battle and have dinner together.

## Cast

* Tom Pelphrey as Bruce Wayne/Batman
* Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman
* Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman
* Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman
* Andrew Garfield as Barry Allen/The Flash
* Tessa Thompson as Dinah Lance/Black Canary
* Charlie Hunnam as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow
* Jon Hamm as Sinestro
* Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth
* Keri Russell as Lois Lane
* Chris Pine as Steve Trevor
* Adrianne Palicki as Mera
* Michael Rosenbaum as David Singh
* Angela Bassett as Amanda Waller

## Reception

### **Box office**

**Justice League** grossed $404 million (32.6%) in the United States and Canada and $835.2 million (67.4%) in other territories for a total of $1.239 billion. Worldwide, it is the second highest-grossing 2011 film. It achieved a worldwide opening weekend of $352 million.

### **Critical reception**

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a "certified fresh" score of 92% based on reviews from 320 critics, with an average rating of 7.74/10.