“No protectors here. No Lanterns. No Kryptonian. This world
will fall, like all the others.” ~ Steppenwolf
“I miss the days when one’s biggest concern is exploding
wind-up penguins.” ~ Alfred Pennyworth
“A strong man is strongest alone, ever heard that?” ~ Arthur
Curry
“You wanted me to be a leader, but leaders get people
killed.” ~ Diana
“Superman was a beacon to the world. He didn’t just save
people, he made them see the best part of themselves.” ~ Bruce Wayne
And so the DC cinematic universe carries on, trying to play
catch-up with the Marvel cinematic universe in the fifth entry in the
franchise, if one counts the shared continuity that started in Man Of Steel, followed in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Suicide
Squad, and Wonder Woman. That
last film, a highly successful and entertaining origin story that hit theatres
in the summer, finally got the DC universe right in this continuity. Justice League picks up where Batman V Superman left off, with Bruce
and Diana’s organizing of the superhumans we got a glimpse of in that movie
into a team. Zack Snyder directs the film (with a designated pinch director,
yes, that is a term, now, in the form of Joss Whedon) after helming two of the
previous films in the franchise.
A prologue set deep in the past finds Steppenwolf (Ciaran
Hinds), the big bad of the film, accompanied by an army of Parademons (ugly
bastards from another world, just like their boss) trying the old conquering
the world ploy on Earth, only to be stopped by an army of Amazons, Atlanteans,
Olympian gods, humans, and Green Lanterns. Their technology, called Mother
Boxes, are dispersed around the world. In the present day, months after the
death of Superman (Henry Cavill), Steppenwolf returns to have another go at
world domination in an attempt to get back on the good side of his master. All
that stand in his way are five heroes (plus a sixth late in the game): the
Justice League. Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) bring
together Aquaman (Jason Momoa), the Flash (Ezra Miller), and Cyborg (Ray
Fisher).
Justice League has
been in the making for years, going back to the time when Christopher Nolan was
making his Dark Knight trilogy (which
are an entirely different continuity and were outstanding films, not reflecting
the issues that the current DC cinematic shared continuity have had). It had
long been stalled in the production process, until Snyder came along with Man of Steel, a film the studio wanted
to be the start-off for further continuity. Snyder would return for the bleak Batman V Superman, and also directed the
bulk of this, until a personal tragedy caused him to step away from post
production and reshoots. Joss Whedon, who was involved in the screenplay with
Chris Terrio, stepped in to cover the bases on that. There is a bit of a
stilted feel of things at times though, and perhaps that has to do with two
directors- two different styles are stitched together.
Terrio’s screenplay, with light humour mixed in from Whedon’s
side of things, is a sprawling epic that plays off of what has come before-
character dynamics, the history of the DC universe, the previous films- and
takes it in a new direction. Steppenwolf might be a strange name for a villain,
but he’s previously established in the DC universe as a forerunner for someone
who’s even worse, and the parademons are also as well established as a
formidable threat. The story has to bring these heroes together (even if some
of them would rather stay right out of it) to face a threat that can’t be solved
by one person- a good reflection of the prologue, which brings a disparate
group to fight together against the same threat. The story, as things go along,
certainly is lighter in tone than the utter bleakness of Batman V Superman or the lunatic energy of Suicide Squad.
The production values certainly look good. Parademons and
the look of Steppenwolf, for instance, are well rendered and menacing.
Amazonians, Atlanteans, Olympians, and the Lantern Corps all come across as you’d
expect. New characters have been designed in a way that both fits a movie
reality and their comic book origins. Cyborg, a mix of human and machine as a
result of an accident, looks much like he would in the comics, only with more technological
detail. The Flash, the scarlet speedster, ends up with a costume that takes his
abilities into consideration, but still rings close to what we see on the
printed page. Aquaman, a character who’s often been belittled (mostly because
of a cheesy 70s animated show) looks quite different- instead of a blond haired
man with a yellow shirt, we get an exotic looking ferocious warrior with scale
armor and a trident, looking like the last person you’d want to irritate.
The cast is fairly well chosen, some of them new, others
returning from previous films. Ciaran Hinds is one of those character actors
you’ve seen in movies and television shows down through the years- Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part
2, Amazing Grace, Road To Perdition, The Sum Of All Fears, Munich, The Woman In
Black, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and The
Nativity Story are among his extensive resume. Much of the role he plays
here is a combination of motion capture as Steppenwolf. The character is a
scheming, ambitious villain, but tired in other ways, seeking a way out of the
servitude he finds himself in. Hinds gets to chew the scenery throughout like a
megalomaniac, which you expect out of the Big Bad in one of these.
J.K. Simmons comes on board as Commissioner Gordon, a
mainstay of the Batman mythos- with some of the same dynamics the two
characters share in the comics and previous movie incarnations, partners of a
sort who meet on rooftops and conspire together. Simmons, who’s one of those
marvelous character actors who just make a movie more interesting by being
around, has been in the comics adaptations before, having had played the
grouchy J. Jonah Jameson in the three Sam Raimi Spider-Man films (one halfway expects Gordon to bark “Parker!”). Diane Lane and Amy Adams reprise their roles
from previous films in the DC continuity as Martha Kent and Lois Lane, this
time finding themselves stunned by a turn of events that strikes close to home,
and both actresses play to that. Jeremy Irons returns as Bruce Wayne’s faithful
butler Alfred, still bringing a dry, sardonic wit to his take on the character.
Ray Fisher appeared briefly in Batman V Superman as Victor Stone, the young athlete whose life is
shattered in an accident and whose scientist father Silas (Joe Morton,
returning again as the sympathetic genius) has managed to keep him alive,
though as more machine than man. As Cyborg, the character has multiple
technological advantages, including flight, weapons, and technological
manipulation, and the actor, playing at least in part through motion capture,
conveys the notion of a young man trapped forever in a metallic shell, likely
to never have a real life of his own, but still holding onto his humanity.
Ezra Miller is another young character, Barry Allen, already
established in a cameo from Batman V Superman as having super powers as the
Flash, helping people out in swift, but unheralded ways. The character is a
university student quietly trying to live his life, being drawn into a much
bigger world than he would have been prepared for, but he comes into his own as
the story unfolds, and the character has a light, funny touch, particularly in
how he interacts with everyone else around him.
Jason Momoa gets a fun role as the gruff and fierce Arthur
Curry, aka Aquaman. The Atlantean warrior and royal is a metahuman whose great
strength comes from his Atlantean biology, and he divides his time between
ocean and the seashore. He’s dismissive and standoffish at first, feeling his
loyalties must be to Atlantis, but circumstances bring him to accept a place in
the wider world as well. The actor gives the character an intensely physical
quality, a ferocious energy, and seems to be having fun as he goes along. It
also helps that he’s got good chemistry with Mera (Amber Heard); the two
characters will be back in a solo film in the not too distant future.
Henry Cavill returns as Clark Kent, otherwise known as
Superman, after his death in Batman V
Superman (death doesn’t really last in the comics, so why should it in
movies?). How that return plays out is a bit convoluted, but Cavill plays the
character in a different way than we’ve seen before: initial confusion at
first, a natural reaction to a contingency measure of sorts secondly, a seeking
out of who he is thirdly, and a return to glory when it really matters.
Gal Gadot impressed a lot of people with Wonder Woman during the summer, and she
was the best part of Batman V Superman
as well, and her return here as Diana is welcome. She’s spent a century after
the events of her origin film on Earth as an immortal, quietly staying out of
the way of humanity, apart from her mother and her Amazonian people. With the
close of Batman V Superman, Diana has
had to accept that she has to come back into the world, working with Bruce
Wayne (and bantering and bickering a bit too) to forge a team to meet
overwhelming threats. The actress plays her as someone of strength, principle, integrity, and will. emerging from the
shadows and rising to the occasion.
Ben Affleck returns (though will he return again, that’s the
question) as Bruce Wayne, the cranky Dark Knight who’s spent years as a
vigilante in the darkness of Gotham City and who picked a fight with Superman
in the previous film, well, just because the story told him to, before
realizing that he was fighting the wrong person. His take on the character is
lighter than it was in that film, where he certainly went for the grim and
gritty. He’s still world weary, a non-powered human being with a brilliant
mind, a lot of money, and an iron will who’s become more willing to trust and
work with others to counter threats. He may not be a metahuman like those
around him, but Affleck still plays the role as someone you don’t want to annoy.
Justice League
still bears some of the marks of a problem for the DC cinematic universe: in
trying to catch up with the Marvel cinematic universe, which hasn’t stumbled,
the DC universe stumbles a bit. This happened with the previous films (with the
exception of Wonder Woman), and it
does happen here. Rather than just let the films tell themselves, the studio
seems obsessed with playing catch-up. Two directors, with very different
styles, end up creating a tone of inconsistency at times. That said, however,
it is entertaining, giving the new characters a chance to shine and for the
audience to get to know them. It also tells a sprawling epic that builds off of
what’s already come before, gives us characters who mesh fairly well together,
and which points ways to the future for all of them.
