The New Justice League Movie Review – Not Great News…??
New Justice League Movie might just have ruined Christmas ! With its juxtaposition of cinematic excellence and storytelling mess, this New Justice League Movie is officially my worst superhero movie of the year.
OK, that was a bit of an exaggeration and pretty misleading, but not too far off the mark as the new Justice League movie has been termed a critical failure by many. Despite the big budget as well as an ensemble cast, it has managed to become a towering mass of failed aspirations. So one might ask;
Where did they go wrong?
One could point at any number of reasons for the The New Justice League Movie receiving such poor ratings from critics.
A confusing and incoherent plot
When Spiderman: Homecoming hit the silver screens some weeks ago, it was an immediate hit. It was played to perfection by the young Tom Holland and duly supported by Tony Stark. Moreover, the duo made a dynamic and visually appealing team on screen. The story was also praised for its ingenuity and deviation from the normal pathways taken by other Spiderman films in their storytelling (They left out the origin story). This is a direct contrast to the Justice League Movie.
Fans and critics alike have not taken kindly to the spotty story, criticising the pacing, timing and general storytelling process adopted by the movie writers. The words used have not been kind either, with some even going as far as describing it as “…fatally undermined by a number of glaring flaws, including a muddled plot, tonal mismatch…”
One would think that hiring one of the powerhouses (Josh Whedon) Marvel used to propel some of their movies out to prominence would be a jolt putting the Justice League Movie on the same trajectory. However, this was not meant to be, the main idea behind the movie suffered from poor storytelling, lack of direction and an inconsistent tone.
A poor use of a good Villain (CGI)
Another major talking point for the movie had been its decision to cast the villain Steppenwolf as CGI. We remember how DC suffered a barrage of criticism in 2011 for bombarding the Green Lantern film with CGI. Many do not see DC’s rendition of Steppenwolf as a gold standard of CGI, and when you are DC, you have to be the gold standard.
By comparison, we realize that Marvel also uses a fair amount of CGI in her movies as well. What makes this case different is that the fans did not get what they were looking for in a villain. With the Marvel films, you get clean stories, awesome CGI, and incredible acting. These are all delivered on a platter of fun and lined with quirky and interestingly unique characters. Although the Justice League Movie made a stand, it ultimately fell short in so many areas that required perfection as well as precision in the execution.
An almost uninspiring Batman
The presence of bad CGI and poor storytelling is enough to gut any movie. Yet the DC downturn continues with yet another bad trend starting to develop in the movie. Perhaps for the best, but not well received nonetheless is Batman’s more tame role in the movie. Many people have remarked as to how Batman here is unusually simpler and much more prone to being left out of the more important moments.
Batman’s genius and leadership skills are downplayed here several times as well. One example of this? He just had to rely conveniently on Lex Luthor’s extensive research on superheroes he so happened to want to recruit. Batman’s extensive resourcefulness and planning are duly attributed to random happenings taking away so much from the caped crusader.
In this movie, Batman does not even feel like the tough motivated leader we love. The movie even more than hints at his willingness to rather not be a part of the team. Is DC planning on gutting Batman from the franchise? That would be crazy, but not impossible.
What then does The Justice League Movie have in its favor?
Although it had its flaws, fans, in general, commended the superb acting of the cast. Ben Affleck was gruff and gritty as always, Gal Gadot played her part to perfection. The new superheroes in the team; Aquaman, The Flash, and Cyborg (Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, and Ray Fisher respectively) were duly represented in the movie. The fight scenes were also a delight to watch as the heroes of earth slugged it out against their invaders. These perfectly choreographed action scenes really gave this movie its moments of brilliance.
The movie’s showing at the box office has also been a mix. For opening weekend, the movie failed to meet the $110-$120 million benchmarks set for it but still managed to earn $97million. It is yet to be seen if it will go on to become a box office smash hit despite being widely panned by critics.
Official reviews on movie sites have been really mixed as well, Rotten Tomatoes, the online Aggregator website have given it a really low rating of about 40% while IMDb has given it a rating of 7.7/10 which is a generally seen as a positive review. This is a general reflection of the public perception of the film.
In conclusion, The New Justice League Movie has a solid backing, great acting, a really poor use of CGI and an appalling plot. However, common knowledge dictates that we generally do not appreciate something in the present until it becomes a thing of the past. It is yet to be seen if this movie will be praised in retrospect, but for now, it is a great and entertaining use of time. Although I think will not be getting an academy award anytime soon.
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