Justice League

Movie Name: Justice League
Year of Release: 2017

Director: Zack Snyder

Stars: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Mamoa, Jeremy Irons, Ray Fisher, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J.K. Simmons, Billy Crudup, Ciaran Hinds, Amber Heard, Jesse Eisenberg, Joe Morton, Michael McElhatton, Anthony Wise, Holt McCallany, Joe Manganiello

Genre: Action, Adventure

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
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Synopsis:

Director Zack Snyder is back, following the critical lambasting that surrounded his previous directorial effort, "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice". "Justice League" had its fair share of problems during shooting, including the director stepping away for personal reasons, and the hiring of Joss Whedon for additional reshoots and refinements of the script. The film picks up after the events of the aforementioned film: Superman has died, and the world is still recovering from that shock, in particular Lois Lane and Martha Kent. A new menace looms in the shape of Steppenwolf, another entity that has been banned to an alternate dimension, and who has set his sights on taking over Earth. Batman seeks the assistance of Wonder Woman, but they soon realize they need further assistance, which comes in the shape of The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg. They unite their considerable talents, to defeat this impossible foe, but also to bring back Superman, without whom, the task will be impossible to achieve.
"Justice League" again lags behind the concepts that doomed a lot of "Batman v Superman": the characters are flat and unidimensional, and not much motivation is provided for any of them, the same being said for the supporting characters (Amy Adams and Diane Lane have nothing to do, except look beautiful and concerned). Where this film improves upon the previous, is the insertion of a levity, humor, that is finely captured by the youth and dynamic quips of Ezra Miller's Flash/Barry Allen character. Zack Snyder is a director, very much like Michael Bay, who can capture artificiality and set pieces that are all about visual mayhem (and they share a very similar aesthetic), but lacks the ability to make characters credible, or give them enough range for audiences to care about them. This film in particular carries with it, the distinction of having characters that so many people know from comic books, and yet there's nothing particularly memorable or engaging about it. The choice of antagonist, is once again, a creature that is digitally created, with digital minions that feel artificial, hollow and devoid of real menace, and therefore, lack of personality. It's a film with stunning production values, but also one that feels like a set of marketing ads/commercials for either men's fragrances or expensive cars. The film manages to have some spark thanks to the presence of Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller and Connie Nielsen, all of whom with very little to do, manage to add some heart and humor to the proceedings. This series is in dire need of a new point of view.