Review of Justice League (2017) by Reynamarie G — 12 Jul 2018

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed are that of my own after viewing the film and is not to be taken as insult to any fans, or persons in association with the film. This review is met to summarize personal views, help movie goers decide on how to spend their time, and even help enlighten creatives with structural judgement to form into educational intake. This is not a professional review and is met to reflect on my opinion as the audience. Any opposing or agreeing views are encouraged to be expressed in their own posts to further conversations amongst movie lovers.

PLOT: Though the plot isn't the original and unique materspiece film lovers greatly anticipate, it is reasonably presented and supported to be engaging enough.

CHARACTERS: The Flash-Batman relationship can't seem to present itself as anything but a clear attempt at a Spiderman-Ironman interaction, and this is assisted by Barry's overall personality being a straining effort to compete with Peter Parker featured in Spiderman: Homecoming. I actually do hate to compare Marvel and DC when trying to seperate the two in terms of legacy and creativity, but it's so hard to do so when it's obvious the franchises can't seem to stay away from each other, with these types of intentions being an plain example. Other fan favorites that seemed to be promising enough to get fans into theaters turned out to be water-down versions of the characters we loved and hope to see again unless the franchise continues down its current path.

DIALOGUE: With some cleverly written dialogue that greatly supports certain tones when needed, the domination of forced one-liners and forgettable exchanges help crumble the already rocky film.

PERFORMANCES: Though the film is filled with a talented cast, it's unclear if some of these mediocre performances were at the fault of a weak script, poor direction, or just lack of interest. The performance by Ezra Miller in particular was reasonably convincing at times, though what dominated his screen time was filled with overacting or lack of reacting.

ACTION: The fight scenes are filled with nothing spectacular or things that are unfamiliar to preceding action films. Filled with unnecessarily frequent slow-motion shots, crashing into concerte, one-liners, and WWE style combat, these battle scenes are just too unrealistic even with the acception of a being fantasy-based superhero movie. The larger battle scenes and climax especially rely too heavily on explosions and sound effects to win over viewers. Of course these things are expected for action films and can actually be effective, but the mark was missed with this film as this is a great example of giving viewers what they already know in hopes of it working again.

SPECIAL EFFECTS: Throughout the film, the effects are outstanding with it's budget, time, and attention to detail being very clearly presented. The environments and surrounds throughout the film are successful in rendering thoughts of the unique and abstract world of we have associated with DC, yet some of these effects can sometimes come across as standard video game like animation.

MUSIC/SCORE: Being an admirer of Danny Elfman, I especially enjoyed his work on this film which perfectly captured the mood of individual scenes, and the overall tone of the film. What's also appreciated is how the music blends swiftly with the scene and characters, with the Flash's familiar theme during some of his focused screen time being a prime example.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Though this is an improvement from recent DC films that presents to fans something imaginative and engaging, it's clear that the franchise has a couple of steps to go before again reaching the legacy that it has made itself known to have. In conclusion, LEGO Batman certainly tops this one.