Review of Justice League (2017) by Alachia Q — 21 Nov 2017

In my ranking of DC offerings, this is surpassed in tedium only by Wonder Woman.

I'm sorry to say so because I don't automatically hate Zack Snyder. His style is ponderous, but at least he has one, and I give him props for trying to imbue the DCEU with meaning. I also don't agree with harsh criticism of Ben Affleck. I'm not a huge fan, but watching him opposite the wooden Gadot, I found a whole new level of respect for him. He, Henry Cavil, and Amy Adams provide the sole emotional anchors in a movie whose big moments otherwise zip by without any emotional payoff whatsoever. (Ezra Miller is lovely as well, but his character exemplifies the Whedonesque streak, which feels painfully out of place.) Add a villain that manages the impossible-that is, to look more ludicrous even than Wonder Woman's Ares-and the whole thing is such a mess that it makes Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad look like flawless masterpieces.

I don't know how much blame to apportion to Snyder and how much to the studio, but the part that perhaps disappoints me the most is the derivativeness. Could they not have come up with a plot that wouldn't seem like a bad parody of Marvel's Infinity Stones? Personally, I'd have had an easier time forgiving any number of directorial excesses than this dull insistence on doing badly what Marvel does well.