‘Justice League’ Review Roundup: Not All Superhero Team-Ups Are Super
When DC Comics’ “Justice League” arrives in theaters on Friday, fans of Superman (Henry Cavill), Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher), will get to see all of their favorites working together in one film. But, is that necessarily a good thing?
June’s “Wonder Woman” was a smash hit with critics, fans and at the box office, but that doesn’t mean “Justice League” will automatically follow suit.
Here’s what the critics are saying about the Zack Snyder-director superhero team-up flick.
The Hollywood Reporter - Todd McCarthy
“Fatigue, repetition and a laborious approach to exposition are the keynotes of this affair, which is also notable for how Ben Affleck, donning the batsuit for the second time, looks like he’d rather be almost anywhere else but here; his eyes and body language make it clear that he’s just not into it. For his part, Henry Cavill’s Superman, left for dead and buried in 2016’s ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ (we see the grave of Clark Joseph Kent more than once), isn’t resurrected until the second half, and it takes considerably more time for him to snap into action.
“That leaves things mostly in the capable hands of Wonder Woman, who’s just as kick-[expletive] as she was this summer but in a less imaginative, one-note way.”
“The movie, which gathers up half a dozen comic-book immortals and lets them butt heads on their way to kicking [expletive], is never messy or bombastic. It’s light and clean and simple (at times almost too simple), with razory repartee and combat duels that make a point of not going on for too long. ”
Entertainment Weekly - Chris Nashawaty
“It’s obvious to anyone watching ‘Justice League’ next to the other DC films that the studio brass handed down a mandate to lighten the mood and make things funnier and more Marvel-y. And, to an extent, ‘Justice League’ accomplishes that. But it also feels like so much attention was paid to the smaller, fizzier character moments that the bigger picture of the film’s overarching plot was a second or third priority. Some day, hopefully soon, DC will get the recipe right again and duplicate ‘Wonder Woman’s’ storytelling magic. But today isn’t that day, and ‘Justice League’ unfortunately isn’t that film.”
“The newly formed Justice League meet. They banter. They argue. They battle. They plot. They dodge bullets in slow motion. They battle again. They set themselves up for a sequel. Indeed, the straightforward narrative and the special effects-heavy set pieces are all disappointedly derivative — and a weaker imitation of the originals at that. Even the film’s amusing mentee/mentor relationship between over-eager Barry and stand off-ish Bruce harkens back to the Iron Man/Spider-Man dynamic in last summer’s superior ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming.’”
“In the end, though, there is something ponderous and cumbersome about ‘Justice League’; the great revelation is very laborious and solemn and the tiresome post-credits sting is a microcosm of the film’s disappointment. Some rough justice is needed with the casting of this franchise.”
“Justice League” opens in theaters on Friday.
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