Critics Wrong Again: Justice League Was Pretty Good 0

[Wayne-Tec]

SPOILER ALERT: If you have not yet seen the film, and don't want plot point revealed, stop reading here.

Although not specifically Golden Age related, 2017's Justice League featured 4 different superheroes who trace their roots to the Golden Age: Superman (Action Comics #1), Batman (Detective Comics #27), Wonder Woman (All-Star Comics #8) and Aquaman (More Fun Comics #73).

As you might have heard, the film hasn't been the gargantuan success many hoped for. Critically, it sits at 40% on Rotten Tomatoes, although unsurprisingly, the audience is at 85%.

I enjoyed the film. It wasn't perfect and like most films, it's not difficult to pick some things apart. This is particularly easy when it comes to comic book films. In short, my take is that the DCU has been the recepient of mixed reviews since 2013's Man of Steel, and word of mouth has a strong impact on both the critical and commercial success of these films. The DCU has never been able to shake that stigma.

That's not to say these films are without issues. There are plenty. But unlike the rival MCU, which has received more praise, DCU's flaws are magnified. Having seen all of the recent MCU films, it's obvious that Marvel's flaws are masked behind good humor, something DC (Flash aside) has not dabbled in too strongly.

As a fan, it was very satisfying to these characters come together in their universe. I've enjoyed both the MCU and DCU and feel they both reflect their sources.

Marvel has a much deeper roster, they're funnier and they're master marketers.

The Top-5 characters of DC could rival the Top-5 characters of Marvel, but after that, DC's shallow pool becomes obvious. DC is better at telling serious stories, but they also lack the comedic charm Marvel portrays effortlessly. In a genre that just begs for plot holes and issues, comedy masks lackluster story telling.

Watch Justice Legue and decide for yourself. I'd love to hear fellow collector's opinions.

[comicjack]

Loved the movie like a geek in a room full of pulp paper.I have been a fan of them for a very long time and this is what dreams are made of.I do not listen to critics who have never read a comic and all the negative stuff they dish out 

[X_Phile]

I went to see it with the wife Thursday night and we both enjoyed it. I also took my 10 yo daughter to see it Saturday, as she loves WW. She is still talking about how much she loved it. I have always been a fan of horror movies too, and find that some of the ones I have enjoyed most are always bashed by the critics. I learned long ago to ignore the critics and be my own judge. If I went by the critics I would probably see 2 two movies all year. I go to the movies to escape the daily grind for a few hours and in the case of superhero movies to enjoy bringing back some of my youth. I guess critics don't have that luxury. 

Edited November 20, 2017 by X_Phile

[MrBedrock]

I loved it. Far exceeded expectations.

[Knightsofold]

Better than I thought, but I dislike the directing.  Many shots and the delivery is way too music video, "dramatic", and pretentious.

But fun, I loved the fight scenes, aquaman and the flash were cool and funny.

Definitely worth seeing if you're a comic fan.   

 

[Randall Dowling]

Agreed, I thought it was pretty well put together and lots of fun!

[ender]

I thought it was fun. I didn't think it needed to show Wonder Woman's backside so many times.  She is very pretty but it seemed over the top to so frequently zoom in on her butt.  It just became eye roll worthy after a bit.  I did think it was fun.  A bit slow in parts.  I really enjoyed Aquaman and Flash and Cyborg more than I thought I would.

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

The film lacked chemistry, which is too bad because all of the elements were there for a knockout movie. Parts of the movie just seemed to plod along with the actors not always owning their scenes. Wonder Woman and Flash were great but the others less than captivating. I wanted to like this movie and will watch it again when it hits cable. I had similar feelings about Batman vs. Superman but I've come to like that movie in subsequent viewings. Man of Steel on the other hand was on last week and does not hold up towards the end of the film. I think they need actors for Batman and Superman as captivating as Gadot's Wonder Woman.

I saw this movie at a fund raising screening for our local high school's marching band. As such the audience skewed to a young demographic and the kids seemed to like it giving a big round of applause at the end. It reminded me of the excitement I felt in 1977 when that year's Superman film appeared,

i do do need to pull my New Gods with the Steppenwolf story to read this weekend. I haven't looked at that since the seventies!

 

 

[Sqeggs]

Hope to see it this weekend.  When a film has a troubled production, with rewrites and reshoots, the reviews tend to be unfavorable even when the changes work.  World War Z is another example.  The ending was completely redone and some critics seemed to let that color their reviews, but I thought that film (including the ending) worked. 

[Get Marwood & I]

2 hours ago, ender said:

I thought it was fun. I didn't think it needed to show Wonder Woman's backside so many times.  She is very pretty but it seemed over the top to so frequently zoom in on her butt.  It just became eye roll worthy after a bit.  I did think it was fun.  A bit slow in parts.  I really enjoyed Aquaman and Flash and Cyborg more than I thought I would.

There's something satisfyingly appropriate about someone called 'ender' disapproving of an overuse of Wonder Woman's bottom 

[Flex Mentallo]

Howard Hawks' definition of a good director was "someone who doesn't annoy you." He came to believe that a good film consisted of at least three good scenes and no bad ones--at least not a scene that could irritate and alienate the audience. He said, "As long as you make good scenes you have a good picture--it doesn't matter if it isn't much of a story."

 

Too many bad scenes in JLA - dreadful villain with hammy dialogue. Glimmers of Hawksian interplay between the JLA was the chief pleasure for me. Hawks saw women as a threat to men's freedom - but they were often the strongest characters in his movies. They set the drama in motion, and created the necessary tension. In that respect, WW is as others have said, by far the most compelling character. It's fascinating to watch her fearlessly draw down on Superman. There is a sense that her courage is admirable because she is on some level vulnerable. I thought the guy who played The Flash caught some of that too, but he was overdirected. Don't get me started on Batfleck. Reminded me of a quip Clive James made about Arnie - 'he looks like a condom stuffed with walnuts'. This is inapt, as said condom would act Batfleck off the screen.

 

Which brings me back to HH's definition of a good director. I would hazard a guess that Joss Whedon is responsible for injecting some human interplay between the protagonists. Annoyingly, Snyder relies far too heavily on the tropes of Dark Knight mood and lighting. His films may as well be in black and white. He seems to be entirely devoid of humor, far too in love with CGI to be truly cinematic. Nothing worse than bathos in a movie.

 

Sad because Wonder Woman promised better things - and maybe it will counter the Dark Knight influence with something more engaging. I loved the Dark Knight trilogy by the way. But the wrong lessons were learned.

 

Harsh? I wanted it to work, and for the first ten minutes I thought it was going to. After that, the stultifying lack of originality or creativity gradually hammered my enthusiasm into the ground. We're entitled to expect better of a project ten years in the making.

[goldust40]

1 hour ago, Marwood & I said:

There's something satisfyingly appropriate about someone called 'ender' disapproving of an overuse of Wonder Woman's bottom 

I haven't seen it (the film) yet. I look forward to all the disapproval.

[ender]

3 hours ago, Marwood & I said:

There's something satisfyingly appropriate about someone called 'ender' disapproving of an overuse of Wonder Woman's bottom 

You have won the day. Very nice

[Artboy99]

I saw the film, overall I was entertained and I give it a 6.0-6.5/ 10

Spoiler

The death of Superman and the subsequent resurrection in Justice League is horrible writing. They have Batman / Bruce Wayne of all the possible characters come up with using the Motherbox to resurrect Superman? Why / how does he know it can do that? He has no idea whatsoever what the box is capable of. Further to this they have this ridiculous scenario require the Flash to electrify the Motherbox at the exact instant it touches the liquid in the Kryptonian ship with Superman's corpse submerged? So horribly written!

 

[Artboy99]

4 hours ago, Marwood & I said:

There's something satisfyingly appropriate about someone called 'ender' disapproving of an overuse of Wonder Woman's bottom 

so delicious.

[Get Marwood & I]

4 minutes ago, Artboy99 said:

so delicious.

Yes. I've only been looking at it for around 3 and a half hours today.

[Artboy99]

1 minute ago, Marwood & I said:

Yes. I've only been looking at it for around 3 and a half hours today.

her lipsynch video is still my favorite.

[Get Marwood & I]

1 minute ago, Artboy99 said:

her lipsynch video is still my favorite.

Now you've done it. See you in 3 weeks...

[Artboy99]

3 minutes ago, Marwood & I said:

Now you've done it. See you in 3 weeks...

[Get Marwood & I]

Just now, Artboy99 said:

Scrub that, I've just found it.  Make it four weeks