Made For Me
Almost 2 years. It’s been almost 2 years since I saw Batman V Superman (BVS). I loved it, but I understood its flaws. I feel like that’s what a good “fanboy” can do, love something even though it maybe ostensibly… not the best. So, as I walked in for the first session on release day (Jamie did invite me to the preview but I promised I would see it with someone and I can’t break a DC promise), I was excited but tentative with my expectations. BVS was okay, the directors cut actually made a lot more sense, which is nice, so when I heard about 40 minutes being cut from Justice League, alarms began to ring. Even worse, knowing that reviews weren’t exactly shining… a little part of me started to worry. Its not that I didn’t think I wouldn’t enjoy it, its more that I wanted a sequel and who knows if it would happen if it gets slaughtered. Although, as I left the cinema, I feel pretty confident that it will make money (for better or for worse, sorry Jamie). The main reason being, it may not be a meaningful movie and it may not be a piece of art, but GOD DAMN I still loved this movie.
This movie boiled down to its core, is a comic book movie, and I feel that if you don’t enjoy comic books or the specific characters, maybe these movies aren’t for you. Each scene for me felt like dialogue and action from a panel that could’ve easily been drawn. This can be from the writing and set design, but it also brings me to the first point I want to make; the casting is great. We’ve seen Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot and Henry Cavill before and ive always thought they were perfect (especially that Henry, he seems to be chiselled from marble and is perfect for superman, #mancrush). But now enters Ezra Miller as a loveable and endearing Barry Allen/flash, Ray Fisher plays Cyborg and even though I was worried he wouldn’t have a personality, he actually gave the character life. That leaves Jason Momoa as a grizzled bikey version of Aquaman and as much as I love the character in the comics, I feel like he was the most underutilised and least engaging.
The story isn’t much to write about, but I feel like that’s the main reason I liked it, as again, it is essentially a story line ripped from the comics and didn’t surprise me. Not that it’s a bad thing, it had globetrotting, great set pieces and conflict that felt authentic (with the exclusion of the Atlantis scene as I feel a lot of build up was cut, the action felt unneeded and the dialogue was forced). This brings me to my biggest complaint and quandary (see I don’t think its perfect!). The supposed cut footage. What’s missing, why was it cut and what suffered because of it? Was this the movies fault or was it the executives worrying about the run time? The only thing I feel must’ve been cut would be more Aquaman backstory and explanation and maybe some more understanding for cyborg, not that I feel it was needed as much as Jason Momoas parts.
The script didn’t have that many issues, and I enjoyed the light-hearted tone that has been added to the DCU and frankly I want more of it. The banter was real and none of it felt forced, all characters were accurately written and if they seemed different from the comic, it still fit the movie universe. The CGI was another part I was concerned about, as I’ve heard some terrible things, strangely enough I didn’t really have an issue with it. This could be because I was enamoured with everything on screen it probably could’ve been line drawings or sock puppets and I would have cried with joy. But even I’m critical, the only part I could tell it was a little off was the fixing of Henry Cavills moustache and some of the building stuff towards the end was a little less than perfect (curse you Blade Runner!).
In the end, this movie is not made for John Smith at whatever newspaper, it’s made for Kyle Tunnicliffe who has read comics his entire life and wants to see them brought to life. I liked nearly every part of this film and ill go see it again, it may not win an Oscar but I loved it.
Score: 4/5
This is the second of our two Justice League reviews.
The first review: https://thechairport.com//home/justice-league-review-and-why-dc-needs-to-go-back-to-focusing-on-great-filmmaking