 |
What is wrong with this picture? With all due respect to Ben Affleck, Wonder Woman should be at the center.
|
The Justice League movie was surprisingly good, despite bad initial reviews. What kept you guys? I've wanted to see a movie about the Justice league for, oh, the last 50 years or so, or ever since the first Batman movie came out circa 1965. Why did it take 50 years for you to figure out that a lot of people wanted to watch this film?
I have hated, absolutely hated most DC movies, bottoming out with the deathly plodding Superman vs Batman (honestly, I was wishing that Luthor would succeed in killing both of them). In Justice League, DC manages to lessen the somber, dark, dark, dark tone they had gotten addicted to since the initial Batman movie with Michael Keaton.
First of all, Gal Gadot is a mega-super-star. I promise to watch anything that has her in it. She, not Superman or Batman, is the new star of the franchise. She is an idealist, charismatic, and has the ability to make others around her perform at a higher level. DC, just get out of her way and let her do her thing and it is going to work out. Trust me on this.
Ben Affleck is a great actor and in this movie is allowed to play a more intelligent and balanced Bruce Wayne and Batman, in contrast to the wretched kooky old man Batman of the aforementioned Bats vs Supes. Batman is still somewhat in a slump, however, as he routinely brings billion dollar weaponry to a fight, and bad guys routinely trash it. Put it this way, the US military is better off buying from Lockheed Martin and General Electric, and should never ever buy anything from Wayne Enterprises. But at least this Batman is likeable, personable, and a good team player. We learn that Batman has deep regret over his encounter with Superman (and comic fans also regret that encounter, but for different reasons).
The Justice League has an entertaining diverse cast with a cynical Aquaman, an underconfident but brilliant Flash and a brooding Cyborg, who must come together, against their normal natures, and learn to perform as a team. Athough Aquaman is a compelling character, I don't think he really fit the team, however. His main useful power is controlling sewer water, and other than his talents didn't really contribute to this movie. But he's an interesting personality, and might be better in his own movie. I'll watch it for sure, but if you want it to be a certain success, put Gal Gadot in it. We also didn't see Green Lantern in this one, perhaps because of his box office struggles. But the character of Green Lantern would have been great for a Justice Leauge movie. I hope he finds his way out of the DC doghouse.
DC bad guys still tend to be one dimensional and want to take over the world, or better yet, the universe. The main bad guy in Justice League is not memorable. He's not getting anything good from Santa. There are also some minor bad guys, sort of like the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz, but they seem to be characters introduced simply so that they can be blown away in a future video game. This is a shame, because they could have been very interesting, but we never learned much about them.
Special effects are fabulous, and in particular we get a feeling for what it's like to be super-fast like Flash.
One more detail: Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons as Alfred is the greatest supporting "bit part" character in history. I've been a fan since "The Mission" which is one of the greatest movies ever made (no it's not a superhero movie, but a story of missionaries caught in a power struggle with European politics).
For some reason, some of the early reviews were negative, but I can not understand why. I've hated DC movies for years, but they have gotten much better with three in a row that I thought were very good to excellent: Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman (one of the best ever, and by far the best from DC) and now Justice League. This one left my 12 year old and me wanting more. It is not a short movie, it was just that good.
I have hated, absolutely hated most DC movies, bottoming out with the deathly plodding Superman vs Batman (honestly, I was wishing that Luthor would succeed in killing both of them). In Justice League, DC manages to lessen the somber, dark, dark, dark tone they had gotten addicted to since the initial Batman movie with Michael Keaton.
First of all, Gal Gadot is a mega-super-star. I promise to watch anything that has her in it. She, not Superman or Batman, is the new star of the franchise. She is an idealist, charismatic, and has the ability to make others around her perform at a higher level. DC, just get out of her way and let her do her thing and it is going to work out. Trust me on this.
Ben Affleck is a great actor and in this movie is allowed to play a more intelligent and balanced Bruce Wayne and Batman, in contrast to the wretched kooky old man Batman of the aforementioned Bats vs Supes. Batman is still somewhat in a slump, however, as he routinely brings billion dollar weaponry to a fight, and bad guys routinely trash it. Put it this way, the US military is better off buying from Lockheed Martin and General Electric, and should never ever buy anything from Wayne Enterprises. But at least this Batman is likeable, personable, and a good team player. We learn that Batman has deep regret over his encounter with Superman (and comic fans also regret that encounter, but for different reasons).
The Justice League has an entertaining diverse cast with a cynical Aquaman, an underconfident but brilliant Flash and a brooding Cyborg, who must come together, against their normal natures, and learn to perform as a team. Athough Aquaman is a compelling character, I don't think he really fit the team, however. His main useful power is controlling sewer water, and other than his talents didn't really contribute to this movie. But he's an interesting personality, and might be better in his own movie. I'll watch it for sure, but if you want it to be a certain success, put Gal Gadot in it. We also didn't see Green Lantern in this one, perhaps because of his box office struggles. But the character of Green Lantern would have been great for a Justice Leauge movie. I hope he finds his way out of the DC doghouse.
DC bad guys still tend to be one dimensional and want to take over the world, or better yet, the universe. The main bad guy in Justice League is not memorable. He's not getting anything good from Santa. There are also some minor bad guys, sort of like the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz, but they seem to be characters introduced simply so that they can be blown away in a future video game. This is a shame, because they could have been very interesting, but we never learned much about them.
Special effects are fabulous, and in particular we get a feeling for what it's like to be super-fast like Flash.
One more detail: Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons as Alfred is the greatest supporting "bit part" character in history. I've been a fan since "The Mission" which is one of the greatest movies ever made (no it's not a superhero movie, but a story of missionaries caught in a power struggle with European politics).
 |
| Alfred J. Pennyworth is technically savvy and far more than an ordinary house servant. |
For some reason, some of the early reviews were negative, but I can not understand why. I've hated DC movies for years, but they have gotten much better with three in a row that I thought were very good to excellent: Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman (one of the best ever, and by far the best from DC) and now Justice League. This one left my 12 year old and me wanting more. It is not a short movie, it was just that good.
 |
| It's in the Wrist Action... |
.
No comments:
Post a Comment