Justice League: Will Make You Feel Like a Kid Again…..

In trying to ascertain the wide birth of other reviews that claimed ‘Justice League’, Warner Bros answer to Disney/Marvel’s The Avengers, was a sloppy mess, I went into this movie with some tempered expectations. Let me tell you, in no way, shape or form should you walk out of this film looking apoplectic. In fact, it may serve to reinvigorate your child-like sensibilities while getting lost in the adventure these iconic heroes are on.

Why? Likable heroes, visually stunning action sequences to go with the humanized side of these larger than life characters and a very noticeable and classic sounding Danny Elfman soundtrack. Is the story some epic, Academy Award winning quality? Hell no. However, it doesn’t need to be. I also don’t remember watching any Marvel films and coming away thinking my god, what an incredible screenplay! This is just more of the same, but in a very digestible way. It’s the pizza and wings of superhero films in that nobody, nobody turns down a serving of that when offered.

Ben Affleck’s Batman/Bruce Wayne is his best performance yet as the Caped Crusader. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman also, on top of kicking ass and taking names, seems to have elevated her acting chops for this one as she’s the best I’ve seen her line delivery in any film to date (I mean that in a nice way, she’s come a long way). Now, for the newest members of the band, Ezra Miller’s turn as The Flash was fantastic. He’s the “kid” of the group in that he’s channeling the amazement and awe of seeing the bat-$hit crazy feats of his powerful friends up close. He was also the core character which brought a ton of levity to this film. Honorable mention for Ray Fisher and his Cyborg character– I had my doubts I’d find this newbie interesting but Fisher’s ability to inject a ton of humanity into a character that’s essentially a robot, made me a believer I’d love to see a standalone film with him front and center. Last but not least, Jason Mamoa as Aquaman certainly should calm any worry that the Aquaman character isn’t able to be taken seriously on the big screen–He was tough, valiant and overall held his own next to other members of the JLA.

Now, there’s been some chatter about how the film’s main villain, Steppenwolf, is another forgettable CGI laden bad guy. Well, look, I would say out of all the recent comic book film villains of the same archetype, he’s the most ingratiating of them all. In particular, the voice acting work by Ciarian Hinds, coupled with some convincing facial expressions, made Steppenwolf the least forgettable of this brand of evildoer.

Last but not least, how did Superman’s return feel? I’ll tell you what, there’s a scene right after he comes back from the dead that should have every fanboy and fangirl grinning ear to ear– It’s not the longest sequence, and I’m not going to spoil what transpires, but holy hell Batman, it ROCKS!!!! The only caveat to Henry Cavill’s return as the blue boy is some of the noticeable CGI that had to be used to cover up his ginormous mustache. Yes, the folks over at Paramount made it illegal for him to shave it off for some of the reshoots that Joss Whedon and Warner Bros had to enact to finish this film. Enter: the CGI cover up. If nothing else, dare I say I feel it adds to the film’s wild charm.

Bottom line, ignore the corporate mainstream review sites– this is truly a fun comic book film for all ages and judging from actual audience reviews/ratings, they’re much, much higher than what standard reviews have given it. And before I forget, stay for two post-credit sequences. One is lifted right from the comics featuring The Flash and Superman and the other I won’t spoil. If one can’t tap into their childhood with this movie then perhaps adulthood has truly sucked the life of you. Nuff said:)

3 out of 4 Stars

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