JusticeLeague

The biggest popcorn entertainment of 2017 hits the theatres with much anticipation yet fear at the same time, keeping underwhelming critical performances of past DC Extended Universe's films in mind. Wonder Woman rejuvenated the franchise, with the first live action incarnation of the Justice League closing in on the trend.

This is an outright faithful adaptation of the animated series aired in Cartoon Network from 2001 to 2004, regardless whether that was the actual intention of the makers or not. A rush of nostalgia puts a big smile on our faces, looking at fictional realm's biggest superheroes coming together onscreen! This marks the day boys become man!

Few aspects going in the picture are clearly expected of. For one, the visuals are stellar. After all, that's Zack Snyder's stamp. Costumes are outstanding. Colours are vibrant, unlike the dark, depressing drapes done in the previous entries. Whenever there's a standalone Batman segment, you'll instantly hear the animated series' iconic theme music! The only shortage on the technicality side would be the visual effects. While the moustache removal for Henry Cavill appears too obvious in a lousy final output and some of the non-major stuffs such as bullet travel and crystallized energy spikes could have gone through deeper renditions, the quality on all the other parts in the overall picture are magnificent. Look at Cyborg, Steppenwolf and Parademon character designs for examples.

The story is dead simple, the plot is straight forward and we have something easy to follow! Scenes are calm and composed, leading to steady sequence progression. As danger is coming, Batman is out recruiting the likes of him to save the day. And the 3 Mother Boxes bring these superheroes together, because each and every one of them except for The Flash are directly affected by it. It's always hard to strike a balance when showcasing multiple superheroes in a film, but Justice League does it with grace! The amount of time spent on each of these characters before uniting them on a mission is just apt, apt, apt! None of the portions are out of place or trying to tell a story of its own by deviating from the main plot.

Usually, expositions can weigh down movies like this. But here, Zack Snyder and team has tried to narrate the origins of the Mother Boxes without going unnecessarily out of length. In fact, the same's done for all the superheroes' backstory. Hints are given as to who these characters might be, but no straying around is ever allowed. With the knowledge of Amazonians, Atlanteans and Man fighting side by side to protect the energy source from falling into Steppenwolf's hands, we could automatically see how this story is even more relevant to this particular set of characters to join forces! Green Lantern Corps is teased, by the way!

To use the Mother Box's powers to bring back Superman is a fantastic plan, and you can sense the real off and on uncertainty in doing it among the members! The conflict that ensues between Diana and Bruce is one of the picture's best moments. The same can be said about the famous teaser-trailer scene about the latter convincing Barry Allen to join the league with a Batarang. Superman's appearance is full of claps, and the misunderstanding battle is a fine scene as well. The banter between him and The Flash that goes back and forth about speed is comical till the post credits!

Casting is perfection. Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg and Jason Momoa as Aquaman are good additions to this universe, along with pre-established Ben Affleck's Batman, Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman and Henry Cavill's Superman. Humour's on and off though. Barry Allen face-doodling, The Flash collapsing onto Wonder Woman only to get up fast and Batman instructing Aquaman to send signals to the fishes are among the ones that actually work.

Justice League has a cheesy undercurrent buttered onto it. Sometimes, it makes the film look immature. At times, it makes the film appear as if it's a B-movie. For some reason, Themyscira is more sexualized in this one compared to the earlier Wonder Woman feature. Fluffy performances by some of the side actors such as Victor Stone's father (Joe Morton) and Barry Allen's dad (Billy Crudup) lend further to this fact. Thus, the emotional connections are mostly hollow. Diane Lane's barren performance as Martha Kent kills any possibility of emotional weight.

Start to finish, Justice League is a non-stop pure fun ride! Although the robbery episode at the beginning may seem like its lacking stakes, Batman using fear to lure a Parademon is interesting. From then on, the actions and stunts give memorable sequences to cherish! Trespass in Themyscira with Amazonians trying to safeguard the Mother Box, Wonder Woman dodging bullets across civilians, attack in the ocean, The Flash pushing the sword tip towards Wonder Woman, tunnel rage with Crawler and the trio hanging onto it while Cyborg operates the badass machine up the sewers are absolutely mind-boggling!

Throughout these events, you can really feel the rapport, chemistry, disagreements and understanding that keeps building within the group. These guys are vulnerable. All odds are piled up against them. Even Cyborg's leg is plucked off in a shocking revelation. But, the teamwork is strong when they go against Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds), the ultimate antagonist, at the end. Classic superheroes-saving-the-day flick!