I can’t stop thinking about what could’ve been for this film franchise. The casting is spot on, it has a natural audience that spans across decades and there is so much rich material to pick and pull from. A film featuring Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman titled “Justice League” should’ve shattered every box office record right?
Nope.
Director Zack Snyder’s third romp through the DC Comics universe crash-landed as a film and as a product, pulling in a disappointing $93,842,239 and being almost universally trashed by critics — this film had a reported budget of roughly $300,000,000.
I’m not here to say that “Justice League” is garbage. It’s enjoyable in parts and the chemistry between the members of the team is OK bordering on good. There are things to like scattered about, but this film really stood no chance of being anything better than a fan pleaser because of how stuffed and convoluted it is.
“Justice League” is a rushed, cut-together mess through its first two acts that has no heart and continuously thuds in the comedy department so badly that I was actually cringing.
Snyder, who directed last year’s snoozefest “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and the passable “Man of Steel” four years ago, had to leave the project because of a family tragedy and handed the keys over to Joss Whedon, who wrote and directed the smash hit “Avengers” in 2012.
Whedon’s hands are all over this film. I’m normally a fan of his work but his style is so drastically different than Snyder’s that it shoots the tone of the film all over the charts. One minute Bruce Wayne, played by Ben Affleck (“Argo,” “Gone Girl”), is having a deep introspective conversation with his butler, Alfred, portrayed by Jeremy Irons (“The Lion King,” “The Man in the Iron Mask”), and the next, a couple of other team members are having a quip-fest only seen in “The Office.”
This flick loses its path early on and never makes any attempts to get the show back on the rails.
It’s a shame because when used correctly, the characters work. Affleck is good, Gal Gadot (“Wonder Woman,” “Furious 7”) continues to knock it out of the park as Wonder Woman and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg are fun. Ezra Miller, however, felt like he was in a different movie as The Flash. Henry Cavill’s Superman is in this movie, too, and he’s hit-and-miss in his 10-15 minutes of screen time.
In a lot of ways, Superman’s paper-thin character arc in this stinker is a microcosm of the film. They make him make some dumb decisions, they try but fail to tug at your heartstrings and then they close out with some great scenes that make you ask, “why couldn’t they have done more of that?”
The answer? There’s just too much going and none of it ever makes sense.
4/10
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BOX OFFICE REVIEW
1. “Justice League”: $93,842,239 (week 1); Warner Bros.
2. “Wonder”: $27,547,866 (week 1); Lionsgate Films.
3. “Thor: Ragnarok”: $21,669,600 (week 3); Buena Vista. Total gross: $247,265,770.
4. “Daddy’s Home 2”: $14,435,710 (week 2); Paramount. Total gross: $50,212,157.
5. “Murder on the Orient Express”: $13,807,562 (week 2); Fox. Total gross: $51,735,924.
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COMING SOON
• “Coco” — Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family’s ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to work out the mystery.
Directors: Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina
Cast: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach
• “Darkest Hour” — During the early days of World War II, the fate of Western Europe hangs on the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Hitler, or fight on against incredible odds.
Director: Joe Wright
Cast: Gary Oldman, Lily James, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Mendelsohn
• “Call Me by Your Name” — In Northern Italy in 1983, 17-year-old Elio begins a relationship with visiting Oliver, his father’s research assistant, with whom he bonds over his emerging sexuality, their Jewish heritage, and the beguiling Italian landscape.
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Cast: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar
• “The Man Who Invented Christmas” — The journey that led to Charles Dickens’ creation of “A Christmas Carol,” a timeless tale that would redefine the holiday.
Director: Bharat Nalluri
Cast: Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, Jonathan Pryce, Simon Callow
