Director: Zack Snyder
Screenplay: Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon, from a story by Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon, based on the comic book series Justice League created by Gardner Fox
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J. K. Simmons
Running Time: 120 minutes
Genre: Science-fiction, fantasy, action,
While the world mourns the death of Superman, Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, (Affleck) becomes aware of strange, flying cybernetic alien creatures who are behind a string of abductions in Gotham City and Metropolis. Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman, (Gadot) recognises them as Parademons, the army of the evil multi-dimensional entity Steppenwolf who wants to fid three powerful devices that will enable him to take over the world. Recognising that Steppenwolf is far too powerful for them on their own, Bruce and Diana decide to recruit a team of superheroes: Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman, (Momoa), from the undersea kingdom of Atlantis; Barry Allen, aka The Flash, (Miller), who suffered an accident that gave him the ability to move at superhuman speeds, and Victor Stone, aka Cyborg (Fisher), who was cybernetically reconstructed with alien technology following a near-fatal accident.
This is the fifth film in the DC Extended Universe series, based on characters appearing in DC Comics. Here they seem to be following the Marvel mold, with more humour than usual and also two post-credit sequences. The DC movies tend to be criticised for being too dark, and while this is still pretty bleak, it is still much lighter than usual. The first half of the film is putting the team together, and introducing the characters of The Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman into the film universe, previously having only been seen in brief cameos in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), although of course The Flash is likely to be familiar to viewers through the TV series The Flash (2014- ). The putting the team together scenes are too long, and Steppenwolf and his plan are all revealed too early and feel like kind of an afterthought and the action scenes don't have the sense of danger necessary to really be thrilling. The performances are fine, Gal Gadot in particular is fantastic as Wonder Woman, and Ezra Miller is very funny as The Flash. However, when the team are together and interacting and joking that is when the film really takes off. The added warmth and humanity in the film is welcome, and point to a very promising future for the franchise. A truly great movie is waiting to be made with these characters. This isn't it, but gives cause for hope.
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