Justice League (Dir Zack Snyder, 2hrs)

If one thing can be said, Justice League is not as bad as Batman V Superman. However, it's also somehow less enjoyable. With the messy, unintentionally hilarious, but visually stunning BvS, and the messy, inconsistent and downright awful Suicide Squad placing the DC Cinematic Universe on a precipice, it fell to Wonder Woman to pull it back to safety. However, whilst her film reinvigorated the seemingly doomed DCCU, and gave it a fresh and original feel, (and sizable profits compared to previous instalments) despite pinning things on a relatively risky venture, Justice League plays it safe, with a meandering "get the team together" ensemble piece that still focuses largely on Batman and Superman, barely introduces supporting heroes, or indeed the villain, and wanders worryingly close to being, well, a second rate Marvel film.

For every step this film takes forward, it seems to take another back. Wonder Woman saving people from a mysterious English terrorist organisation whose aim is to level a small chunk of London for the cause of...uh...something portentous and End-Of-Daysish? Batman using a burglar as bait for a member of the vanguard of villain Steppenwolf, which feed on fear, who he's able to see coming thanks to a detector of some sort? The Flash (a likable Ezra Miller, in full Tom Holland as Spider-Man excitable nerd mode) Cyborg (Ray Fisher, who, in the few scenes he's afforded is superb, but simply isn't there enough)  and Aquaman (a likeable, if complete on-autopilot Jason Momoa) each given a little bit of, though clearly not enough, character building? 

The biggest problem with Justice League rears its head pretty early-it sets up so many ideas but rarely continues with many. Whilst, certainly, the void of Superman's death (heck, it's hardly a spoiler at this point) seems to be a catlyist for the collapse of society, with Synder showing everything from casual racism and homelessness to major worldwide terrorism caused by a world without Superman, causes chaos, it's a chaos that's badly defined. Whilst major landmarks are shrouded in black flags bearing his insignia, when Superman inevitably returns, annoyed at being resurrected by Lex Luthor (thankfully absent)'s MacGuffin chamber, there's not a mass celebration, or a return to normality. Indeed, to have Steppenwolf defeated, not just by the fist of Superman, but by the hope he inspires, would have been a perfect bookend to this, but the film has neither the vision or the ambition to settle this in ways other than physicality.

Elsewhere, things such as Cyborg's humanity, Batman's age, Wonder Woman's pain of losing her beloved Steve Trevor, and even Superman's return from the dead, and renewed belief in humanity (Flash is clearly so boring that he barely gets anything other than a reunion with jailbird father) are ticked off with such perfunctory scenes that a mid-credits "Where are they now" recap of what each character has been up to since the events of of the film would have been more emotionally rewarding. This film, in short, goes backwards, not in a retrospective recapturing of what made the 1970s Superman and 1980s Batman so great, not even back to continuing the hopeful, warm tone of Wonder Woman, but in long, loping strides backward to the mess of Batman V Superman, where only two characters really matter-Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent-we see Bruce pining, and clearly ill at ease over the void left by Kent's death, whilst, when Superman inevitably returns from the death (Synder clearly unable to tell a story without the duo  either fighting each other or fighting together), he promptly beats Batman up, only stopped by the sudden appearance of Lois Lane. This is not to mention the bizarre upper lip of Henry Caville, by far the film's worst effect, and thus its best character, as it sits there, fuzzy, indistinct, a multi-million dollar photoshop smear that fails at points to hide Supe's lip fuzz. Truly, we are missing a truly iconic addition to the DCCU in not allowing Superman to have a truly caddish handlebar moustache.

The symbolism is laid on with a shovel, (the rebirth of Superman in the womb-like pool of Zod's all purpose anti-plothole craft, his return to his family home, the further destruction of memorials etc) and is woefully heavy handed, but then, this is Zack Synder we're talking about. The lack of the Man of Steel causes fear worldwide, and this fear is what the troops of Steppenwolf are attracted to, and feed upon. Which would be great if the film underpinned it, referred to it often, rather than a brief "THINGS ARE BAD NOW THERE IS NO SUPERMAN" sequence. Only Wonder Woman's introduction, atop the statue of Justice at the Old Bailey in London is a neat shot, whilst some of the slow-motion sequences that involve the Flash at least have a pleasing kinetic energy and excellent shot slow-motion energy to them. Given, however, Synder has long made this a directorial trademark, it's hardly surprising these are excellently produced, although even his usually strong visual sensibility is oddly missing for great chunks of this film.

Having made a mockery of the Justice League, Steppenwolf, for his part, is boring, and underlines where this film is truly lacking. It wants so desperately to be a Marvel film, from its lighter, more comedic take (the film's big MacGuffin is defused by Cyborg and Superman who end up on their back laughing and wincing in pain), with "Batman's superpower is his wealth" ribbing a plenty, to its general universalised tone, and reduction of most of the cast to bland universal stereotypes, worryingly close to the main Marvel cast, from the rich grump (Batman and Iron Man), the reluctant soldier (Wonder Woman and Captain America) to the godlike powerhouse (Aquaman and Thor) and even the wisecracking pop culture kid (Flash, Spider-Man). Even the brighter palate, the less realistic violence, and more kid-friendly tone make this film a slavish copy of the MCU, with none of the groundwork of the MCU and none of the magical realism that made Wonder Woman great. It's a boring, overly muddled mess that has none of the visual flair of the first three films, and none of the heart or soul of Wonder Woman.

With Wonder Woman 2 in jeopardy, The Batman back to the drawing board, Justice League feels increasingly like the last roll of the dice for Warner Bros, one last chance to capture a little of what the MCU has already, whilst retaining what made Wonder Woman such a hit. It does neither, plods onward, has the consistency, colour, depth and fun of reheated porridge and leaves one in doubt as to whether with films like this, particularly given the lacklustre opening weekend of Justice League, the DCCU has a future. All in? All over, more like.


Rating: Neutral.