Justice League

After this summer’s Wonder Woman finally put DC Comic movies in a good place following the disappointing releases of Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, all hopes were resting on Justice League to do the fans, well, justice. After all, this would be the first glimpse at characters Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg – it should be one hell of an adventure for them to make their debut!

After this summer’s Wonder Woman finally re-established DC Comic movies as a worthy franchise after the disappointing releases of Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, all hopes were resting on Justice League to do the fans, well, justice.

After all, this is the first glimpse at characters Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg so it should be one hell of an adventure for them to make their debut!

While the newcomers certainly make an impact, the same can’t be said for the flaccid storyline which takes them on their journey.

The film begins with old footage of Superman (Henry Cavill) being interviewed by excited kids before his death, which took place in 2016’s Dawn of Justice, and sets up the world in a state of despair following the Kryptonian’s passing.

Batman (Ben Affleck) is still looking out for Gotham and catches a thief on a roof top of a building, but his crime-fighting is cut short when a winged creature flies into his path. It’s immediately clear something isn’t right – even the robber can see how desolate Earth has become without Superman.

Meanwhile in London, Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) is back kicking butt saving a court from being blown up by terrorists, as Batman’s rich real-life alter ego Bruce Wayne and butler Alfred (Jeremy Irons) look into how they can fight the mystery threat coming. He knows Wonder Woman, aka Diana Prince, is still around, though what neither of them realise is that her home island of Themyscira is under attack by villain Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) and his army of Parademons, the winged creatures, who steal a mysterious box full of power.

Bruce attempts to recruit a figure known as Aquaman, who goes by the name of Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), but is actually heir to the throne of Atlantis. Next his home is raided by Steppenwolf and another box is snatched, with just one box left to gain – buried by man – in order to unleash darkness on the world.

A student named Barry Allen, struck by lightning to become super-speed, electrically charged hero The Flash (Ezra Miller), jumps at the chance to join Batman and Wonder Woman in saving the world, and provides a majority of the film’s humour with his awkward, nervous nature.

Then there’s Victor Stone, whose father saved him from a car crash and transformed him into a robotic-like figure with endless data at his fingertips and an electronic eye, giving him the nickname Cyborg (Ray Fisher). Sure, he may not be as cheery as the rest, but his role in the group is integral as he has a true understanding of the boxes as he was created by his dad using their powers.

Together, the figures form Justice League, and they must destroy the villain, but they need one more person to truly win.

Justice League moves at a pace which makes the two hour runtime fly by, however, from the very beginning it’s extremely unclear who they are fighting against. This Steppenwolf character is given very little background other than he once caused havoc and was locked away, then when he returns he keeps referring to his mother when capturing the cubes, known as the Mother Boxes. We’re not told why they have this name, and what triggered all the anger in him. It’s hard to get behind a battle when the threat is vague, other than the cliche ‘destroy the world’, and when his flying lotus-like army swarm in from a beam in the sky, it’s impossible not to see the resemblance to Marvel’s The Avengers, when Loki unleashes his creatures on Earth.

It all seems way too computer generated as well, with the characters’ faces smoothed out to perfection – even after battle. OK, so DC Comics is trying to be a bit more light-hearted like its Marvel counterparts, but that doesn’t mean everyone needs to look pristine at all times.

Justice League isn’t a terrible watch, but just don’t expect to feel inspired or think into it too much with such a simple, shallow plot.