Justice League Movie Review

*MILD SPOILERS*

The first thing to acknowledge about Justice League is maybe the easiest thing to say about it:

It's a mess.

But what does that mean exactly? Well, your mileage may vary with both how much you enjoy the movie and how good you think it is.

As for me, I certainly didn't hate the movie as much as Man of Steel (which I consider to be the worst movie I've seen in theaters in the past decade, if not ever), nor was I as bored as I was during Suicide Squad, but it didn't have nearly enough of the good will of Wonder Woman or surprisingly entertaining tonal consistency of Batman vs Superman's extended edition (despite disagreements with the overall creative direction; I'm not bothering with the theatrical version).

My main gripes with the movie are:

• I stopped caring - Shortly into the movie, I realized I didn't care about anyone or anything that was on screen. Neither the plots nor performances were particularly exciting. Ben Affleck's Batman alternated between disaffected and disinterested, with a good chunk of dry smarm and wit to feign engagement. Cyborg's exaggerated movements were also awkward. 
• The film really needed breathing room - The editing, pacing and timing were rushed in a way that gave the movie a really awkward tone. Part of this may have been due to the split-directing duties between Zach Snyder and Joss Whedon, but there's a good chance the movie was a mess during the script. Speaking of which...
• The script - Clunky dialogue, cheesy lines, random (retroactive) introductions of plots/character motivations via dialogue, lack of subtlety - the film needed another pass on both the dialogue and the script.
• The music - Why did Danny Elfman replace Junkie XL? Despite my general dislike of both Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman, the music for both was of high quality. The lack of Superman's theme and other recent themes really hurt Justice League. Not to mention the very random inclusion of the Burton Batman theme detracted from the experience. Very, very disappointing. 
• The CG - This was really, really not good. From the blandness of Steppenwolf's face to the blandness of the terraforming. Sure, it led to some pretty flowers, but everything looked like visual crap, despite the big budget...

I could list more, but I'll try to summarize: the film was a very mediocre and underwhelming debut for DC's first-class team. I can't say that I was disappointed, because that meant I would have expected better from the current DC Extended Universe, although in seeing the movie that meant I unfortunately financially supported it. 

Had this been an entry in the DC Animated Movie universe, I'd have been perfectly contented. Hell, if all the rest of the Snyder-verse DC movies could be relegated to much cheaper DCAM versions, that may be the best win-win scenario - give people these stories with these characters and not continue with the exorbitant costs and missed live-action opportunities. 

That said, the film did do a few things well:

• Superman - Other than a debatable return, once Superman remembered who he was, we're finally able to see the "beacon of hope" Superman as played by Henry Cavill. Had this been the Superman from the get go, perhaps the DCEU course would be in a more positive direction. Note, though, that this movie is a giant refresh for Superman, with previous ones almost taking place in parallel dimensions, considering how different this Superman is.
• The Flash and Cyborg's banter - Other than one or two cringe-worthy jokes, they had a nice rapport.
• The overall team dynamic - Excusing script and performance issues, the team actually seemed motivated to work together to get the job done. They recognized each others strengths and tried to encourage each other to be the best versions of themselves. 

When it's all said and done, I would suggest either waiting to see the movie on cable, where commercial breaks may help disrupt the flow of the movie in a good way, or an extended edition of the film is released which hopefully reinserts some much-needed breathing room. Until then, Justice League is NOT RECOMMENDED. If you want some great Justice League content, watch the complete run of Justice League Unlimited. 

Wonder Woman is a step in a direction

And for the most part, that direction is the right one.

I'll create this review in two parts: the first is a shorter spoiler-free quick review, the second a longer more spoiler-discussed review.

QUICK REVIEW
Wonder Woman is a perfectly serviceable action superhero movie. It doesn't really break any new ground, but doesn't make any egregious errors. It does some things well and some things not so well. It's fine. I couldn't help but think it reminded me of an improved version of bad/mediocre 90s action movies (e.g. The Phantom, The Stranger, Spawn).

To put it quickly, Wonder Woman is a relatively fun movie with an uneven tone, hit-or-miss jokes and great action sequences. Considering it's 2+ hour length, it wasn't a chore to sit through. Reasonably Recommended


SPOILER WARNING

And here comes the LONGER REVIEW.

Let's get to some of the highlights of the movie first.

The Good
1. Chris Pine - From an acting and character perspective, he's the best part of the movie. Steve Trevor has a solid characterization and arc. It's great to see his consistency of character vs going on an emotional journey, for the most part. I would love to see more of him, but he went out with a bang.

2. The Action Sequences - Wonder Woman kicks ass! Going by the quality of the action sequences, the film peaks in the middle, when Diana does her fantastically shot Wonder Woman reveal. The fight on the battlefield and through into the city is some of the best action I've seen on screen in a long time. Even the end's fight isn't too shabby, with relatively clear action and some good character moments.

3. The Look - Other than some occasionally bad CG/green screen (sadly during the fight sequences), the colors and cinematography are generally nice.


The Mixed
1. Wonder Woman/Gal Gadot - Gadot is best when she's fighting, but it seems fairly clear she's not the greatest actress/actor in the film. Her "born sexy yesterday Diana" has a great innocence, but also a naive stupidity, which is really hard to determine whether it's a testament to Gadot's skill or reflection or her lack thereof. Either way, it's a partially odd characterization of Diana.

2. Ares and the Villains - They were alright, but largely forgettable/throwaway. The way they handled Ares seemed fairly standard for the twist reveal approach, but might have been better had they just revealed Ares as the big bad in the beginning to give him more character moments. That said, David Thewlis did a reasonable job with what he had.

3. The Ending - Considering the film was a fairly standard action superhero movie, the big action ending wasn't terrible, but it would have been nice if the theme of love were better incorporated vs "smash the bad guy."

4. The Supporting Cast - While Robin Wright was great, Connie Nielson was good and Lucy Davis was fun, the three men on the squad left much to be desired, particularly Ewen Bremner as Charlie. It was just too cartoony/cliched.

5. Diana and Steve's relationship - I enjoyed watching them form their bond, but not sure it was really earned. The only reason it sorta worked is because the film set them up from the beginning to be a couple, plus comic's history. Within the movie, they don't really do a whole lot together to earn the relationship.


The Indifferent
1. The framing of the movie, with WW reflecting on her past, was an interesting choice. I'm not entirely sure how necessary it was or how it fits into the DCEU on the whole (other than the Bruce Wayne connection), but it didn't hurt the movie.


The Could Have Been Better
1. The Tone / Middle of the Movie - The stuff on Themyscira and during the end have a fairly consistent tone, though the beginning does have some light-hearted moments. However, the middle is the weakest, and longest, part of the movie. The tone is incredibly mixed, trying to balance the tragedy and hardships of war with cartoonish comedy, caused primarily by the supporting cast, as mentioned above.

2. The Music - While it was great hearing WW's theme during the excellent middle fight, the build-up towards her theme could have been better. I wanted her theme to debut as she debuted, which, technically she did, but doing so in the middle of the movie was an interesting choice, particularly since it doesn't memorably come up again afterwards. Granted, it's use in the scene was most excellent.


The Questionable
1. Why was Diana ever a kid? If she's sculpted from clay, shouldn't she just be an adult? I'd rather see a young and inexperienced Gadot on the island learning everything vs a child.

2. How sheltered are the Amazons, exactly? It's a pretty bad reflection of their society that Diana's so naive. Granted, this is fairly typical to DC mythology... Also, what exactly is their power level, considering they seem largely immortal (presumably like elves)?

3. What are the power skills in this movie?? Diana has telekinesis now? Ares has lightning? What was really the point of Dr. Poison's gas pill to Ludendorff - just for an alright fight sequence? Why not distribute to an entire army?


The Wrap-Up
Despite the longer version being more critical, per se, I did enjoy the movie. It's easier to mentally sit back and appreciate it for the casual, middle-of-the-road superhero film it is vs try and hold it to a higher standard, considering how much pressure was on it (and where it was coming from).

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns 2-part movie review

I rather enjoyed the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns two part animated adaptation. The soundtrack by Christopher Drake was particularly enjoyable, sounding reminiscent of the Tron: Legacy soundtrack, with hints of Batman Beyond. While watching Part 1, it made me think this is probably the closest we would get to a John Carpenter Batman movie, who could have done a very interesting and potentially awesome adaptation of TDK, or Batman in the 80s, in general.

I enjoyed Part 1 more than Part 2, as it had better themes and story (Batman coming back). Part 2 came across like random chapters. Granted, part of the problem is the source material, but it would have been nice if the story were streamlined a bit to focus on fewer things and given more of an overarching story. Currently, it's just Batman doing cool stuff and being badass (which is not in itself a bad thing). Would be nice if there were more focused themes like aging (such as Wrath of Khan), social commentary (such as They Live) or satire (such as Robocop). It does talk about society standing up for itself and Batman being a role model, but it's not the central focus.

Peter Weller did a decent job as Batman, but Michael Ironside may have been a better choice. Carrie Kelley's voice (Ariel Winter) and the Mutant Leader's voice (Gary Anthony Williams) were solid, although the rest of the voices were largely forgettable.

The animation was great, adapting Frank Miller and Klaus Jansen's work wonderfully, albeit it a way that's cleaner for animation.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns gets a solid RECOMMENDATION. Check it out if you have 2.5 hours and want a fun Batman 80s movie. It'll probably be better than Batman vs. Superman.