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Post by Nalkarj on Apr 29, 2018 4:21:21 GMT
I was trying to find a thread to put this, but I’m about 20 min. into Justice League myself now, at long last. (I know that’s a bit ill-timed, as this is a big weekend for the Marvel films, but my library just got this one in.)
It’s been pretty weird so far—I remember writing that the trailer made the whole thing look like a cartoon, and the movie seems to be following that.
The opening is excellent up until the demon-thing comes in; as with Batman v Superman, there are some remarkably accomplished scenes here. But this does not seem to have a single tone: that film was operatic, larger-than-life, and felt like it. Here, the imagery seems mostly comic-book-esque, with Snyder’s operatic shots feeling out of place.
Does anyone know how much of the finished product is Snyder’s and how much is Whedon’s? The “reactionary terrorists” bit was utterly atrocious, in the concept, the writing, and the direction; and I’m not sure to whom it should be attributed. The business surrounding Superman’s death was, however, excellent.
The CGI bad guy just popped in. I don’t actually mind the way the looks all that much (though his armor too obviously resembles that of Marvel’s Loki), but his appearance is way too sudden. All in all, way too much CGI, as well. (Lots of toos I’ve put in.)
Amy Adams, an actress I like very much, still doesn’t convince me as Lois.
Aquaman’s introduction was good, though I wouldn’t have called him “Aquaman” in that scene. The interactions between Affleck and (what’s this guy’s name?) Aquaman come across as forced—I wouldn’t be surprised if Whedon wrote this. (I…don’t like Whedon’s writing, to say the least.)
Will come back with some more thoughts, if you’re interested.
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Post by Nalkarj on Apr 29, 2018 4:34:01 GMT
Forget to add that Jeremy Irons is by far the best thing about this movie (then Gal Gadot, who’s as lovely as ever here but badly directed here, and then Affleck).
Actually, the guy playing Aquaman is pretty good too. I’m watching this sequence where he’s swimming right now—very well-done. He’s a bit too much like Marvel’s Thor, though.
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Post by Nalkarj on Apr 29, 2018 4:42:38 GMT
Flash is kinda fun. Kinda. Too much Whedon-esque cutsieness. I have a big aversion to anything Whedon has ever done. Was there cross-pollination between this and Spider-Man: Homecoming? The Batman-Flash relationship is nigh-identical to the Iron Man-Spider Man relationship, with Flash and Spidey being very close as well.
Hey, I just heard the Batman: The Animated Series theme! Yay. Good Commissioner Gordon performance from J.K. Simmons. This was Jameson in the Raimi’s Spidey trilogy? Always loved those movies (or the first two, at least).
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Post by Nalkarj on Apr 29, 2018 4:56:17 GMT
Did the villain here remind anyone else of that villain Christopher Eccleston played in one of the Thor movies?
I’m surprised by how little Flash’s costume bothers me; I thought it awfully silly-looking when I saw the trailer, but in-movie it’s fine.
There’s altogether too much CGI, but any CGI water scene with Aquaman looks fine.
The villain’s remarkably forgettable—already. I have zero interest in what he’s doing right now.
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Post by Nalkarj on Apr 29, 2018 5:00:01 GMT
Affleck’s still an excellent Batman. They’re still planning on doing a solo entry with him, right?
By the by, I think I may just be talking to myself.
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Post by Nicko's Nose on Apr 29, 2018 5:06:30 GMT
Did the villain here remind anyone else of that villain Christopher Eccleston played in one of the Thor movies? I don’t remember anything about that villain, so I guess yes Steppenwolf reminded me of the villain in The Dark World.
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Post by Nalkarj on Apr 29, 2018 5:13:16 GMT
Did the villain here remind anyone else of that villain Christopher Eccleston played in one of the Thor movies? I don’t remember anything about that villain, so I guess yes Steppenwolf reminded me of the villain in The Dark World. Hey, a response! Thanks, Nicko’s Nose. I guess I don’t remember much of the Eccleston villain either, but I think they look similar. They just brought Superman back, and—wow—it’s fairly anticlimactic. I would have liked a major resurrection scene for him…
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Post by Nalkarj on Apr 29, 2018 5:42:35 GMT
Excellent moment when Supes appears at the final battle, the Superman theme blasts, and Cavill looks and sounds, for a brief moment, like Chris Reeve. Love it—this is the Superman I know and love.
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Post by Nalkarj on Apr 29, 2018 6:05:35 GMT
OK, just finished it.
What do I say? It’s not particularly satisfying as a film; both Batman v Superman and Spider-Man: Homecoming, the last two superhero flicks I saw, were more intriguing and stayed with me. In all honesty, I’ll probably forget this one tomorrow. Why is that? Howard Hawks once said that a good movie is three good scenes and no bad ones; Justice League nails the first part but not the second, and the whole thing is utterly unable to hold together. Tonally, it’s all over the place. The story is shockingly boring, and the villain has nothing to say or do. By far the least interesting villain I have ever seen in one of these movies.
The heroes are all tons of fun, though, and Cavill and Affleck are great. I was surprised by how good the newcomers were, but they were all excellent. (Ray Fisher seems to be channelling Phil LaMarr’s Green Lantern from the Justice League cartoon.) Gal Gadot is effortlessly charming and utterly beautiful—her loveliness, inner and outer, comes through in every frame—but she doesn’t seem as well-directed here.
Unfortunately, this is not at all a good movie, but it’s an interesting bad movie, like the 1998 Avengers or the innumerable ‘30s b-flicks that somehow manage to throw in an intriguing plot element or two. And Snyder’s high operatics will never mix with Whedon’s superficial-yet-sneering “fanboyness.” (Have I mentioned I don’t like Whedon?) I’m happy I saw it, but I probably won’t be remembering it.
EDIT: I’m going to have to revise the crossed-out part. After thinking about it a bit, Justice League isn’t so much a bad movie than it is a ‘nothing’ one. It’s more like Cutthroat Island or Sahara (2005), both of which I only really remember because of writing about them here. It just has no impact (actually, it was that way for me with Avatar, too—and the Get Smart remake, Wall-E, Underdog…)
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Post by JudgeJuryDredd on Apr 29, 2018 21:07:29 GMT
I'm sure DC-Fan can enlighten us all how it is a near-perfect 9/10...
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Post by Nalkarj on Apr 29, 2018 21:08:54 GMT
I'm sure DC-Fan can enlighten us all how it is a near-perfect 9/10… In all seriousness, I would be interested in reading a defense of the film. I didn’t hate it, but it just felt like a whole lot of nothing to me.
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nemesis617
Sophomore
@nemesis617
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Post by nemesis617 on Apr 30, 2018 5:56:35 GMT
My main complaint with Justice League was the villain who was useless and boring. With the exception of Steppenwolf, I liked the other characters and the actors who portrayed them. I'm still not a fan of Ben Affleck as Batman, but I was hoping the rumors were true of Jake Gyllenhaal stepping into the role.
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