Justice League Review — A Unification Worth Attending

Since Man of Steel‘s big-screen arrival in 2013, fans have been waiting for the eventual meet-up of DC’s big-hitters in the first live-action Justice League film. It’s here, and it’s safe to say that Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. have delivered on bringing DC’s ensemble team to fans in an action-packed, epically-scaled, and funny blockbuster package.

The look, feel, and scope of other DC’s movies have definitely paved the way for Justice League. It’s bold, brash, and contains a ton of gorgeous visuals to gawk at; however, where it differs from its predecessors is in its tone.

The film strays away from the dark and sombre tone of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, aligning itself as more of a fantastical, light-hearted setting. All the world-ending dread and doom is there, but it’s a lot more whimsical, falling somewhere between Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad‘s more upbeat adventures.

And this is largely due to the new personalities and characters in the mix. Jason Momoa’s Aquaman is a cynical and everyman’s view on the superhero world (despite being destined to be one himself), while Ezra Miller’s Flash provides the hilarious and human viewpoint on the entire setting. This change is also reflected in the music. The epic, orchestral scores are still there, but they’re peppered with classic rock tracks and punchy renditions of theme songs that tie-up with the beefed-up action, as heard in the trailers and marketing content leading up to the film’s release.

Speaking of, DC has clearly learnt from some of the mistakes with BvS. Instead of throwing everything and the kitchen sink into the trailers and essentially revealing the rabbit before doing the hat-trick, Justice League‘s marketing has been rather subtle in terms of major plot details, leaving some great moments in the film.

That said, Justice League isn’t perfect — it has the odd tiny hiccup, and will probably be better viewed in 2D due to the 3D experience highlighting some of the subtle visual shortcomings. But it’s a fantastic superhero film which gives each of DC’s biggest stars moments in the spotlight, while also delivering some humorous moments when they’re all together; and being alive during the Justice League‘s first on-screen, live-action appearance is a bonus in itself.