Fans of DC Comics had been waiting for decades for all their favorite superheroes to come together and rock some evil doer’s world in the name of the Justice League. Since the animated Saturday morning hit show went off the air, it has been many a year and with the arrival of Zack Snyder (and Joss Whedon’s) Justice League last year… fans’ hearts were racing. After all, that is who these movies rare made for, right?
Audiences, who will adore the new to home video (DVD, Blu-Ray digital formats) Justice League, gave the film a CinemaScore of B+. Critics, were not so kind. Checking out our theatrical Justice League review, The Movie Mensch felt that witnessing Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Superman (Henry Cavill), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and The Flash (Ezra Miller, who steals the movie with his pitch perfect comic timing) together was worth the price of admission.
Sadly, the film suffers from a heavy-handed approach to its directing and a villain that was not even close to worthy of the collective awesomeness of all our heroes joining forces.
Snyder took his usual dark is better approach to filming tone and that worked wonders for Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, but since Man of Steel has not served this series quite as well. Bringing in Whedon to finish production when Snyder had to depart for a family tragedy, seems to have muddled the message. Some scenes are a bit lighter (at least in terms of tone and not in color scape) and the whole thing feels like a constant heavyweight fight that never stops for air.
What holds the thing together is the casting. Affleck is a perfect choice for this older and tired Batman. Gadot, as everyone knows, was born to be Wonder Woman. We cannot wait until Momoa’s Aquaman solo movie hits screens later this year and here’s hoping that Miller will get his on The Flash big screen soiree in the future. Sadly, the weakest link of this group is Fisher’s Cyborg. It’s not the actor’s fault. The character is just not given that much to do.
But, as we stated, fans ate it up. For them, the Justice League Blu-Ray should be a gift from heaven. It features bonus scenes that have never been witnessed prior and some special features that will blow those DC Comics fans’ minds.
The Return of Superman leads the pack in what is essentially a couple of deleted scenes. This featurette showcases how they were originally going to tackle (spoiler!) Superman’s return to the front lines of battling baddies, specifically here Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds). One of the scenes you might recognize from the Justice League trailer that finds Alfred (Jeremy Irons) talking to the Son of Krypton and saying, “He said you’d come. Now let’s hope you’re not too late.” It kind of left us wishing that Whedon/Snyder had left those scenes in the final product. With the film clocking in at an exact two hours, what would another two-minutes-and-four-seconds done? Well, other than adding some emotional clarity!
Despite the massive success of Marvel Comics on the big screen in the last decade, it is impossible to ignore that when it comes to superheroes, no one in that Avengers all-star band can compete with the widespread and long-term popularity of Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman. For those millions who adore the holy trinity of superheroes, Heart of Justice is a fantastic, almost twelve-minute, look at those three that should get fans hearts’ a-racing.
Not to be left out of the bevy of bonuses, the fresh faces to the Justice League get their due in Justice League: The New Heroes. The featurette is hosted by Fisher and only deepens our adoration of Miller’s The Flash and heightens our anticipation for Momoa’s Aquaman and its December 21 release date. Hopefully in future installments we will get more of a connection to Cyborg.
Not to head into the world of Marvel again, but Robert Downey Jr. once said of superhero movies that “they are only as good as their villain.” That has proven to be true time and time again and that is much of the dismay we had with Justice League and its antagonist, Steppenwolf. What’s fascinating is if filmmakers had put as much attention into the development of the evil doer in the film itself as they did in the bonus feature Steppenwolf the Conqueror (featuring Hinds), the entire film might have worked a tad bit better.
A fascinating behind-the-scenes featurette looks at the tools of the trade of our baddie busters. Technology of the Justice League features an in-depth look at everything that puts the “super” in this superhero movie with priceless insights from production designer Patrick Tatopoulus and set decorator Dominic Capon.
The next-best behind-the-scenes look is Suit Up: The Look of the League. The ten-minute bonus feature has costume designer Michael Wilkinson dishing the details on one of the more difficult positions on the Justice League set. Nothing defines a superhero more than his and her outfits as they head out to extol justice.
What’s fascinating is the lack of a director’s commentary. Then again, with Snyder suffering an unimaginable loss and Whedon not really the captain of this ship, that could be easily explained. But, Snyder’s presence is largely missing from much of the BTL featurettes and Whedon is only seen from and not heard of, and albeit briefly at that.
There are some pretty extradentary individual scenes in Justice League and a terrific series of “how did they do that” featurettes land with “Scene Studies.” A fantastic look at the making of Wonder Woman’s Rescue, Heroes Park, The Tunnel Battle and one of the best parts of the movie, Revisiting the Amazons.
Film Grade: B-
Bonus Features: B+