I saw "Justice League" with The Wife and The Daughter last night ($10 a ticket in Rio Rancho, yay!). I thought it was much better than I thought it may be, particularly with the replacement of Zach Snyder with Joss Weedon. I like Weedon, but I have grown to love Synder's work.
Let's start with one negative: Aquaman's dialogue was unfortunately akin to modern Disney films such that he might as well have said, "No way!/Way!" or "Dyno-mite!" It demeaned him in a way that was harmful, as he is a truly heroic character for the people in the villages he serves, and he has so much grace in his movements.
And now the positives: I liked the storyline as it gave a great backstory for the Cyborg character (and I am so glad he did not suffer the fate of some minority background superheroes). I thought the villain was a marked improvement over previous villains in recent Marvel films and even "Suicide Squad." This guy had more depth and seemed more emotional and self-aware even as he was bent onto his path of world destruction.
The story continues the modern DC film philosophical storyline about gods and men, and continues to say the old gods before monotheism are real, while strongly implying that the god of Jews, Christians and Muslims is well, the myth. I keep waiting for the Christian Right and Muslim fundamentalists to go nuts against these films. Funny they don't...
The film's storyline also deals well with Bruce Wayne's remorse over his trying to kill Superman, and gives us a strong, mature Wonder Woman as the adult in the room of superheroes. The film's funniest scenes almost always included or were led by Flash, and yes, it is funny that two of the six Justice Leaguers are...Jewish. They can call Diana Prince an Amazon all they want. She is a tough Israeli warrior! Anyway, the Flash's comeback line to Bruce Wayne when shown his photo when the Flash had long hair had all three of us with what was called in "A Thousand Clowns," "outright prolonged laughter." And having the Flash be on the spectrum is a brilliant touch.
The Chernobyl touch as a place of evil where broken people live, and that an evil villain would want to go, was pretty clear to me, but shocked The Wife in later recognition.
Overall, forget the haters who act like they are paid to troll for Marvel. The attacks on Synder and the DC films he has produced, directed and co-written seem like the filmgoers' equivalent to "Yah! Red Team! Yay, Blue Team!"
Me? I love Marvel and I have come to love the DC films of these past four years. This latest DC film is a solid film, above either of the Marvel Film's "Avengers." I found in this one, that the heroes dealt more openly about their emotions, and pretty much everyone likes everyone else on the team--even as they know Bruce Wayne can be a jerk, and whose anger led indirectly to Superman's death. They still feel badly for Wayne as he is now in his Bojack "I'm a piece of s**t" Horseman phase, and does not really care about his own life. The film shows it is important to take responsibility for yourself, and Bruce Wayne becomes less angry at himself and the world by the end of the film.
Again, count me relieved more than in awe about Justice League. It was ultimately a solid film, and there is definitely room for a great sequel--with one challenge: How to make the next villain something beyond the usual tropes of superhero villainy that have become a cliche.
I wonder, too, what the Zach Snyder version of Justice League looks like, and hope we will see that on the DVD/Blu-Ray. So far, I think the "BvS" director's cut was far superior to the theater release, and helps people understand the transition from "Man of Steel" to "BvS," and why Bruce Wayne is so damned angry at Superman for the collateral damage he caused for what appeared to be a personal fight between Superman and Zod (remember in "Man of Steel," Superman does not go public with Zod's real plan for humans). And the director's cut for Suicide Squad also filled in important dialogue that helped give more context and depth to the story.
I still say it: In 15 to 20 years, these DC films will be studied in their director's versions by film historians, and Zach Snyder will finally get his due as a great director and co-writer for what are outstanding theologically-based films within the superhero genre. And I will say we have lived through the Superhero era in films that rivals the Western era in films. We are, we should also note, at the late stage, akin to the 1950s in Westerns. The best superhero films that come out in the next five or ten years will be those which play with the genre like "The Searchers," "Johnny Guitar," or "Who Shot Liberty Valance." And perhaps we may even see one day a film that treats us human Earthlings as the enemy and the invading aliens as the heroes come to save the planet from us--meaning "Avatar" meets "War of the Worlds." Whoa!
