Justice League

Prowling the Gotham skylight, Batman (aka multi-millionaire vigilante Bruce Wayne) is afraid. With Superman no longer a presence in the world, an ancient alien force now sees Earth as ripe for taking and Batman must quickly assemble a league of heroes to defend it from the coming threat.

In this companion piece to ‘Batman vs Superman’, director Zak Snyder continues his vision for the DC universe after Christopher Nolan’s genre defining ‘Batman’ films. With Ben Affleck again in the role of the caped crusader, the move away from the original comic’s adult themes and gothic overtones has become ever more complete. Where before, in a surprise piece of casting, Michael Keaton made both Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’ and Bruce Wayne his own, Affleck’s version is now a costumed version of James Bond with ‘Q’ (aka his butler Alfred) supplying ever bigger and noisier weapons to meet each threat. So, now completely divorced from Batman’s original vengeful and psychotic persona, any genuine tension that ‘Justice League’s’ trailer might have had quickly unzips itself from the movie’s full running time.

…you can see the explosions but your emotions are insulated…

In what is becoming a talismanic trait for Zak Synder and his inflection of DC Super heroes, you can see the explosions but your emotions are insulated from caring due to increasingly bland characterisation and even more leaden dialogue. Whilst Ezra Miller’s comedic addition hints at Joss Whedon’s involvement in the script, the cardboard cut-out villains and ‘Justice League’s’ predictable plot line allows no room for growth or intrigue to develop.

Pretty, as seen from a distance, ‘Justice League’ has enough visuals for an appetising trailer but unfortunately enough for a main course movie viewing. Compared to Marvel’s squabbling ‘Defenders’ and mistrustful ‘Avengers’, Snyder’s ‘Justice League’ make for a dull, uninteresting collection of super heroes. That said, if you were genuinely satisfied by ‘Batman vs Superman’ then you can expect more of the same in a shorter running time – but without Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luther.

Maybe there’s some justice after all…