Four years after DC and Warner Bros. launched its new DC film universe with the Henry Cavill-starring Man of Steel, Zack Snyder’s long-awaited Justice League movie is struggling, both commercially and critically, to live up to the lofty expectations attached to the team’s first live-action appearance in theaters. Despite what should have been through-the-roof anticipation, Justice League had a bad opening weekend, becoming the first film in the DC’s current universe to open under $100 million domestically, while also failing to wow a majority of critics—though its 41% on Rotten Tomatoes does stand above the scores for Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman.
Starring a legitimately stellar ensemble led by Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Ben Affleck’s Batman, Justice League unites some of DC Comics’ most popular heroes against, unfortunately, one of its most forgettable villains. But the weakness of Justice League’s antagonist, Steppenwolf, is hardly the film’s defining flaw, especially as generic villains are becoming almost commonplace in comic book movies—even some of Marvel’s best reviewed outings have had this problem. Rather, Justice League’s defining flaw is that it arrived in theaters well before any meaningful character development had been done to define most of its titular team, and characters are the key to making viewers connect with any film.
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Starring a legitimately stellar ensemble led by Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Ben Affleck’s Batman, Justice League unites some of DC Comics’ most popular heroes against, unfortunately, one of its most forgettable villains. But the weakness of Justice League’s antagonist, Steppenwolf, is hardly the film’s defining flaw, especially as generic villains are becoming almost commonplace in comic book movies—even some of Marvel’s best reviewed outings have had this problem. Rather, Justice League’s defining flaw is that it arrived in theaters well before any meaningful character development had been done to define most of its titular team, and characters are the key to making viewers connect with any film.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...