Justice League

The long awaited DC Universe heroes reunion

J ustice League is one of those highly anticipated movies by different kinds of fans; you have the comic fans in one side, the superhero movies fans on the other, kids of all ages, Gal Gadot fans and Jason Momoa fans alike. Due to this anticipation, most people expect a lot from this movies and feel disappointed when they do not meet their expectations and Justice League was no exception. After a so-so Man of Steel and a disappointing Suicide Squad, the DC universe movies fell in popularity amongst critics and fans alike. However, Batman v Superman and Wonder Woman raised up many hopes and in the end of those 2 movies we got to taste a little bit of what was coming next: the Justice League movie.
At first, it was Zack Snyder who was in charge of directing the movie but he was not able to finish it due to a family tragedy. Joss Whedon took the reins and managed to finish it with the same tone and direction that Snyder was giving to the movie. However, the movie was dull and predictable at some times and left me with a feeling that they were just trying to get the job done. Ben Affleck´s performance as Batman is great, I really liked it since Batman vs. Superman because he puts Batman in a different light, that of a leader and team player. Next to Ben Affleck we also see Gal Gadot as the Wonder Woman, a strong warrior and leader as well who pairs up with Batman to fight an old and powerful adversary: the Steppenwolf, voiced by Claran Hinds.
The villain Steppenwolf emerged from the shadows and this time there is no Superman to stand between him and his mission: to find three ancient pieces that together form a destructive and powerful artifact capable of changing entire planets. Batman and Wonder Woman know that they cannot defeat this foe on their own and they have to recruit strong allies for the fight to come. One of those allies is none other than Barry Allen (Ezra Miller), better known as The Flash: a man with the power to move at extreme speeds. Ezra Miller´s performance left much to be desired, forced in some scenes with a humor that made you laugh at first but became repetitive and clichéd. The Atlantean known as Aquaman (Jason Momoa) also joins the fray and in spite the fact that he is a very different Aquaman from the one we know from the comics, does a really good job portraying a stronger and more capable Aquaman.

Ray Fisher as The Cyborg is the last addition to the Justice League team: a reconstructed human being, patched together with robotic parts that allow him to continually adapt and improve. Cyborg is a key character in the movie due to his link with the ancient artifact The Unity (the result of the three ancient pieces put together), which is capable of completely modifying a living being, as we will witness in the movie- Jeremy Irons appears as Batman´s loyal butler and assistant Alfred, who was one of the most brilliant performers in Batman vs Superman but it seemed that in Justice League we barely saw him on screen. We get to see Henry Cavill performing Superman as usual, and he does a great job portraying a very different Superman from the one we are used to see in the movies. Diane Lane performs next to Cavill as his on-screen mother, Martha Kent, Amy Addams does an amazing job as Lois Lane and JK Simmons also did a great job as the Commissioner Gordon.

In overall, Justice League has an epic cast, great action sequences and special effects combined with a story that flows neatly at first, gets stalled in the middle and dull at the end. I expected more of The Flash, since he was my favorite DC character and my disappointment is greater because I saw Ezra Miller´s performance in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them and I know that he can do better. I enjoyed Jason Momoa´s performance, which was a big surprise for me and Gal Gadot was simply born to be the Wonder Women. Besides the great cast and CGI, Justice League is a good movie but I feel that the DC universe has so many cool characters and stories to offer and the producers or directors are not taking advantage of that. A mistake they should repair if they hope to compete with Marvel…