fear of losing loved ones and loss. Yet it still
manages to be lots of fun. It’s such a pleasant
movie that deserves your time.
dark tones. The results were mixed. It’s admirable
to include politics and real themes and ideals in
these fi lms, but at times you just want to have a bit
of fun in the process.
After the negative response to BvS, it’s no doubt
that the heads at Warner Brothers got involved and
demanded a product lighter in tone and shorter in
running time.
This put director Zack Snyder in a diffi cult
spot as production had already began when the
responses were tepid at best. So he and his writers
had to make some changes on the spot, which is
never ideal.
Add to that that Snyder departed the project
Justice League
DC has had its struggles in terms of
its fi lms since the Chris Nolan Dark
Knight trilogy. “Wonder Woman”
really gave it a huge boost both
critically and commercially.
But getting the band together
has proved tougher for this great
group of superheroes than it has for
Marvel with the beloved “Avengers.”
That shouldn’t be. When you have such
heroes as Batman, Superman and
Wonder Woman, you have the tools
for greatness.
While I enjoyed “Man of Steel”
and parts of “Batman v Superman
Dawn of Justice,” and they made
a lot of money, critics and fans
weren’t thrilled. Sure, they
enjoyed Ben Affl eck as the Dark
Knight and the action, but most
found these movies to be joyless
and grim when these characters
should have a bit of fun.
I see what DC was going for.
They wanted to stand apart from
the competition and tell complex
stories with heroes dealing with
Photos courtesy of Warner Brothers
right before fi lming ended to deal with a family
tragedy and production was dicey. Joss Whedon,
who directed “The Avengers,” took over a movie
that wasn’t his and put his spin on the remainder
of the fi lm, hoping it wouldn’t feel like two fi lms in
one with several reshoots.
The result is a lot better than it could’ve been,
considering those obstacles. It felt like one fi lm,
it was much shorter (just under two hours) and it
was considerably lighter than its predecessors
with pretty funny jokes.
But something felt a bit off about it. The villain
and plot seem thin. It feels rushed, from the
story to the CG. I really did enjoy each character,
including Aquaman, Cyborg and the Flash, but I
wanted to know more about them.
They don’t need their own fi lms but spending
more time with them as individuals would’ve
helped. And although audiences asked for light,
the fi lm could’ve benefi tted from the grim tone of
the last. There were obviously a lot of scenes cut
from the fi lm.
Overall, it was a fun superhero team-up that
could’ve been so much more. This may be the
fi lm that causes DC to start over with most of its
characters, but that would be a shame because it
seems like they were just getting their footing here
and with a better script, could have realized that
potential.
Photos courtesy of Warner Brothers
QNS.COM
WINTER 2017 11