Justice League: Fun but doesn't bring anything new

Originally published 11/16/17 in Spanish on La Jornada Latina.

“Justice League” finally brings togehter those superheros that we already started seeing in the DCEU (DC Extended Universe):  Batman, Wonder Woman & Superman, and although we've already briefly seen them on "Batman V Superman" Cyborg, Aquaman & the Flash.  I had fun watching the movie, but I didn't feel that emotion I felt when I saw the MCU characters  together for the first time.  At least with Marvel, when I saw Thor fight Iron Man while Loki watched this spectacle, I felt watching those characters from my favorite comics and those gods that I would read about as a kid in mythology books; they jumped out from the pages to something that could be real.  That magic was missing while I watched one of my favorite comic book teams on the big screen.

It's a movie that we've seen before:  something out of this world or out of our control threatens us and the villian wants to destroy humanity; one person or a group with powers come together to save everyone.  They don't get along at first, they unite and they save the world.  We've seen it on other films.  Unfortunately, "Justice League" doesn't give us more than that.  The biggest problem in this situation, and in this movie in particular, is the villian:  Steppenwolf.  Steppenwolf wants a world where he'll rule after destroying humanity.  Sound familiar?  Honestly, that didn't interest me; on the contrary, it bore me.

Beside the same ol' story, the special effects were not the best.  There are scenes that look more like video game scenes instead of something that could possibly happen in our real world.

"Justice League" is a world that now lives without Superman.  We start with Batman hunting a Parademon.  The problem that I had with this initial scene is that we start with aliens without any explanation.  Why is he looking for them and hunting them?  Where did they come from?  What's their purpose.

Batman needs Wonder Woman's help to  recruit beings with powers:  a man that "talks to fish (Aquaman), a kid that suddenly disappears (Flash), and a football players that, after an accident, is now more that a man (Cyborg).  Batman needs the help of these marvelous beings because this is no longer a world of clowns nor of exploding ducks.  After Superman's arrival, and death, the world that one lives in is one of powerful beings and of forces that are out of this world.

Of the three characters already known, Superman was the most enjoyable.  We finally have a Superman that everyone likes, whether you're a fan of his character in comics or in cartoons or in movies, this Superman is more enjoyable than the one we started off with in the DCEU.  Batman is what you'd expect:  a hero that gives more of himself that we would.  Wonder Woman didn't have the same charisma that we saw in "Batman V Superman" nor in "Wonder Woman".  I liked them both but at no moment was I wowed by either.

Of the three new characters, Cyborg surprised me.  Many times with characters that are half-machine, they tend to be monotonous.  With Cyborg we saw the humanity of a man that is now more machine than man.  Cyborg is confused and he's angry.  Flash, although funny, a lot of his jokes are kiddish.  Besides, he's clumsy.  Aquaman is that macho character that we see in a all groups, one who prefers to work alone.  We know he is strong in water, but outside of water he is no more than a strong man.

Director Zack Snyder, with the help of Joss Whedon (of the MCU), bring us a move with humor and one that is not boring.  Unfortunately, with the success and how wonderful "Wonder Woman" was, they take a step back with this movie.  Fortunately not too far back to what "Suicide Squad" was but it wasn't the quality that "Wonder Woman" was or what you'd expect from their competition, Marvel.

If you're hoping to watch a fun movie, by yourself or with your family, you're going to have a good time.  If you're looking to watch a surreal movie as was lived when you saw "The Avengers" for the first time, prepare yourself because that magic that you felt, unfortunately, is not there.  If you're looking to see something completely new, stay home.  Would I recommend it?  Yes, but there's no hurry in watching it.

"Justice League", with Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot and Henry Cavill, directed by Zack Snyder, will be released November 17th.