Justice League: My Counterpoint

Note: this may be fairly obvious, but there are spoilers for the recent Justice League movie.

Despite all the articles and posts to the contrary, I would like to make a case that Justice League can be seen as a success.  If critics of the film want to make a serious case for why it is a bad film or how it will cost the studio money, then maybe I could make a serious case for why this film may be better than first impressions, look at other financial considerations past ticket sales and take a more critical look now that the movie has been released for some time past its premiere.

I loved Justice League!  As badly as I feel about director Zack Snyder leaving the project before its finish due to a family tragedy, I was relieved that Joss Whedon was able to complete the film for its November 2017 release.  For some, the two competing visions was a major criticism.  For me, this movie needed all the talented personnel it could find.

The Justice League movie needed to do three things: 1) show the team saving the world, 2) bring Superman back from the dead and 3) set the DC cinematic universe off in a new direction.  And I think it succeeded as a wrap-up of prior DC movies, a celebration of superheroes and as a jam session of two creative forces!

The movie's main villain, Steppenwolf, was a hopelessly bland antagonist with mommy issues, but the six heroes sure had fun defeating him!  Justice League's strongest attribute was how engaging and charismatic its members were.  All six had surprising character moments and overcame their own issues to feed into the greater story.  Wonder Woman became the inspiring leader, Aquaman found acceptance, Flash rose above his fear, Cyborg found his humanity, Batman learned to function within a team and Superman regained his status as the optimistic beacon of hope!

Halfway through the movie, Batman convinces his reluctant teammates to use one of Steppenwolf's "Mother Boxes" as a Kryptonian defribrillator to resurrect Superman.  In true comic book fashion this goes terribly wrong as an angry Superman begin to pummel the others (Justice League's funniest moment is when The Flash realizes to his horror that Superman can track his super-speed)!  Thankfully, Batman anticipates this and dispatches his butler/armorer Alfred to retrieve Superman's girlfriend Lois Lane, who helps him become a mature hero who once again appreciates life.  Superman's story arc is complete once Lois reminds him to help Batman and Wonder Woman save the world once again!

During the film's climatic fight, Batman's plan is to sacrifice himself so the others can take a clear shot at Steppenwolf.  However, Wonder Woman has none of that and leads the team to save a distraught Batman from Steppenwolf's parademons.  Alfred admonishes Batman, telling him "this is the team!"  For all of Justice League's failures (and there are a few, starting with the poorly synced CGI), DC Comics and Warner Brothers Studios listened to their fans and the fans have responded positively.

Many detractors have pointed out Rotten Tomatoes Justice League score of 40% approval rating from critics, but they don't often disclose is the 81% approval rating from the regular viewing audience because it doesn't help their narrative.  They also believe that Justice League will fail to make money for the studios, even with the $500+ million box office take so far.  However, I will let you in on a little secret that was well-known 30 years ago but perhaps got lost to memory: no film makes money.  Studios call it "Hollywood accounting".   What matters most is whether there is interest to continue.  The positive audience scores for Man of Steel (2013), Wonder Woman (2017) and Justice League convince me that the interest is there.

The post-credit scenes show Superman and The Flash in a friendly race to see who is truly faster while Superman's arch-enemy Lex Luthor plots to put together a super-villain team of his own.  This scene combined with Henry Cavill's (Superman) and Gal Gadot's (Wonder Woman) contracts make me conclude that Warner Brothers is not yet finished with DC Comics super-hero lineup.   Superman said at the beginning of Justice League, "Hope is like car keys.  Easy to lose but if you dig around they're easy to find."  Like Superman, I have hope for the future of DC Comics cinematic universe.