Ben, Gal avoid press at Justice League premiere

His superhero films just felt like they were burdened to stand for something more than easy entertainment, the way Marvel’s far more successful entries are. It demanded Bruce Wayne make hard decisions and explore his own morality, far more than Justice League or Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ever did. It’s not a particularly interesting vision, but it is a vision. The entire recruiting bit, sense of humor, mid and post credit scenes, the list goes on. For how quickly Steppenwolf collects his floating cubes – with TELEPORTATION advantages – he’s then equivocally bitch-slapped in what seems like even less time. So Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) join forces to build a team of heroes that also includes a skittish The Flash (Ezra Miller, who is playing more Kid Flash here than Flash, but that’s fine); Cyborg (Ray Fisher), who was pieced back together by a Mother Box; and Aquaman (Jason Momoa), who is basically the Dan Cortese of superheroes. The Flash (Ezra Miller) doesn’t know what to do with his life, given that his dad is in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

“At times, Justice League gets by on pithy one-liners and character quirks alone, but Steppenwolf, an all-CG creation voiced by Ciaran Hines, has the presence and menace of a welder’s bench”.

Wonder Woman was a course-correction and Justice League continues the universe’s move into lighter territory (well, as light as aliens wanting to enslave the universe can be), and while it’s a film that is certainly flawed, it’s also a film that is very enjoyable. In recent years, only the Wonder Woman film has been given a general thumbs-up; Suicide Squad was okay-ish, while Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was as bad as Ireland’s performance against Denmark. Scenes are “less dark”, but animated backgrounds and character lighting share even less continuity than Justice League’s actual plot – AND THAT’S EVEN BEFORE SUPERMAN’S POST-PRODUCTION MUSTACHE REMOVAL.

“When Affleck’s Batman swings into action, for once viewers won’t be waiting for Wonder Woman to do something cooler…”

Bring on Wonder Woman 2 – and godspeed The Flash movie.

But when I left the theater after “Justice League”, I couldn’t help but be a little disappointed.

Zooming in off the storming $821million success of Wonder Woman, the hype should be buzzing. When The Flash helps Wonder Woman you get a glimpse at the movie Justice League could have been but by the end it’s all a mess of smashing walls and clanking metal against a 300/Lord of the Rings hellscape backdrop. How did they so spectacularly muck this up? We told you, in the review of the film, as to how there are a few instances in the film that will remind you of Marvel’s Avengers.

But when it remembers to be quiet and let its characters actually talk, Justice League hints at better movies that might still come out of this franchise.

‘I had a dream – it was the end of the world, ‘ intones one character.

If there’s a weak link in the team, then it’s Ben Affleck. There’s no vibrancy to the movie and, despite two minutes of trying to make Justice League about more than men and women in costumes, it doesn’t amount to anything of importance. Written by Chris Terrio, Joss Whedon and Zack Snyder.

Gal Gadot became pregnant while shooting “Justice League” and had to deal with excruciating morning sickness. The Flash standalone movie, due in March, has lost two directors. The Man Of Steel and Justice League sequels are both in limbo.

“Justice League, the latest link of Tinkertoy in the DC Comics universe, has been conceived, in each and every frame, to correct the sins of Batman v Superman”.

For the rest of us, it may well prove a blessing.