Justice League's Frustration Fatigue

The Justice League drinking game would be every time a character jumps down from a great height and lands dramatically, knees bent...you take a shot. And you may just want to.

With a 40% Tomato score and an underwhelming box office, I went in harboring no illusions. But I had to go. But I also have to acknowledge that was the longest-feeling 2-hour running time I've sat through in a while. Still: Justice League isn't awful - but it's pretty far from great. 

The story behind the making of Justice League is a lot more compelling than the film itself. Midway through production, director Zack Snyder (and his wife, producer Deborah Snyder) lost their daughter to suicide. We can’t begin to fathom the pain that family endured. Snyder had to leave the picture and the studio managed to bring in Joss Whedon to finish shooting and do a little punch-up to the dialogue. Snyder retains sole directing credit, and while there are many scenes that feel like they have Whedon’s fingerprints on them, overall the film has a relatively uniform look and feel. If only it looked and felt better.

Batman v Superman ended with the death of the Man of Steel, a loss that’s left a gaping hole in the world, having seemingly drained the hope out of it. Headlines mourn Supe’s passing in the same breath as the death of Bowie and Prince. Why have our icons left us? The world is becoming hard, with briefly-glimpsed skin-heads attacking hijab-wearing shopkeepers, evoking the times we live in. It’s a fairly promising beginning. More than anything, Superman is about the idea of hope. And when hope is absent, evil often steps in to fill the void.

And therein lies the biggest problem with Justice League – its villain, a Godlike being called Steppenwolf, who’s virtually identical to Ares, as depicted in the vastly superior Wonder Woman – another giant, inexpressive evil dude in scary armor. Steppenwolf is cut from the Thanos mold, a being who moves through the galaxy conquering planets, with the aid of his ubiquitous flying “Parademons,” who are the most boring CGI creations since the Hammer drones in Iron Man 2. The Parademons buzz around constantly, evoking The Wicked Witch of the West’s flying monkeys more than anything else. The villainy in Justice League is dull and worse still – annoying. We learn that Steppenwolf once visited Earth ages ago, in a crazy Lord of the Rings-style flashback that even has a “King of Men.” If Steppenwolf (voiced by Ciarán Hinds) can get his mitts on three “Cosmic Cubes” (hmmm…), our world will fall.

With Superman gone, Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) have to find all the other folks with special abilities – and that’s where most of the good stuff in Justice League lies. Jason Momoa is a terrific presence as Aquaman. He’s super rock-surfer and contemporary, but he’s incredibly fun and charismatic. He’s also got what’s probably the best scene in the film. Now if Momoa had been cast as the villain, then we’d have something, as you’d be seriously worried for Bruce and Diana. Nobody can look as fierce as Jason Momoa. He brings a welcome infusion of energy to every scene he’s in. As does Ezra Miller as The Flash. My guess is Miller may be channeling a lot of Whedon dialogue, but he’s just hilarious and perfectly cast. I didn’t expect Flash to be even remotely interesting, and he was one of my absolute favorite parts of the picture, bringing a welcome dose of angst and glee to his scenes. It should go without saying that Gal Gadot is phenomenal as Wonder Woman, and she brings the same 1000-watt star power she’s showed previously here. When these three characters are on screen, you’re having a good time.

I felt bad for Ray Fisher, as Cyborg, who’s severely underwritten and trapped under a mountain of prosthetics and CGI. He’s dark and brooding and it’s his plot function to be the tech support for anything involving getting devices or technology to cooperate. It looks like such a thankless role, and the unfortunate “Booyah” he exclaims at one point painfully scratches the needle across the record. But he’s an absolute live wire next to Affleck. He sure looks the part as Batman, but whenever the cowl’s off, Affleck looks like he’s had too many shots of Novocain, and he’s stuffed so tightly into his outfits he looks like he must have just finished spooning down an entire tub of body-builder whey protein powder.

I love Amy Adams, but she’s wasted here, and her commiseration scene with Diane Lane had me wincing painfully. “Can we get back to Flash and Aquaman now?” You can always count on Batman to have some cool tech, and here we get a new flying troop carrier, as well as a kick-ass multi-legged tank called The Knightcrawler. Also, look fast for Mindhunter’s fantastic Holt McCallany in a rooftop scene with Batman.

Whatever happened with the script for Justice League, for me, it’s where most of the problems lie. It must have seemed like a great idea to use a Jack Kirby character for the villain (it sure worked in the recent Thor: Ragnarok), but the execution was deadly dull. The emphasis on channeling a more “Avengers” brand of camaraderie and humor is a welcome ingredient, but next time, maybe remember to put equal effort into making the bad guy more engaging as well – and we’re begging you: enough with the swarming CGI minions already. There’s just way too much CG in Justice League, and much of it’s sub-par. If you hated Batman v Superman, you’re probably going to like this one a little more, but this in no way measures up to the level of audience satisfaction we got from Wonder Woman.

There are two bonus scenes in the end credits – one I loved, and one I hated – hinting at even more generic villainy to come, and we really need to turn that ship around, and sail in the opposite direction.

Thor: Ragnarok and Roll!

Oh, but is Thor: Ragnarok a fun time at the movies. The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand and reinvent itself, and one of Marvel honcho’s Kevin Feige’s great talents is reliably choosing the right - and often unexpected - director. With Thor: Ragnarok, he surprised everyone with New Zealand director Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople), the choice was inspired, because Ragnarok is easily one of the funniest, most enjoyable of Marvel’s offerings, right up there with the Guardians of the Galaxy films.

Waititi lets you know right away this is going to a comedy, with some really deft delivery from Chris Hemsworth. Thor’s never been more enjoyable as a character. His realm of Asgard emperiled by the arrival of a sister he never knew he had – Hela, the Goddess of Death, delighting in sleek villainess mode – Thor finds himself stranded on a distant planet and cast into a gladiator arena where (as we’ve all seen) his surprise opponent is The Hulk! The reunion of these two makes up the most of Ragnarok’s reason for being, and it’s fantastic – and hilarious. In fact, Thor: Ragnarok is really a hysterical buddy-cop movie, with The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) getting more screen time - and more dialogue - than he's ever had before. There's really no explanation why the big guy is so much more verbal than he's been in the past, but Hulk and Thor make a satisfying Odd Couple that generates more laughs than just about any other picture this year. Word has it a very high percentage of the film's dialogue was improvised, which is easy to believe, as the humor always feels surprising and in the moment. In fact, the crowd-pleasing "He's a friend from work!" line came from a child on a Make-A-Wish visit, the day that scene was filmed. How fantastic is that?!

Particularly drool-worthy for comic fans is the film's design, which is massively influenced by the art of the great Jack Kirby. Giant demons, crowns, monsters and space vehicles all have a fantastically surreal and off-kilter otherness that screams Kirby, which only makes Ragnarok that much cooler. And if you need any more evidence of coolness, the movie even features Immigrant Song, by Led Zeppelin, who notoriously almost never license the use of their music.

The supporting cast is huge. I was surprised at the odd, smaller role Karl Urban takes on, as Hela's principle henchman - he's nearly unrecognizable - but he does a terrific job and makes the most of it. A completely unhinged Jeff Goldblum, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston - even voice work by the always amazing Clancy Brown! But two performers must be singled-out: Newcomer Tessa Thompson is charismatic, fierce, and hard-drinkingly hilarious as Valkyrie, an exiled defender of Asgard turned mercenary. She's definitely got the goods and has the wattage to easily hold her own with the likes of Ruffalo and Hemsworth. She'll be going places. And director Waititi nearly steals the picture as a rock-encrusted fellow gladiator, with a far lighter disposition than his appearance suggests. He adds yet another welcome layer of humor to a film that's already threatening to explode with fun antics. Thor: Ragnarok is a welcome and truly satisfying escape from the oppressive chaos of current reality.