Superman: Man of Tomorrow is an American animated direct-to-video superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. It is the first film set in the second incarnation of the DC Animated Movie Universe and the thirty-ninth film in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies and was released on Digital on August 23, 2020 and on Blu-ray, DVD and set to be released on 4K Ultra HD on September 8, 2020.
Premise:
The film chronicles the early life of Clark Kent, before he became known as Superman.
Right off the bat, I have to say that I adore this new art style for these direct-to-video DC Comics animated films. At this point, I was growing sick of them rehashing the same animation style from Young Justice for roughly a dozen films at that point. In that regard, I found it refreshing to see a new art style being used here to kickstart this new animated continuity.
As for the narrative, they played things a little too safe for my taste and didn't change much from the traditional Superman origin story. That's fine for the most part, but on paper it comes off really boring at times.
Hear me out though. While I enjoyed the battles against Lobo and Martian Manhunter early on, I couldn't help but feel like everything in between was dragging along at a snail's pace. I wanted to get engaged with Lois Lane's budding career as a reporter while Clark Kent was coming up as the mere intern at the Daily Planet, but the film would have this stuff playing out as it normally should. Then things would be going on and on until I ultimately found myself not even caring for the majority of the plot until the third and final act.
Man of Tomorrow's Lois Lane.
It's a darn shame too as Ma and Pa Kent are very likable characters during Clark's tenure at home while he comes to grips of his Kryptonian origins. I wanted to like Lois Lane too, but she seemed to lose her hardened edge that she had when she debuts in the film to confront and expose Lex Luthor. She went from bad ass to borderline fangirling over Superman at one point. I get that she saw the guy naked after his battle with Lobo, but c'mon girl, get a grip. Call me biased to Dana Delany's Lois Lane from Superman: The Animated Series, but that Lois Lane, along with the one in the Justice League: WAR continuity (voiced by Rebecca Romijn), are tough acts to follow. Maybe she'll find her "voice" - even though I didn't have a problem with Alexandra Daddario's portrayal like most early reviews and reactions I saw online after the film streamed for free during DC Fandom - in time as this was her first canonical appearance in this new continuity. Lois Lane, much like Superman/Clark Kent, are younger and not as seasoned as their established counterparts. They still have time to grow into their iconic roles and personality traits that we know and love. I know that some people will find it being a knock against this film for portraying a less experienced Superman than we are used to, but after seeing the character broken down physically and mentally from the horrors done to him and the rest of the Justice League in Apokalips War, we deserved a more lighthearted narrative for the Man of Steel to remind us why we root for this character. Superman/Clark Kent, at his core, is just a good ol' Southern boy who wants to do good by his Ma and Pa. He wants to return the kindness and compassion that his parents instilled into him to those around the world, especially after coming to terms that he has the power to do so unlike anyone else.
If that was supposed to be Mercy Graves, then WTF is wrong with her goddamn face?
Zachary Quinto's Lex Luthor didn't get to shine until the film's last act, where Superman is forced to ask him for help in dealing with the threat of Parasite after he absorbed most of his powers. Luthor reveals that he has enlisted Lobo as an informant of sorts, who provides the information that Kryptonians like Kal-El are vulnerable to kryptonite. Naturally, Luthor uses this information to weaponize the kryptonite ring that Lobo used on Superman in their first encounter into a powerful energy rifle. Luthor's few scenes in this film were good, but much like a lot of characters in this film, left a lot to be desired. There was only a split second where I doubted that maybe Luthor would have a change of heart in this continuity and actually be Superman's ally, but that went out of the window the second that Lobo revealed what Superman's weakness was - firmly establishing him as the rat that Lois Lane exposed him as in the early moments of the film. I mean, damn, this film didn't give us any lee way to think otherwise about Lex Luthor. Even Rise of the Supermen and Justice League: Apokalips War gave Lex Luthor some semblance of humanity and had him opt to do the greater good for the sake of saving the planet rather than his own skin.
I could almost literally hear Superman shouting, "BIIIIIRRRRDDDDMANNN!!" when he would fly up to soak up the rays from the sun.
I couldn't help but laugh that this film acted like Superman instantly heals himself by standing in front of the sun's rays as if he's Birdman from the old Hanna-Barbara cartoons. Where the fuck did that come from? If that's a new age/modern take on his powers then that's news to me. I am familiar with the effect that solar radiation has onto his body and his unique Kryptonian cells and biology, but I didn't think the effect on his body was instantaneous like shown in this film.
Parasite sporting a design that I definitely wasn't used to seeing.
I'm sure someone will chime in but was Parasite always able to absorb energy as well in the comics and other mediums? That threw me for a goddamn loop for the first portion of their battle. I ended up reading up on the villain after this viewing and found out that he's always had that ability in the comics, just that it wasn't never exploited in Superman: The Animated Series or the rest of the DC Animated Universe to my knowledge. He didn't use that ability or the ability to transform into a more monstrous state after absorbing a wealth of life-energy. I know the biggest critique against the Justice League: WAR era of DC Animated films was the extreme violence, but we can't shy away without mentioning how gruesome Parasite's victims looked after he was done feeding off of their life-energy. Not a single one of his victims survived. Instead, they were rendered as lifeless husks. That was on the same vein of nightmare fuel as The Joker's toxin/laughing gas victims in Batman: The Animated Series. (Laughs) I'm just sayin'.
I doubt this is the first nor last time that we will see Lobo in this continuity.
I was surprised at the inclusion of Martian Manhunter and Lobo in this film, especially to say that this is the first film in this new movie universe. They aren't wasting any time whatsoever at establishing that everything is all connected and that's a GOOD thing. There's no reason to keep all of these heroes segregated to their own corners of the DC Universe when they are all moving pieces in it that can easily all operate at the same time. In that regard, I thought it was great idea to establish that Batman was already active and established while Superman was in the infancy of his heroism and exposing himself to humanity - in more ways than one. Lobo and Martian Manhunter's inclusion added to something I thought that the Supergirl TV series did well and portrayed the struggle of being an alien hiding on Earth well. Martian Manhunter dealt with the same thing Kal-El did but only saw the worst of humanity. He was fortunate to say hidden with his shape-shifting powers since he wasn't born with a similar appearance to humans like Kal-El. Lobo's arrival made humans perceive aliens as invaders seeking out nothing more to harm mankind, when there's good-natured aliens like Superman who wish to protect mankind against any and all threats to their well-being.
That contrasting opinion/public reception played into the film's climax, where Superman came face-to-face with the film's primary antagonist, Parasite - who was transformed into a Godzilla-sized monstrosity thanks to how much life-energy and raw energy as a whole that he has siphoned off his victims and throughout Metropolis. Despite all of the powers at Superman's disposal, brute strength couldn't defeat this foe. Instead, Superman allowed this creature to absorb his powers once more and appealed to his humanity, the man that he once was to see the error in his ways. Parasite absorbed Superman's sense of justice and righteousness along with the obligation he felt to do good for those around him. That was more than enough to force Parasite to sacrifice himself to save everyone from being wiped out from the potential overloading reactor by absorbing the raw energy into himself. The energy ended up being too much and reduced his body to dust to be scattered to the wind. I went into this thinking that Superman was going to have this back and forth slobber knocker with this foe after coming up with a means to prevent Parasite from stealing his powers, but instead, I found myself a little underwhelmed that this was a problem that wasn't solved by a Superman, but merely one resolved by a good man. I guess that's the lesson/moral of the story that this film is trying to teach its viewers. You don't need to be a Superman, you merely need to use the tools at your disposal to be a good man. That can save just as many lives, if not more.
Watch It or Don't Bother?
Everyone needs a helping hand every now and then.
For those anxious to see how this "reboot" of the DC Animated Movie universe is going to begin, it's a no-brainer to check this out. For everyone else, I honestly can't suggest going out of your way to check this out, especially when it was available FREE legally as part of DC Fandom last weekend. This isn't a very exciting movie, especially after the high stakes and action-heavy narrative of Apokalips War that preceded it, but to be honest, that's to be expected for anything that would follow-up that film to start this animated movie universe over anew. This film does plant the seeds for things to come as Batman already exists in this continuity and has been active for quite some time. Then Lobo left Superman and Martian Manhunter both with the information that they aren't the last of their kind. That was merely something he stated to sweeten his bounties on their alien races, so that leaves the door open for more Kryptonians (Supergirl, General Zod, etc.) and more Martians (Miss Martian?) to join this continuity down the road. Superman finds himself left with a twisted ally in the form of Lobo with his own brand of humor.
Daily Planet intern Clark Kent takes learning-on-the-job to new extremes when Lobo and Parasite set their sights on Metropolis in Superman: Man of Tomorrow, available later in summer 2020 on Digital, 4K, Blu-ray & DVD.
Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, DC and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Superman: Man of Tomorrow is the 41st film in the popular series of DC Universe Movies.
Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Darren Criss (Glee, American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace) and Emmy nominee Zachary Quinto (Star Trek franchise, Heroes) lead a star-studded cast as the voices of Superman/Clark Kent and Lex Luthor, respectively. The cast also includes Alexandra Daddario (San Andreas, Baywatch, All My Children) as Lois Lane, Brett Dalton (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as Parasite/Rudy Jones, Ryan Hurst (The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, Remember the Titans) as Lobo, Ike Amadi (Mass Effect 3, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge) as Martian Manhunter, Neil Flynn (The Middle, Scrubs) as Jonathan Kent, Bellamy Young (Scandal, Prodigal Son) as Martha Kent, Cristina Milizia (DC Super Hero Girls) as Maya, Petey & Kaylie, Eugene Byrd (Bones, LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures) as Ron Troupe, April Stewart (South Park) as Mrs. Ross, and Piotr Michael (The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle) as Perry White, as well as Cissy Jones (Firewatch) and David Chen (Gotham).
Chris Palmer (Voltron: Legendary Defender) is the director of Superman: Man of Tomorrow, utilizing a script by Tim Sheridan (The Death of Superman). Supervising Producer is Butch Lukic.
This is the first film to start the new continuity for completely rebooting the DC animated film continuity following Justice League Dark: Apokalips War. The biggest stand out for me is the complete shift in style in terms of animation for this film. If this is what they want to go with then that's completely fine with me. It definitely sticks out and distinguishes itself completely from everything before it from WB Animation, so it's appropriate to set the tone for this reboot. My biggest knock against the old animation style was that it looked too much like the style for Young Justice and made me think that those shows and the films were in the same continuity when they weren't in the least.
This seems like it's going to be a "proper" reintroduction to the Man of Steel that we need right now, despite the fact that I think that DC Comics should focus on their lesser known heroes right now over the Trinity. Then again, if you're going to restart your comics universe, you better start it off with Superman to get ball rolling properly.
The film was announced in July 2019 at San Diego Comic Con and was released on digital platforms on May 5, 2020 and scheduled to be released on 4K/Blu-ray/DVD on May 19, 2020, respectively.
Plot:
(** FULL Spoilers **)
Following two failed attempts to destroy Earth,[a]Darkseid and his Furies have conquered countless worlds. At the Watchtower, the Justice League, joined by new members John Constantine and his lover Zatanna, plan a counter-attack to Darkseid's conquest but unbeknownst to them, they are being watched by Darkseid through Cyborg. The League travel to Apokolips while the Teen Titans remain on Earth as a "home-guard". Upon arrival, the League are attacked by "Paradooms"; genetic hybrids of Parademons and Doomsday. Several heroes are killed during the attack while Darkseid dismantles Cyborg and replaces his parts with Apokoliptian technology, depowers Superman by injecting liquid kryptonite into his body, enslaves Batman into his mind control with the Mobius Chair, imprisons Barry Allen to eternally run on a treadmill powering the planet, and turns the remaining heroes into cybernetic Furies. Elsewhere, Zatanna is killed by Paradooms as John hesitantly flees back to Earth.
Two years later, Darkseid has successfully taken over Earth with Lex Luthor being a New God representative, reporting to Batman on progress of the devices called "Reapers" being sent to mine Earth's core. The surviving heroes blame Clark Kent, Superman's human identity, for their failure. Clark manages to stop a depressed Raven from stabbing herself while in search for John for a locator spell to track Damian Wayne, so that they can use him to free Batman. After locating Damian, Raven teleports the group there which severely weakens her due to her father Trigon's attempts to escape Raven's magical borne prison.[b] After recruiting Damian, they then teleport to Metropolis where Lois Lane has recruited former members of the Suicide Squad, now led by Harley Quinn following Amanda Waller's death from cancer.[c] With the team gathered, Lois plans to use the Boom Tube gate from LexCorp to return to Apokolips to free Batman after Darkseid leaves to conquer the planet Oa. At the building, they are confronted by Lex who reveals he was just working undercover. Lex then teleports Clark's team to Apokolips, while Lois, Lex and the Suicide Squad stay behind to guard the portal.
Having discovered Lex's betrayal, Batman informs Darkseid who sends his Furies to Apokolips while Batman sends Paradooms to LexCorp. On Apokolips, Clark's team finds Barry and breaks him free from the treadmill. John also sees into Barry's mind and discovers he was the one who caused the Flashpoint,[d] leading into the present-day's events. They then discover Cyborg also under Darkseid's mind control but are confronted by the Furies. John frees Diana using her Lasso of Truth, and she stays behind to fend off the Furies. He then performs a technopathic spell on Cyborg to free him as well just as Batman and Darkseid return. Darkseid orders Batman to kill Damian, but he hesitates after remembering the night his parents were killed and frees himself from Darkseid's control. However, when Darkseid retaliates by attempting to execute Batman, Damian attempts to shield his father and is killed instead. This angers Raven, which releases Trigon with John offering himself as a host, but the demon possesses Clark instead and kills John.
Back at LexCorp, Lois' team become surrounded by Paradooms. Before blowing up the building and sacrificing herself, Lois transmits a goodbye message to Apokolips. This triggers Clark to break free of Trigon's control and regain his powers. Meanwhile, John is briefly taken to the afterlife where Zatanna reveals that Batman wanted John as a backup plan should the original assault fail, she therefore made him flee using her magic in the beginning. Now free of his guilt for running, John is revived by Zatanna as Raven also revives Damian. Raven and John give Trigon his physical body back to fight Darkseid as a distraction. Cyborg teleports the Paradooms back to Apokolips and the heroes to Earth before creating a black hole that drags Darkseid, Trigon, and Apokolips into oblivion, sacrificing himself.
Despite their victory, Batman reveals that 31% of the Earth's molten core has been lost, dooming the planet as the Earth's rotation will be affected. To prevent this, John convinces Barry to erase this timeline and create a second Flashpoint, despite Barry's promise to his wife Iris to not do it again. As he does so, the heroes watch their timeline being reset while Damian and Raven kiss.
Just wow... I can't believe that this is "the end" or sorts after 15 films in this continuity.
For this film itself, it definitely lives up to it's dark namesake. There's a few articles floating around about plot holes with the narrative, but we can address that right off the bat.
SWAMP THING'S DEEP SLUMBER
After getting Alec Holland ripped out of his body in Justice League Dark, I was under the impression that Swamp Thing didn't give a flying fuck about humanity anymore. He was content to allow Darkseid's forces slaughter humanity to extinction as long as it meant that the green would be left to repair the planet whatever damage done to the planet without obstructions.
I could be wrong, but that's the impression I got from the writing here. Swamp Thing had to be coerced by Constantine's spell(s) to take action in defense of the Green.
CONSTANTINE'S SELECTIVE PORTALS
Constantine mentions early into the film that he doesn't have a wealth of magical artifacts to help him conjure up magical spells at his disposal anymore following the defeat of the Justice League to Darkseid's forces while he has been on the run during the two years that following. It was quick throwaway line in the middle of all of his wisecracking banter and sarcasm, so I can see why people missed that explanation. I was under the impression that magic takes a toll on him, much like it does for Raven, in the absence of mystical artifacts.
VIC'S CONVENIENT TELEPORTATION
Now that one I thought was pretty stupid. Between Batman and Vic (Cyborg), they were still both wired into Darkseid's mainframe and security systems, so they could have been able to get Lois and the Suicide Squad out of there before they met their untimely demises. During that entire scene, I was asking myself, "Vic's got time to put this phone call up on all of the monitors in Darkseid's crib, but not enough time to boomtube them out of there?" It was a lackluster ploy to give Superman the nudge he needed to break free from Trigon's control while simultaneously giving Superman another painful loss if he didn't have enough failures in this film.
BATMAN'S DROPPED CONNECTION
Now this I saw as Darkseid's connection/mind control wasn't as good as what he thought. Darkseid even mentions at one point that he even doubts how successful the process was. Damien even states that if anyone could break though Darkseid's control, it would be his father, especially after he was able to break Talia's own back in Batman: Bad Blood. Batman didn't have Brother Eye levels of control over the cyborg Furies and Cyborg like in Future's End, so I gave the writing a bit of a pass there in that regard. Plus, Batman was preoccupied with retrieving Darkseid from Oa.
A better question would be how in the world did Darkseid get possession of Metron's Mobius Chair anyway?
That was a tough moment too and this film doesn't hold back with the punches to the gut in the least. Those emotional blows come in relentlessly in this film, much like Darkseid's evisceration of the Justice League. I'm going to share a few more below.
The last stand of the Teen Titans made me go, "Oh shit..." watching it because the first thing you notice is Starfire ripped in half with her intestines littered across the ground. She obviously didn't stand a chance against the Paradooms. The rest of the Justice League didn't fare any better either.
John Stewart's death was next level fucked up though. I thought the Green Lantern Corps were going to rally together around him for one last stand, despite the fallen bodies of the Guardians laid across the battlefield.
At first, I was questioning the decision to make John Constantine the protagonist of this narrative, but by the time the story came to a close, he was the right man for the job. John Constantine, much like almost every TV show and animated feature film that he has been a part of, is a star in almost every scene he's in. Even after his show got cancelled, Matt Ryan continues to shine in that role of the character.
His journey in this narrative is a little odd at first until the reveal that his girlfriend, Zatanna, cast a spell upon him at the start of the film to act as a fail safe option (as per Batman's orders) if the attack on Darkseid went horribly wrong. I have seen people moan and complain that this was another example of comics "fridging" females to motivate male protagonists. It's a redundant trope, yes, but I was fine with it, especially given the fact that the death toll in this film is so high already. It wasn't like in Avengers: Endgame where Black Widow was the only one - outside of Tony Stark - who lost their lives in that film without any means to bring her back like everyone else who was lost during Infinity War. So many lives were lost in that film, not just females - but both genders - as a noble sacrifice in the HOPE that the remaining heroes could make a better future. As a result of Zatanna's spell, John Constantine made for the perfect trump card of sorts to turn this war around. It even became a joke by the end of the film where everyone was looking to him for all of the answers.
If I had any issue with John Constantine's role, it was the fact that Batman was the one who orchestrated this fail safe option, but he never mentioned it to Darkseid or planned accordingly as part of his regime. If that's not a glaring plot hole, I don't know what is in that case.
From start to finish, this story is structured to be Superman's greatest failure - moreso than Death of Superman and Rise of the Supermen. Superman loses literally everything - his teammates, his powers, thanks to that kryptonite injection from Darkseid, the planet that he's called home - Earth - after being overrun by Paradooms, and even loses the love of his life - Lois Lane - by the time it's all said and done. Even though Darkseid is defeated, there's nothing he can do to save Earth from utter destruction from the damage this war has wrought onto their reality. Darkseid took everything from him, despite regaining his powers in the film's last act.
The emotional dam came crumbling down and with it, Superman was unbound and unleashed in a sense against Darkseid. This fight took me back to the finale of Superman: The Animated Series, where Superman came to confront Darkseid on Apokalips after being manipulated as his brainwashed pawn against the people of Earth.
In the end, it wasn't enough to save the day. Only a fraction of the League is left - with very few without scars or horribly disfigured as cyborgs or monsters from their enslavement to Darkseid or from the horrifying battles themselves. Others are permanently dead and buried - never to walk this life ever again. It's a terrifying ending for this universe/continuity, especially with the real life pandemic going on. There's one sliver of hope though and it serves as the ultimate callback to the story, Flashpoint Paradox, that set this entire continuity into motion. Constantine urges The Flash to create another Flashpoint. He complies with this request, despite promising to Iris West to never do it again after the initial Flashpoint.
Every film in the DCAMU continuity in chronological order.
Off-topic: I had NO idea there was an one-off John Constantine film set in this continuity. I thought Justice League Dark was his first and only canonical appearance in this continuity to date, but oh well, that's something to check out.
In that moment, that's where this continuity ends for the 15 films that led up to this conclusion of this DC Animated Movie Universe with a blinding flash. It was poetic justice that this journey began and ended with The Flash. I'm sad to see this continuity end though as I thought there were some more stories that I would have liked to see this version of the Justice League tackle before closing the book. Even interviews with the minds behind this film said that they would have liked to do a few more stories in this continuity, but it was out of their hands at this point. At the same time, they said this doesn't mean that they couldn't revisit this continuity down the road. The current plans for DC animation in the future are a reboot of sorts, starting with Superman: Man of Tomorrow. That film will be based on the graphic novel of the same name, sporting a new art style to boot.
Is this better than Avengers: Endgame?
There's a lot of talk online after this film's release that it was the equivalent of Marvel Studios' live action blockbuster from last year and I'm heavily inclined to agree. Let's be honest here though. When it comes to live-action films, DC cannot hold a candle to Marvel in that regard, but when it comes to animation, DC beats them at almost any and all opportunities. There's been VERY few rare exceptions, such as X-Men: The Animated Series, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and The Spectacular Spider-Man, but for the most part, Marvel's animated endeavors are rarely looked back as fondly as those from DC. In regard to this film though, they've definitely knocked it out of the park with a home run.
DC got away scotch free with their use of the time travel paradox to "undo" everything as a soft reset button as viewers weren't left to see what were the repercussions of that final act. Instead, all of these deaths felt permanent and real. There weren't any Infinity Stones to undo everything at the snap of one's fingers and magically bring all of those lives back to life. Viewers were left with the shocking reality that these heroes were forever gone and scarred beyond repair. Well... That feeling was there until the revelation that The Flash was still alive and there wasn't an instant that I didn't doubt that they were going to send him back into the past to undo everything.
Hell, this was the closest to an Earth-2 Justice League (New 52) and Future's End animated adaptation that I could have asked for. Even looking back at the events of this film, I'm still stunned at how the writers showed no remorse in terms of how vicious and downright gruesome these deaths were. Surviving those horrors in this film wasn't a badge of honor it was just a stroke of luck as death was always around the corner in one way or another. Lady Shiva got killed by a stray bullet in the middle of the battlefield. Damien Wayne and the rest of his team didn't even have time to mourn her death before moving on to the next battle right around the corner. That just echoes the gravity of the situation that the Justice League (or what remained of it) was dealing with in volumes. While I enjoyed Avengers: Endgame for the most part more than most people, I can agree with the fact that the lives that were gone as a result of Thanos' snap NEVER felt like it was going to be permanent. We didn't see these characters get flat slaughtered and ripped apart like we saw here. It didn't feel real as hard as that to convey into words when none of these stuff is actually genuine, but real in the sense of compassion and personal attachments to these characters. The feeling sank in that these characters - at least these iterations of them - weren't EVER coming back in any capacity.
In that regard, that's what makes this a better "finale" of sorts in terms of an apocalyptic narrative when compared to Avengers: Endgame. DC did a masterful job of hammering home the finality of this narrative.
Watch It or Don't Bother?
While this might be a bit heavy for the faint of heart, I highly recommend this to those who have followed all fifteen films in this DC Animated Movie Universe continuity. This is the final chapter in that story (for now it seems anyway...) and quite the bombshell to end on. For everyone else though? I suggest you check out the other fifteen films in this continuity and deem for yourselves whether or not that this is something that you want to check out as it's definitely not for kids.
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War features the largest Super Hero cast in the history of DC Universe Movies with dozens of actors/characters spotlighted in a grand ensemble of talent reprising their roles from this six-year story continuum. Matt Ryan (Legends of Tomorrow, Constantine), Jerry O'Connell (Carter, Bravo's Play by Play, Stand by Me) and Taissa Farmiga (The Nun, The Mule, American Horror Story) anchor the cast as Constantine, Superman and Raven, respectively - the triumvirate determined to assemble the forces necessary to lead humanity's final attack.
Alongside that trio are the long-running core of Justice League voices -- Jason O'Mara (The Man in the High Castle, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as Batman, Rosario Dawson (Briar Patch, Daredevil, Sin City) as Wonder Woman, Shemar Moore (S.W.A.T., Criminal Minds) as Cyborg and Christopher Gorham (Covert Affairs, Insatiable, Ugly Betty) as The Flash - as well as JL-adjacents Rebecca Romijn (X-Men, The Librarians) and Rainn Wilson (The Office, The Meg) as the voices of Lois Lane and Lex Luthor, respectively.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will distribute the film on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital in Spring 2020.
This should be one hell of special with everyone from these DC direct-to-video specials from Justice League: WAR to everything that followed coming together to take down Darkseid.
With these animated features, DC rarely disappoints - the opposite reaction in terms of their track record in comparison to their live-action endeavors - so I'm not worried in the least on whether or not this isn't going to deliver. Count me in for sure whenever this drops in the Spring.
Check out the exclusive first trailer for Superman: Red Son, the new animated movie from WBHE, based on the classic 2003 Elseworlds comic. The new film features the voice talents of Jason Isaacs as Kal-El, Amy Acker as Lois Lane, Diedrich Bader as Lex Luthor, Phil Morris as James Olsen, Phil LaMarr as John Stewart, Vanessa Marshall as Wonder Woman, Sasha Roiz as Hal Jordan, Roger Craig Smith as Batman, Paul Williams as Brainiac and William Salyers as Joseph Stalin. Superman: Red Son will be released in early 2020.
Superman: Red Son was a DC Multiverse story that I was always intrigued by but never had the chance to read for myself. Glad to see that this is getting it's own animated film, much in the same vein as Batman: Gotham by Gaslight not too long ago.
This animated film is being billed as the first appearances of Jessica Cruz (Green Lantern) and Miss Martin in the Justice League Unlimited/DC Animated Universe continuity. Most of the original voice actors from that series return to reprise the roles of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman respectively - Kevin Conroy, George Newborn, and Susan Eisenberg.
The film's synopsis is as follows: "The Justice League battles the Fatal Five, (Tharok, Emerald Empress, Validus, Mano and the Persuader). Based on the characters created by Jim Shooter."
While I'm not too crazy about the Legion of Superheroes from the future, I'm intrigued to see that we're getting more Justice League Unlimited in some capacity here. That is LONG overdue, despite their efforts to do something similar with Justice League Action! which got cancelled before it even picked up any steam.
The film was announced in October 2014 with Snyder on board to direct and Terrio attached to write the script. Initially announced as Justice League Part One, with a second part to follow in 2019, the second film was indefinitely delayed to accommodate a standalone Batman film with Affleck. Principal photography commenced in April 2016 and ended in October 2016. Snyder then hired Joss Whedon to write scenes that would be filmed during reshoots; however, Snyder left the project in May 2017 following the death of his daughter.
Whedon was hired to oversee the remainder of post-production, including directing additional scenes written by himself. Snyder received sole director credit for the film, with Whedon receiving a screenplay credit in post. With an estimated production budget of $300 million, it is one of the most expensive films ever made. Justice League premiered in Beijing on October 26, 2017, and was released in the United States in 2D, 3D and IMAX on November 17, 2017.
Thousands of years ago, Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons attempt to conquer and remake Earth through the combined energies of the Mother Boxes. They are foiled by a unified army that included the Olympian Gods, Amazons, Atlanteans, ancient humans, and Green Lanterns. After repelling Steppenwolf's army, the Mother Boxes are separated and hidden in locations around the world.
In the present, the death of Superman triggers the Mother Boxes to activate, resulting in Steppenwolf's return to Earth in an effort to regain favor with his master, Darkseid. Steppenwolf manages to retrieve the Mother Box from Themyscira, prompting Queen Hippolytato warn her daughter, Diana Prince, of Steppenwolf's return. Diana joins Bruce Wayne in his attempt to unite the other metahumans, with Wayne going after Arthur Curry and Barry Allen, while Diana tries to locate Victor Stone. The two of them fail to persuade Curry and Stone, but manage to recruit Allen onto the team. Stone later joins the group after his father Silas is kidnapped, along with several other S.T.A.R. Labs employees, by Steppenwolf who is looking for the box left with mankind.
Meanwhile, Steppenwolf attacks Atlantis to retrieve the second Mother Box, forcing Curry to decide to take action. The team receives intel from Commissioner James Gordon that the Parademons are traveling underground, and conclude that Steppenwolf's army is based in an abandoned facility. Although the group manages to rescue the kidnapped employees, the facility is flooded during combat, which traps the team until Curry helps delay the flood so they can escape. Stone retrieves the last Mother Box, which he had hidden, for the group to analyze. Wayne decides to use the Mother Box to resurrect Superman, not only to help them fight Steppenwolf's army, but also to restore hope in humanity. Prince and Curry are hesitant about the idea, but Wayne forms a secret contingency plan in case Superman returns as a nemesis.
Clark Kent's body is exhumed and placed in the incubation waters of the Kryptonian ship alongside the Mother Box, which activates with Allen's help and successfully resurrects Superman. However, Superman's memories have not returned, and he attacks the group after Stone accidentally launches a projectile at him. On the verge of being killed by Superman, Batman enacts his contingency plan: Lois Lane. Superman calms down and leaves with Lois to his family home where he reflects and tries to recover his memories. With the last Mother Box unguarded, Steppenwolf retrieves it with ease.
Without Superman to aid them, the remaining five heroes travel to a village in Russia where Steppenwolf plans to unite the boxes once again and reshape the world. The team fight their way through the Parademons to reach Steppenwolf, although they are unable to distract him enough for Stone to separate the boxes. Superman arrives and assists Allen in evacuating the city, as well as Stone in separating the Mother Boxes. The united heroes manage to defeat Steppenwolf, who, overcome with fear, is attacked by his own Parademons, before they all teleport away.
In the aftermath of the battle, Wayne decides to rebuild Wayne Manor as a base of operations for the team and he and Diana agree that more heroes could join. Diana steps back into the public spotlight as a hero; Allen manages to acquire a job in Central City's police department; Stone continues to explore and enhance his abilities with his father in S.T.A.R. Labs; Curry returns to Atlantis; and Clark resumes his role as Superman. In a post-credits scene, Lex Luthor has escaped from prison and recruits Slade Wilson to form their own league.
The Verdict:
Casting
Much like I said in my review of Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot won me over as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. She continued to shine in the role here, but I still feel that it wouldn't hurt her to put some meat on her bones and actually build some muscle mass for this role in follow-up appearances. She continues to breathe into this character and was essentially the heart and soul of this team.
Ezra Miller was no Grant Gustin, but he played the part of The Flash/Barry Allen well enough here. I thought the character was a bit too much of a goof for my taste, but it could have been a lot worse. At the end of the day, Miller served his purpose for Flash's role on this team in this film - he was just there for comic relief.
Jason Momoa practically bored me as much as Roman Reigns on a typical episode of WWE programming. Momoa's performance was pretty much channeling Aquaman as a college frat boy with a chip on his shoulder since he's too afraid to open up about his own personal insecurities. I have to be honest, I wasn't expecting much from Momoa nor Aquaman as a standout character in this film, so I'm not disappointed in the least here.
Ray Fisher pretty much sold me with his performance of Cyborg here. He could shift between completely robotic with his expressions and delivery while other times showing compassion and raw emotion to convey that inner turmoil that Victor Stone was struggling with to maintain his humanity as he is primarily more machine than man now since his origins were shared in that video that Diana and Batman uncovered in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Ben Affleck was hit or miss here as Batman but that's completely not his fault. This script was designed with nearly nothing for Batman could identify with outside of his desire to put this team together out of respect to Superman's memory and the morals that he represents. If anything, Affleck definitely had Batman's self-sacrifice/martyr characteristics down though. For the most part, he's just coasting on what worked for him in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Henry Cavill is essentially Superman to the tee. I haven't had a problem with his performances since he started off back in Man of Steel. How can you not look at him in costume and get chills from the pending nerdgasm of this perfect casting for this character?
Oh please... Lois has been "thirsty" for Clark since Man of Steel. That was the biggest ball buster in this film outside of Batman's crack at Wonder Woman later on.
Amy Adams and Diane Lane reprise their roles as Lois Lane and Martha Kent. They've been around for three films now, so if you don't like them in these parts then that's really your own personal problem. If I could critique anything about Diane Lane's performance is that she had like no emotion in dealing with her adopted son's death. She remedied that later in the film when they were reunited, but Amy Adams was playing up the role of being emotionally wrecked by Clark Kent/Superman's demise. That's another thing that could be blamed on this film's script more than the actors though.
J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon wasn't much to write home about as his performance was to be expected. Much like a lot of the minor characters in this film, he wasn't around long enough to warrant a strong opinion of him either way. To be honest, I hope he sticks around as the character, even though I wouldn't be opposed to him coming back to the Marvel side of things to reprise the role of J. Jonah Jameson in a future Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel.
I wish we got a better look of Heard as Mera in full color instead of this washed out gray looking shit.
Amber Heard as Mera was pretty much non-existent in this film, despite having like one appearance in this film. I wish we could have seen her in costume on land at least once here instead of in those muddy looking waters.
Narrative
The first "act" of this film follows Batman and Wonder Woman's exploits as they recruit Aquaman, The Flash, and Cyborg to their cause as Steppenwolf goes on his rampage - attacking the Amazons in Themyscira and Atlantis for the Mother Boxes that have been safeguarded in those locations.
The film opens with an excellent showcase of Wonder Woman's abilities in full display - hot off the heels of the success of her solo film from earlier this year. My only gripe here was how silly they made her look when it looked like she was crawling on her knees blocking the bullets from the crowd innocent bystanders. At the same time, was it just me or did they made that scene play out a bit too much like Nolan's introduction to The Dark Knight?
In terms of action, I think the sequence with Steppenwolf attacking the Amazons for the Mother Box hidden away in Themyscira was the best action sequence in the entire movie to be quite honest. I wanted more action like this from the Amazons in Diana's solo film earlier this year and now I see why they were holding back as they were planning this sequence. What pisses me off though? The Amazons get a cool sequence like this but they are nowhere to be found when the shit hits the fan when Steppenwolf gets all three of the Mother Boxes and Diana clearly informs the League members about how destructive that his forces were in ancient times that it required the Gods themselves to unite with all of the races of man to challenge Steppenwolf. C'mon, it wouldn't have taken away from the Justice League's moment to shine here if the Amazons and Atlantians got involved in the final battle.
Speaking of the Atlantians, they got the shaft in terms of establishing their race in this film. The Amazons showed off their presence in full force to oppose Steppenwolf while it was merely Mera and Aquaman defending the Mother Box in Atlantis. C'mon, how fucking stupid was that to have merely TWO fucking people to defend that thing when everyone knows how important that thing is supposed to be?
Diana's recap of the history of heroes opposing Steppenwolf in the past was pretty bad ass. I was bummed out that we didn't get a clear clue on who all of those people were, outside of the obvious reference to the Green Lantern Corps and the Gods of Olympus. No lie, I thought Zeus was Shazam (the wizard, not the kid) at one point.
The second act of this film follows the League after they epic failed to stop Steppenwolf during their first run-in with this film's major antagonist as Batman decides to use the remaining Mother Box from Star Labs (combined with the Genesis Chamber in the Kryptonian ship from Man of Steel that somehow has the worst security in the known universe) to revive Superman.
On paper this isn't a bad idea and I could see both sides of the argument. Diana was concerned that they would be disgracing Kal-El's memory (on top of possibly creating another mindless monster like Lex Luthor created with Doomsday) and sacrifice while Batman was only concerned with having a big gun to stop Steppenwolf while at the same time, remedying the mistake he made by allowing Superman to die in the first place.
In retrospect, we got my personal favorite moment out of the entire film when Batman points out as clear as day my biggest issue with Wonder Woman after seeing her in both Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and getting her backstory in her solo film - she's a fucking hypocrite. She sports off about love for mankind and she was in hiding for all of that time after her boyfriend (Steve Trevor FYI) died. That wasn't what he asked her to do in sake of his memory at all. No, she sat on the sidelines until she saw what was going down in the climax of Batman v. Superman and just randomly decided to help out. She probably would have stayed in hiding if Lex Luthor didn't find that photo that was so precious to her and Batman clearly called her out on her bullshit. I applauded that moment in the early screening in the movie theater.
Push came to shove (that ends up being an one-sided affair with Diana's strength advantage) and they wind up being able to successfully revive Superman. He's confused from his revival and doesn't recognize the members of the Justice League as they stand by to welcome him back. Cyborg's cybernetic parts malfunction due to interfacing with the Kryptonian ship and it causes him to attack Superman. Superman immediately goes on offense and begins attacking the members of the League. Cyborg and Aquaman are dispatched in a promptly manner, while not even The Flash is able to escape his wrath. I thought The Flash's Speed Force effects were a great visual in this film and this sequence was a nice treat to behold with his powers on full display. The slow-motion combined with the visual effects when Superman was following The Flash's movements made that moment even more bone-chilling as Superman was presented here as a much more threatening villain than Steppenwolf was in this entire film - outside of maybe his attack on Themyscira, but still. Wonder Woman held her own against Superman briefly until he literally headbutts her into submission. After all of this transpires, Batman finally decides to confront Superman, leading to an inverse of their encounter in Batman v. Superman with Superman asking, "Do you bleed?" When it looks like Superman is about to kill Batman, Lois Lane shows up to calm down the Incredible Hulk and make him change back into Bruce Banner... err talk sense into Kal-El and snap him to his senses. The duo fly back home to Smallville while the League are left to lick their wounds.
It's at this point where the plot seems to get muddled with a lot of odd camera cuts leading up to the final battle as the League confronts Steppenwolf. The League argues about how their plan to revive Superman has "failed" in a sense and how they will deal with Steppenwolf on their own while Superman spends time with Lois Lane back in Smallville on the Kent farm reminiscing about the past. These awkward cuts make it seem like that Superman gets his bearings back on his own with little input from Lois Lane, but she breaks down that she failed to move on and stay strong in his absence.
Here's my problem with all of this. They resolved the issue with "evil" Superman far too easily. It would have been a pleasant surprise that they pulled a page from Superman: The Animated Series' series finale and just used a mentally confused Superman to wreck havoc on Earth as Darkseid or Steppenwolf's pawn here. This way, you could have a stronger finale as this rogue Superman could pose a much bigger threat to the League than how Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons did here. Then again, my issue with Batman v. Superman was that they tied Lois Lane far too much into the plot, especially during the climax, so it was a good thing that we didn't get that here. Save the Lois Lane dilemma for Man of Steel 2.
Batman's core plan for dealing with Steppenwolf involves him being bait for the Parademons while the rest of the League go directly for Steppenwolf and to separate the Mother Boxes. What ends up happening that Batman's plan to become martyr doesn't pan out at all as the League joins in to save his ass. This is essentially the exact same sequence we've seen from all of the trailers up to this point that is done in poorly rendered CGI and green screen. What's even sillier about Batman's plan is that Alfred is on-board with this strategy to aid him in killing himself in what seems like a suicide mission. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised... Alfred assisted Bruce Wayne/Batman in developing all of the technology that he was going to use to kill Superman with in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice too.
Cyborg goes to hack into the three Mother Boxes to separate the alien technology while Aquaman and Wonder Woman fight a losing battle against Steppenwolf. The Flash is sent off to evacuate the civilians in the surrounding area . It was rather ironic that they had him do this, given the critiques on WB/DC's lack of responsibility for the destruction that their heroes caused in the wake of the events in Man of Steel, as well as in Batman v. Superman's finale. When it was looking like all hope was lost as Steppenwolf was wiping the floor with the League, especially with Aquaman (armed with his big dinner fork that served no other purpose here...) and Wonder Woman, Superman shows up to save the day in epic fashion. He makes Steppenwolf look pathetic in comparison to the members of the League that he has been toying with up to this point (not to mention that he pulled apart Cyborg just like Megatron did to Jazz in the original Transformers live-action Michael Bay film) AND he manages to save more civilians than The Flash. What was the point of all of this? Just to make the League look like an entourage of losers?
I've read various reviews and watched reaction videos to this film whereas people made excuses for Steppenwolf being a lackluster villain when he wasn't much to write home about in the comics continuity either, but that never stopped the DC Animated Universe from taking chicken shit and turning it into chicken salad. Think about how bland of a character Mr. Freeze was prior to Batman: The Animated Series and how that series made him into one of Batman's iconic tragic villains. The DC Extended Universe is still pretty much a blank stale, so they can't use this shallow excuse that they are tied to the comics continuity when they've already distanced themselves from most of those iterations from most of these films to date. Steppenwolf merely needed some stronger motivations to his plans, such as uniting the Mother Boxes would have been a beacon to summon Darkseid (who was surprisingly absent from this film entirely) to Earth to conquer it instead of merely was just another forgetful, generic world domination plot device. Imagine that moment if Darkseid stepped out of a Boom Tube, ready to conquer Earth, and Superman made his grand return then and there to knock him right back in there as the League united to save the day to force his armies to retreat. That would have made for the perfect epic climax for this film.
After the heroes save the day, we're treated with a montage of what's to come in a sense. Batman is ready to tackle his next case in Gotham City. Before that, Bruce Wayne . The Flash/Barry Allen visits his father in prison to inform him that he got accepted for a job on the local police force in Central City.
Zack Snyder's Omissions/Deleted & Altered Content
The following information can be found in depth here.
These scenes were done before the re shoots and were only shown to WB Executives aka idiots who don’t appreciate art.
LONGER: Began with Bruce recruiting Aquaman. It was basically the same scene as I saw in the theatrical version this weekend. However, some lines were added by Whedon and some Zack bits were cut. Aquaman was originally more resilient and shut-off to Bruce here.
DELETED: Barry Allen visits the library because he knows that Iris West is there. He tries to talk to her but fumbles and blushes. He mentions that “he might go and see his Dad today”. Iris likes his awkwardness but doesn’t think he’s all that special. We see Barry breaking the window with his finger to kind-of impress Iris (our FIRST look at his powers). When everyone and Iris are surprised at this window breaking, Barry just says “weak glass” and walks out.
LONGER: History Lesson. But just by some bits. What I was most surprised by was that WB cut out dialogue by the Green Lantern, Zeus and even Ares (Yes, he was there too). They had a couple of lines each. As did Robin Wright and Hippolyta. They just kept the action in and clicked out all dialogue, I guess.
DELETED: After taking the Mother Box from Themiscyra, Steppenwolf actually “talks” to the Box. His mother, Heggra’s essence is alive in the Mother Boxes and bringing them all together would unleash her powers – finally giving Steppenwolf an edge over his uncle – Darkseid. That is what his plan was originally. I thought for sure that they would keep this scene in because they used a dialogue from this scene in the trailers – “No protectors here. No Lanterns. This world will fall. You will be free, mother.”
DELETED – Cyborg’s previous life. He plays a great football match that his MOTHER (Yes, she was cast as well) attends. Afterwards, they drive home. Victor is angry that his Dad never made it while his mother tries to console him. Victor just keeps getting angry and lashing out, loses control of the car – causing a fiery crash.
LONGER – The Gordon scene had a little setup that I didn’t see in the theatrical version. Gordon dismisses a Junkie and tells him to “get better at life” before another cop comes to him with drawings of Parademons. His conversation with the League also ran longer. First, he asks Wonder Woman “if she’s the same woman he keeps seeing reports of in London”. Then, he asks Cyborg “how does he eat? Does he even need to?”.
DELETED: After the attack on Atlantis, Aquaman consults with Mera and Vulko over what he should do next. Mera wants him to stay as King because she “doesn’t trust Orm”. Vulko wants him to do what his heart says. Aquaman confesses that he feels a responsinility to help the people on Earth.
DELETED: The League visits the Batcave. Alfred has humorous reactions to the League. Bruce Wayne talks about a “nightmare” he had. He believes that Steppenwolf will try and resurrect the power of Superman and “that they must do it first unless they want to fight an Evil Kryptonian too.”
CHANGED: Superman’s resurrection was ONLY possible because Cyborg detects foreign genetic material in his DNA a.k.a the Codex. This is the final confirmation needed that Superman can be brought back to life after all. Then, the revival happens pretty much the same.
DELETED: Deathstroke breaks Lex out of prison. They part ways because the cops are hot on their trail – deciding to meet up later at “the location they discussed”.
DELETED: Kent Farm. Superman brings Lois here. however, he is still very confused and not knowing what’s happening. Bystanders are looking at him and clicking his photos. This confuses him further and he actually tries to attack the civilians with his laser-eyes before Lois manages to calm him down. Superman tells her that “the voices won’t shut up”. Later, Martha shows up here and Clark and Lois are already inside the house. Clark is calmer now but still very confused – his powers are going haywire and his senses are heightened. Martha gives the “Picture the world as an Island. Follow my voice and come back to me” speech from MoS. It seems to calm him down. Later, Clark is wearing his shirt when he sees Pa Kent (Yes, Costner was here too) out in the fields. He goes out to see him. Pa Kent talks about “embracing who you really are”. He tells Clark that “you have to make peace with who you are. You have the power to change the world and you can do that as anyone, good character or bad.” Clark finally embraces Superman as a part of him when Lois walks out. Clark confirms their engagement, Lois breaks down because she wasn’t strong enough. Then, Martha comes out too as Clark decides to help the League and flies off. That’s how it happened in my version. I may have paraphrased some dialogue but that was basically it.
DELETED: Clark heads up to meet Alfred and get his suit.
DELETED: Steppenwolf’s second conversation with Heggra. Now that he has all three Mother Boxes – her return to this world can begin.
CHANGED: Bruce’s conversation with Diana after Superman returns. Diana comes in to pop Bruce’s shoulder and tend to his injuries. Bruce reveals that he is willing to die to save the world. In fact, he says “he deserves to die because of what he’s done. He’s killed people and nothing, not even his hate for Superman can justify killing like that”. Diana tells him that “he’s changed now” but Bruce remains adamant that he can only atone himself by sacrificing his life.
CHANGED: Bruce’s Batmobile is headed to certain death during the finale when Wonder Woman and Aquaman interfere and save his life. They tell him that dying in battle won’t do anything and he must live to keep the fight going.
ALTERNATE ENDING WE WERE SHOWN: Cyborg tries to separate the Mother Boxes while Heggra keeps trying to talk him away. Furious, Steppenwolf grabs him and rips him apart – essentially killing him.
CHANGED: Superman joins the fight and teams up with the League to defeat Steppenwolf. However, at one point, Steppy tries to tempt Superman into joining his army and we see Darksied (for the first time) in Superman’s vision and we see flashes of the Knightmare footage. However, Superman SNAPS back from it and delivers the final blow to Steppy, defeating him.
DELETED: Steppenwolf is killed by Darkseid on Apokolips. Darkseid intends to come to Earth to “meet the Kryptonian”.
DELETED: Aquaman meets Mera off the village coast and agrees to come back. Barry steps into the library, Iris smiles at him cutely.
DELETED: Bruce and Barry place Victor’s “body” in the Batcave. Bruce comments that “his organic tissue is dead but it may be possible to reignite his mechanical parts”. Barry promises to help however he can.
DELETED: Lois introduces Perry White to “Clark Kent a.k.a Superman“.
The original after credit scene that was shot in principal photography was Bruce being woken in the night in his lake house by a green light and being visited by Tomar Re and Kilowog. It was cut fairly early on during post.
Final Thoughts
I beg to differ, because you ass-clowns wouldn't have saved shit if Superman didn't pull all of your asses out of the fire at the end of the film.
I'm going to try to wrap this up short and sweet, but I want to cover a few things that I didn't mention above.
Let's start with Wonder Woman. I've seen the angry feminists complain on social media about a male director doesn't need to handle her character again all because of the single joke with The Flash falling onto her breasts and the occasional shot of her ass (Marvel does this subtly ALL the time with their female characters but not many people tend to put this under red tape), along with the constant reminders of her ties to Steve Trevor. In the film's defense, I can't knock them for that as it's pointing at how stupid Diana's inclusion in Batman v. Superman was. It was as silly as Yoda putting himself into exile at the end of Star Wars prequels until Empire Strikes Back. Your boyfriend dies and you're hiding from the world for over a century even though you come from an isle of female warriors who haven't needed a man for anything for centuries? C'mon, I thought it was stupid in BvSAND in her own solo movie earlier this year.
There's some outcry about sexist costumes for the Amazons in this film (right) compared to the conservative look from Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman (left). I'm a guy but I just saw it as Snyder venting some of those 300 influences for the ladies here when they had their massive moment to shine here since he didn't get to work on their initial appearance in the DCEU.
Then we had people mad that Diana wasn't able to hold her own against Superman. Get the fuck over it. Hulk isn't able to pick up Thor's hammer and not the fuck out of him with it like in Ultimate Avengers in MCU, so WB/DC are welcome to have just as much freedom here in establishing their heroes' power levels. What I think what people were expecting from Wonder Woman here would be a hardened woman who has no conviction for the lack of compassion from mankind from their endless conflicts and war among themselves (Susan Eisenberg's Wonder Woman in Justice League Unlimited in the DCAU coped with this as that series waned on, but started off naive and innocent too) but merely aligns with these other men to complete the task at hand. No, she's still in mourning. She still hasn't completely accepted coming back into the spotlight as a hero, but she was inspired by Superman's sacrifice - much like Steve Trevor's that she witnessed years prior. That's the thing that I notice that people don't understand about her here. Batman's line to her really resonated with me as it simultaneously points this out while admitting that she's been silly to merely sit back on the backseat when she should be leading them in Superman's absence.
By the end of this movie, I was SOOOO sick of seeing her do this shit.
Can anyone explain to me why did she keep doing this shit for like a dozen times in this film? It never was explained properly what that shit is supposed to be outside of "channeling her full potential" in her solo film. It's to the point of just looking stupid to me now.
Out of all of the new heroes that were introduced here, Cyborg shine through the most as his scenes weren't cut out nor revised at all. From Ray Fisher's performance here, I'm really looking forward to what they do with his upcoming solo film. That being said, Cyborg's appearance looked horrible in full CGI when he wasn't wearing the hoodie/track suit. They revised his appearance in the last moments of the film, but it was too late at that point.
While we're on the topic of bad CGI, let's not forget Henry Cavill's mustache being removed in select scenes...
From the money they wasted on CGI for Cavill's mustache, they could have spent that on better CGI on Steppenwolf as a whole.
That brings up a major problem with this film. There's so much green screened (read: computer generated imagery) scenes in this film that you can easily search online from shots with the cast and they joking around between cuts of these sequences. After Josh Whedon jumped on board after Zack Snyder's departure, you would think he would have given WB/DC some pointers on how to not make your superhero film look fake as all hell. That was a massive issue I had with Wonder Woman's final act earlier this year and you look at the last act of this film and tell that they haven't learned a damn thing. Would it have killed them to find someone to do motion capture for Steppenwolf or merely dress someone up to look like that hulking beast?
I felt sorry for Erza Miller's The Flash and Jason Momoa's Aquaman. They really didn't have much to sink their teeth into that either wasn't already seen in the numerous trailers or what wasn't cut out of the final cut of the theatrical release of this film that was seen in theaters this past premiere weekend. I feel the same way as I did previously about Aquaman's pending solo film - I'll probably go see it just for more Amber Heard as Mera and to see how much of a dumpster fire it would end up being. Sue me, I have morbid curiosity when it comes to stuff like this. With Flash's film, I'm a little optimistic, but I'm still not too keen on those rumors about his initial solo film will be an adaptation/twist on the Flashpoint storyline. Good grief, DCEU are blowing their loads faster than The CW on that one...
Speaking of blowing their loads... I mentioned it back when Batman v. Superman came out and I'm going to mention it here too. WB/DC wasted the Death and Return of Superman storyline in two movies with a lackluster, minimalist effort to it. So now what? What's next for Superman? You already proved that he could be killed and brought back to life. There's no drama or suspense for future outings as proven here. Superman is back as the top of the status quo. He's the indestructible wall that no other superpower than topple.
Well, that could be challenged with Lex Luthor and Deathstroke's pending "league of their own" that was teased in the post-credits teaser. Before we go into that discussion, let's talk about how Deathstroke looked in costume...
Whoever told him to put that baby powder in his hair and beard to look old needs to be slapped IMO.
Why the FUCK did he take the helmet off? I was completely fine with his costume from head to toe (shits all over his look in CW's Arrow IMO), but the second he took the helmet off, I wanted to slap him and whoever told him to put that baby powder in his hair and beard to look "old". Look, Slade in the comics currently isn't old anymore (had his youth restored FYI) so there wasn't any reason to make him look this old like his traditional look.
So yeah... Lex escaped out of jail and meets with Deathstroke to discuss their own plans of recruiting members for their own league of villains to oppose the Justice League. Tumblr's already buzzing with possible members for this iteration of the Legion of Doom.
God, I honestly hope this isn't what they have in mind...
If I were to guess on members, Ocean Master, The Joker, Lex Luthor, Deathstroke, Reverse Flash, and possibly Cheetah or Sinestro if they plan on either releasing that Wonder Woman sequel or the rumored Green Lantern Corps film before Justice League 2.
In either case, WB/DC actually have the edge over Marvel Studios in doing something that hasn't been done before in these live-action films. Marvel tends to kill off their titular villains at every opportunity so they can't do their equivalent of the Legion of Doom in a future Avengers film with the Masters of Evil - at least not anytime soon without any retooling of their universe up to this point. The ball is going to be in WB/DC's court to for this revelation to be worth waiting for.
Watch It or Don't Bother?
(Laughs) I had to use those images to end this review. Pretty much sums this up in a nutshell. I humbly suggest that you guys actually go check this out. Justice League isn't a bad film. Hot off the heels of the "success" of Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman from earlier this year, they had to play it safe with this one. Nothing you've seen here is going to surprise you nor completely blow you away. You know the formula by now: a set of heroes come together for a common good to save the world. Fortunately, this is a film that acts as more damage control following the failures of Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad as WB/DC seeks to keep the DC Extended Universe afloat. It's a lighter tone, much like was presented with Wonder Woman with a lot of laughs and moments that will make fans (old and new) smile, but you're definitely going to walk away wanting more by the time it's all said and done - even though you've already seen roughly 75% of this film from the trailers alone.
I walked away from this film moderately satisfied for two reasons: 1) I didn't pay to see this with my own money, thanks to my gift cards. 2) I didn't go into this with high expectations to begin with so I wasn't neither disappointed nor blown away with what I have seen. There's a lot of room for improvement here, but it's nowhere as the epic failure that was Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Given from how much content was removed from the theatrical release after Snyder's departure, I hope we're treated to the cut of this film from his vision to see how this film would have played out in that form without all of these alterations. WB/DC has a long way to go to have viewers truly in their favor after their initial shortcomings, but with the success of Wonder Woman and the direction they went here, I'm mildly optimistic that the DC Extended Universe could improve for the better in due time.
