I'll be honest. I was hoping for something that was cohesive, something that rocked the house like Wonder Woman...and it didn't happen. However, all is not lost. While the film had flaws--big ones--it was enjoyable enough for me to give it this reasonably high rating.
First, the bad news. The film is disjointed, as badly cut up as BvS's theatrical feature was. You can blame this on the writers or the studio executives or both; it doesn't matter. What matters is that the film looked like patchwork. I haven't seen the extended version--assuming that rumor is true--but it might be an improvement...might.
Point two is the lack of individual character buildup. I think most people know the origin stories of Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg, but here, they're reduced to a few lines of exposition to explain how they got that way. While Marvel did the smart thing, that being giving their superheroes their own origin flicks and then bringing all the heroes together, DC seems hellbent on just tossing in their heroes all at once. Bad strategy, IMO, and while it won't kill the franchise, it will limit them unless they change their thinking.
Now, to the good parts. The acting is excellent. Affleck is Batman and does a very credible Bruce Wayne, Jason Momoa reminds me of Randy "Macho Man" Savage--"ooooh, yeaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"--and Ezra Miller as Flash is appropriately geeky/goofy.
All Gal Gadot has to do is to smile, but she gets her part. She KNOWS what being Wonder Woman is all about. At turns tough and sweet, she IS Wonder Woman. Ray Fisher as Cyborg is quietly effective, and really, there are no slackers, acting-wise or relating-wise. They play off each other perfectly.
Ciaran Hinds as the voice of Steppenwolf is also good. His character has always been sort of two-dimensional, but Hinds does well with it.
The action sequences are dynamic, and the music (by Danny Elfman) is effectively retro, with riffs from the Flash TV series and also the Batman movies of the late '80's and early '90's. All of these good points were enough for me to give the film a rating of seven. I know the DC faithful were/are disappointed. I was, too, but the fun factor was there for me, as well as the thrill of seeing the superheroes of my youth team up. I can only hope JL 2 will be worth it. Time will tell.
First, the bad news. The film is disjointed, as badly cut up as BvS's theatrical feature was. You can blame this on the writers or the studio executives or both; it doesn't matter. What matters is that the film looked like patchwork. I haven't seen the extended version--assuming that rumor is true--but it might be an improvement...might.
Point two is the lack of individual character buildup. I think most people know the origin stories of Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg, but here, they're reduced to a few lines of exposition to explain how they got that way. While Marvel did the smart thing, that being giving their superheroes their own origin flicks and then bringing all the heroes together, DC seems hellbent on just tossing in their heroes all at once. Bad strategy, IMO, and while it won't kill the franchise, it will limit them unless they change their thinking.
Now, to the good parts. The acting is excellent. Affleck is Batman and does a very credible Bruce Wayne, Jason Momoa reminds me of Randy "Macho Man" Savage--"ooooh, yeaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"--and Ezra Miller as Flash is appropriately geeky/goofy.
All Gal Gadot has to do is to smile, but she gets her part. She KNOWS what being Wonder Woman is all about. At turns tough and sweet, she IS Wonder Woman. Ray Fisher as Cyborg is quietly effective, and really, there are no slackers, acting-wise or relating-wise. They play off each other perfectly.
Ciaran Hinds as the voice of Steppenwolf is also good. His character has always been sort of two-dimensional, but Hinds does well with it.
The action sequences are dynamic, and the music (by Danny Elfman) is effectively retro, with riffs from the Flash TV series and also the Batman movies of the late '80's and early '90's. All of these good points were enough for me to give the film a rating of seven. I know the DC faithful were/are disappointed. I was, too, but the fun factor was there for me, as well as the thrill of seeing the superheroes of my youth team up. I can only hope JL 2 will be worth it. Time will tell.