When an alien invasion, led by the sinister Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds in a motion capture performance), seems imminent, Batman (Ben Affleck) recruits the world's heroes to stop it. He seeks out Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher), but their combined power may not be enough, and they realize the one missing factor that could turn the tide of battle: the recently deceased Superman (Henry Cavill).
This was another tortured production, with director Zack Snyder leaving the project either due to a death in the family or by the studio's insistence, depending on the source. Joss Whedon was brought on to finish the movie and ended up reshooting some earlier scenes. The final product seems rushed, under cooked, and dreadfully overloaded with too much unnecessary CGI effects. The common weakness in many of these superhero movies is the villain, and this is yet another example of that. The character is fully CGI and looks it, and it's difficult to feel menace from a cartoon in a non-animated movie. And the worst part is, it wasn't even needed, as the character was a normal human-looking person in the comic books, and the actor hired to basically just provide the voice, Ciaran Hinds, is a very good actor and would have been fine without the CGI embellishment. Another glaring visual flaw lies in Superman's mouth. Since the shoot ran over, Superman actor Henry Cavill was contractually obligated to start his filming on the upcoming Mission: Impossible film, a role that requires him to grow a bushy mustache. When he had to come back for reshoots on Justice League, the producers decided to just CGI out his mustache, with the end result a laughable, often deformed upper lip.
On the plus side, Ezra Miller is amusing as The Flash, Gal Gadot continues to look great as Wonder Woman, and Momoa makes for an interesting twist on Aquaman, who is nothing like his comic book counterpart. Many of the acting heavy-hitters, including Amy Adams, Diane Lane, and Jeremy Irons, are just cameo window dressing.
