Justice League Review - In Serving Justice, The Film Falters.

I walked in to DC’s latest money-maker (or the opposite, if the box office reports are right) expecting nothing. I went with an avid, hawk-eyed reader of the comics who could spot the so-called ‘easter eggs’ that make comic buffs feel hotter than a fangirl at a One Direction concert. Yet, I, being an INDIAN critic could only term the film ‘masala’ as it was no less mind-blowingly logic defying than those films that fall under the masala genre (yes, it was full Jai-Ali in Dhoom 3 action). DC’s Justice League is quite the opposite of its title – not doing justice to the immense work and IMMENSE 300 million USD budget that went into it.

But I digress. The film takes place shortly after the happenings of the DEPLORABLE Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Batman is grieving because his (enemy?) Superman is dead. Gal Gadot is looking stunning, painting portraits and magnificently changing from tight-fitting velvet dresses into metallic Diana Prince/Wonder Woman get-ups. But, the three new faces (who I assume that DC just added to make the slogan You Can’t Save The World Alone look cooler) are revelations. The film’s biggest win is Barry Allen, played by a fantastic Ezra Miller. Miller has the likability of an innocent puppy and has just the right amount of chutzpah, something that is lacking in Gustin Grant’s portrayal on the CW show. This version of The Flash isn’t made to be likable but Miller imbues him with general cheek and sweetness.

But, Aquaman (played by the Dothraki expressionless Jason Momoa) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) both, like the film have uneven tones to their characters (it’s surprising how the writers set the tone of the film exactly to the pace of these two characters). They start off dark and brooding and with NO WARNING or NO SENSE OF GROWTH, they immediately are as bubbly and warm and funny and likable as the entire cast of Karan Johar’s debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. That’s the problem with the film. Unlike Thor Ragnarok, which took a 2 hour 10 minute runtime to evenly smooth out its bumps – Justice League doesn’t even try to do that. The makers know that there are bumps but don’t try to do anything to smoothen them out.

Loophole after loophole appears. But still. Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa and Henry Cavill (even if the credits put him second, he’s in an not-really-extended cameo) are consistently good. However, Ben Affleck. Ah. The rookie. He had disappointed me as the deep, dark, brooding, drunk Batman. In the second film, he carries himself with the uncomfortableness and awkwardness of a pedophile who stalks children’s playgrounds. The problem is that the writers entrust him with such crackling one liners – that are wasted on him. These lines are made for the tone and the body language of someone with style and finesse like Christian Bale. But, Affleck ruins some cracking moments that could’ve lightened the mood and actually have made the audiences laugh (I didn’t see much laughter).

This is a polarizing film. But as the title suggests, this is a masala ‘little-higher-than-Anees-Bazmee-standard’ type of film. Don’t leave your brains at home. But expect them to do minimal work. If you’re one person who lives for these DC/Marvel Easter Eggs that complete your life, judging by the excited look on my friend’s face as we exited the theatre, go and watch Justice League for a ‘life-changing’ experience. Yet, it still hasn’t convinced me. I’m going with 2.5 stars out of 5 for Justice League. The gods deserved better. So did we.