Justice League

[Leisher]

Rotten Tomatoes was delaying the reveal of the score for Justice League. I'm sure that had NOTHING to do with them being partially owned by Warner Brothers.

Anyway, it's 43%.

[Leisher]

WB officials sweating as JL is tracking for a lower opening than Thor:Ragnarok.

If that happens...wow.

[GORDON]

Saw it, and personally, I liked it fine. The theater (the one with reclining seats) was 90% full. Was Whedon the one who ended up as the final director? Just curious... because we had a lot more long, lingering shots of Gal Gadot's ass than we had with Patty Jenkins, for some reason.

Probably catching it again in matinee on thansgiving break.

Stay through the credits.

[Leisher]

RT score is down to 39%.

I have seen scathing reviews or heard people say "I liked it" without enthusiasm. Even film cuck Kevin Smith gave a very tepid "I liked it". His description avoided every big moment of the film and focused on nods to the source material.

It fell short of the low end box office predictions.

I might check it out next week when I'm in SC. Not sure when I'd be able to find time prior to that.

[Leisher]

This is a spoiler if you have no idea what I'm talking about. However, it's the worst kept secret about this film...
Peeps are talking about that mustache.

[GORDON]

I didn't know at the time of viewing there was a stache CGId out, and I dind't notice.

Also, I don't care about "nods to the source material." It was an ok movie, I've seen much worse. Not high praise, I know, but I feel it's worth a lot more than a 39% on RT.

[Leisher]

I didn't know at the time of viewing there was a stache CGId out, and I dind't notice.

It's been pretty general news for some time now. Pretty sure in this very thread. I'm curious if I'll notice. I remember people being upset with the CGI Peter Cushing in SW: Rogue One, and I didn't mind it.

Also, I don't care about "nods to the source material."

I know. I meant to add a bit on there about how interesting it is that he's a fan of the material where you're just a casual viewer. Yet both of you came out with the "ok" level.

I feel it's worth a lot more than a 39% on RT.

Maybe. I figure maybe this is the universe balancing out the RT score for WW which is too high at 92%.

I do hope that now that this film is behind them WB/DC can stop giving control to people who don't know and/or respect the source material. Let's brighten up the movies, and allow for some more jokes and characterization.

[GORDON]

To be fair, some of the added little smiles and light hearted moments were often in the wrong places. Shit is going down and they're all fighting for their lives, civilians probably getting killed, and WW gives a naughty little smile in the middle of a fight with an outcome that can still go either way? Nice job, Joss.

[Leisher]

Did Gordon write this short, spoiler free review?

[Leisher]

Further proving you will never, ever please everyone, some fans are petitioning WB to release Snyder's version of the film.

[GORDON]

Saw it again today, theater half full at a 1:30 matinee on Black Friday.

1. Got the expensive theater with reserved seating. I was the first one to get tickets and reserve seats, 2 hours ahead of time. Even with only a half full theater, some dick picks the seat right next to me. Fucking fucker. Me and the kid waited til lights out then moved to an empty section. That guy is human garbage.

2. Having spent the last year writing characters, I liked a few moments of the characterization in this film.

Consider the following spoilers.


a) Lois Lane with the, "You wouldn't have been proud of me, I wasn't strong" confession. It showed how messed up she was.

b) Near the end, Cyborg and Supes pushing the Motherboxes apart, Supes jokes, "I really like being alive." Cyborg responds, "Me too." That was a huge line for him... for the entirety of (this cut) of the movie, Cyborg had been brooding and lamenting his life and that line made it clear that finally... he was glad to be alive. It showed how dark his mood was, before. So, good line.

c) The russian family, which seemed to have no purpose. I looked.... and besides that family, that whole region (except for people you could barely see in that apartment building superman lifted) could have been deserted. That family put a human face on what was happening. And, it seems like that section of the movie was unfinished, because you'd think there'd be more people here and there.

d) My favorite moment of the movie is right after Clark is resurrected, and is fighting the team at his monument, and Flash is going to try to flank him. And slowly... Clark's eye turns toward him. The look on Flash's face, "Oh fuck, he's tracking me..." great moment.

So yeah, the kid and I still think film is underrated, we both enjoyed the second viewing and look forward to the BD.

[GORDON]

Oh, even though I now knew to look for it, I forgot to look for it and still didn't notice a superman stache being cgi'd out.

[Leisher]

And now for a different opinion...

I attended a 4:05 showing in Rock Hill, SC today. I was one of 7 people in the theater.

Oh, even though I now knew to look for it, I forgot to look for it and still didn't notice a superman stache being cgi'd out.

Were your eyes closed? I couldn't not see it, and I honestly thought I wouldn't notice it because the Tarkin thing never bugged me. It's pretty damn obvious because his upper lip doesn't look or move naturally while he's talking. I don't hold it against them though. Their hands were tied, and it is what it is...

Speaking of changes, you can tell they went through and really lightened up those dark red, black backgrounds Snyder seemed to love.

Overall, I liked this more than BvS, but while it has some bright spots, it's still very, very meh. I recommend it to super hero fans and kids, but all the casual folks won't like it, like they like Deadpool or Thor: Ragnarok.

Consider the rest of this review to be filled with spoilers...

Let me get this out of the way, the plot and dialogue could have been written by any 13 year old with MadLibs. It's dog shit to the point of being offensive. I rolled my eyes multiple times at the stupid, cheesy dialogue. You don't have to foreshadow EVERYTHING!!! There is also still a clear lack of knowledge about the characters.

The worst part of the heroes was Aquaman. I don't blame Jason Mamoa. Based on GoT, he is perfect for Aquaman (you know, aside from him being dark skinned and Aquaman living in a sunless environment and spending most of his time in the artic circle...). It's too bad he wasn't playing Aquaman, and was instead some "bad ass" surfer dude or something. Mamoa was good, his character was terrible. Just wrong in every possible way. This book is how Aquaman should have been portrayed. He's a kind of arrogant king who harbors resentment for man's treatment of the oceans, yet he also feels a kinship to them stronger than his bond with Atlantians. He doubts his role in either place, yet is confident in himself. He shows up in the middle of that fight and immediately declares himself the leader of the group. This version was a frat boy with some power and a spot in his heart for misfits or something. Now that Snyder is gone, they can course correct and I hope they do. More Drago, less Spicoli.

The Amazonians are simply the worst. Is there any force on Earth (or off) that can't easily beat them? The answer is apparently, yes, the Atlantians.

c) The russian family, which seemed to have no purpose. I looked.... and besides that family, that whole region (except for people you could barely see in that apartment building superman lifted) could have been deserted. That family put a human face on what was happening. And, it seems like that section of the movie was unfinished, because you'd think there'd be more people here and there.

Yeah, that was pretty stupid. That screamed Snyder. If you remember BvS wasn't very good at showing people, aside from the main characters, either.

Let's go with some positive things for a moment...

a) Lois Lane with the, "You wouldn't have been proud of me, I wasn't strong" confession. It showed how messed up she was.

I also liked that moment. She was a small part of the film, but very key to the story.

b) Near the end, Cyborg and Supes pushing the Motherboxes apart, Supes jokes, "I really like being alive." Cyborg responds, "Me too." That was a huge line for him... for the entirety of (this cut) of the movie, Cyborg had been brooding and lamenting his life and that line made it clear that finally... he was glad to be alive. It showed how dark his mood was, before. So, good line.

Cyborg was the second best part of the movie. I liked his character in the film, and I've never liked him in the books.

d) My favorite moment of the movie is right after Clark is resurrected, and is fighting the team at his monument, and Flash is going to try to flank him. And slowly... Clark's eye turns toward him. The look on Flash's face, "Oh fuck, he's tracking me..." great moment.

I also dug that and knew it was coming. Supes is just as fast as Flash (well...no, he's not, but I don't think this Flash knows what he's capable of yet). Flash was the third best thing in the film despite some bad dialogue. Ezra Miller was really good though.

The best part of the movie? Gal Gadot. She had a charm to her here that didn't exist in WW. Not sure if it's the glow of a new mom or the fact that she had screen time with straight guys this time, but something was different. I always thought she was a beautiful woman, but something about her here took her to a new level for me. She's not enough to save the movie though...

The best non-main character was Mera. She was blazing hot and they actually did a good job with her powers and character. She's a bad ass with attitude who's fiercely loyal to Arthur, but also calls him on his shit. I assume that actress can't wait until the Aquaman film because Mera and Arthur are lovers.

It was cool to see Lanterns, and guess what, it's FORESHADOWING the fucking sequel...

LOVED the mid credits scene. Hated the post credits scene. They might be taking it to a cool place, but one movie won't be enough to make the villains interesting. Plus, fuck Jesse Eisenberg's shitty Luthor. "Hey, you know what people want? More of the character even people who liked BvS complained about..."

Let's go back to the suck...

Jim Gordon kinda sucked. He just had nothing to work with. He was a straight man in one scene that ended in a joke.

Batman was very much just there this time around. Snyder clearly has no understanding of the character. Batman was just a way to explain the plot, the players, and take us from scene to scene. He was absolutely no use whatsoever in the final fight. The entire strategy for the parademons was retarded. He honestly was nothing more than a spectator. Maybe he should have brought his own gun? Also, Affleck looks ooooooold. It'd be great if he stuck around just to do a movie where they could replace him with Nightwing.

I liked that they lightened Superman up a touch. They pulled the stick out of his ass and let him cut loose. It was also great seeing him beat the shit out of the Justice League. However, he outclassed everyone. The only person whose help he needed was Cyborg and that was just for his hacking ability. Also, their resurrection of him proved Snyder pays no attention to detail in his own fucking movies and he doesn't know this character either. Using the motherbox to resurrect Supes was moronic. Did we forget about the dirt floating up from his coffin at the end of BvS? Continuity Snyder. Look into it. Anyway, the way Supes' powers work is he just needed a tan, not some weird fucking excuse to show Flash running fast. The logic there made ZERO sense. You have to touch it at the EXACT moment it touches the water? Why? Also, he didn't. It was close, but he was late. That whole scene was insanely stupid. His return was also pretty anti-climatic. It was fun watching him absolutely bust Stephenwolf's ass after he looked unstoppable against the rest of the league.

When did they say Darkseid? I missed it.

Does it deserve the 39% RT score? Nah. I'd give it a solid 40%. I'm not being snarky either. I honestly think that's what it deserves. It was a half good/half bad movie made by people who don't know and don't respect the characters. That, imho, is another 10% off the score. (I could honestly go farther, but there were some good things I enjoyed.)

And don't try to argue characters aren't important or only matter to fans of the source material. If they cast James Bond as a gay black man from Missouri who drinks O'Doul's, refuses to use guns, and is celibate until marriage people would rightly be pissed.

There's hope that DC's trending upwards now, but they have to make changes. Stop being a pretentious fucking movie studio thinking name directors are going to win the day. Your movies are getting critically blasted and they're not making anywhere near the money they should. Let Geoff Johns be Kevin Feige in terms of power and not just a title. Stop trying to reinvent the fucking wheel and just copy Marvel's formula. Control your characters and the story line covering all films. Continuity is key! If you give the reigns to different directors and tell them to do whatever, you can't be shocked when everything is a mess.

Marvel just let a director put his own touch on one of their characters, while still respecting the characters and staying in continuity, and not only are critics and audiences gushing over it, but it made something like $30 million more on its opening weekend than this film featuring all your biggest characters. Please learn from that...

[thibodeaux]

If they cast James Bond as a gay black man from Missouri who drinks O'Doul's, refuses to use guns, and is celibate until marriage people would rightly be pissed.

Don't give them any ideas.

[Leisher]

Those guys in the post credits scene might become a story line in multiple films.

That would work better, imho.

[GORDON]

It looks badass, but know what the problem is with hanging grenades on your flack jacket/gear harness on your chest? If you take a hit center mass, where the bad guys are aiming, or start taking fire and dive for cover, now you're going to blow up, too.

It looks badass, but know what the problem is with packing explosive ordinance on your shoulder pad? The shoulder pad is designed to take the impact of blows, and now when they do you're going to blow up, too.

[thibodeaux]

Where do you put em? Up your ass?

[GORDON]

Sometimes. But usually in the little grenade pouches on your side.

Either/or.

I hung dummy grenades from my H-harness once, because I thought they looked cool and that was convenient. 100% of them ended up getting ripped off because you're always crawling on your belly or something. And guess what happens if the ring of the pin gets snagged on shit while you're low crawling?

[Leisher]

At $614M WW right now. That's $200M behind Thor Ragnarok.

Ouch.

Justice League's failure prompts changes to the WB/DC film lineup.

Now that Snyder is gone, I hope they can rescue the line.

[Leisher]

Here's the scene from the trailer you didn't see in the movie.