The story
Fuelled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
The trailer
[arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm3VgcyaPfo” /]
The verdict
For super fans of super hero movies, Justice League can be a bit disappointing until half time, i.e. until the members of the newly formed Justice League bring back Superman from the grave. Until that point the movie pace is quite slow. No matter what Superman is the big star and Henry Cavill is the right successor for Christopher Reeve whom we all loved so much. Until this movie I wasn’t 100% sure Cavill was Reeve’s heir but after this film I am confident he is here to stay. In fact I would love the DC Comics blockbuster brand to know that I’d be delighted to see more Superman standalone movies in the future.
The first half of the film is dedicated to Batman and Wonder Woman’s the recruitment of new heroes for their group of vigilantes and it is done similarly to what the Avengers did for Marvel five years ago but not quite with the same humour. At times it was painful to watch and you wish there was a fast forward button. There are of course a few great lines when new young recruit Flash asks the ageing Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck): “What are your superpowers again?” and Bruce replies “I’m rich”. Their relationship feels sometimes like the father-son rapport between Iron Man and Spiderman.
Batman is only a human, despite all his gadgets and gizmos and a few combat moves and is ageing faster than his counterparts. That makes Wonder Woman and Superman even more crucial in this alliance.
Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman, resembles a Thor look-alike who lives underwater.
My favourite new recruit is Barry Allen, aka The Flash (Ezra Miller). He is also a loner but is a kid a bit like Spiderman who is excited and just happy about being in the same room with his heroes.
Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) is essential to this movie at least until Superman is back. Without Gadot on the screen and the Wonder Woman’s backstory, the movie would be thin on the ground.
The Blu-Ray content (listed in full below) presents exceptional behind the scenes interviews with the actors, director and costume designer that compensate for the slowness of the film sometimes. I particularly loved finding out all about how the special effects and the costumes were created.
London Mums’ rating: 7/10
Blu-Ray features
Justice League 4K UHD, Blu-ray™ 3D and Blu-ray™ contain the following special features:
- Road to Justice
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- Journey alongside DC comic creators as they explore over fifty years of the Justice League, from comic books to animated adventures to their cinematic debut.
- Heart of Justice
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- Discover the heart, soul and mind of the Justice League, as the cast and filmmakers share their admiration for DC’s iconic Trinity: Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman.
- Technology of the Justice League
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- From Batman’s arsenal to Cyborg’s alien tech, interface with the Justice League database to learn their most advanced secrets.
- Justice League: The New Heroes
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- Join Ray Fisher on a personal tour to meet the newest members of the Justice League: Aquaman, the Flash and Cyborg.
- The Return of Superman
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- Bonus scenes not seen in cinemas
- Steppenwolf the Conqueror
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- Join actor Ciarán Hinds and the filmmakers as they reveal the story behind mankind’s ancient enemy and the Justice League’s greatest challenge.
- Scene Studies: Revisiting the Amazons
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- Take a closer look at the filmmaking process behind Justice League’s most visually exciting and action-packed sequences
- Scene Studies: Wonder Woman’s Rescue
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- Take a closer look at the filmmaking process behind Justice League’s most visually exciting and action-packed sequences
- Scene Studies: Heroes Park
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- Take a closer look at the filmmaking process behind Justice League’s most visually exciting and action-packed sequences
- Scene Studies: The Tunnel Battle
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- Take a closer look at the filmmaking process behind Justice League’s most visually exciting and action-packed sequences
- Suit Up: The Look of the League
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- Costume Designer Michael Wilkinson explores the innovation and artistry that goes into creating the costumes of DC’s iconic heroes.
Justice League Standard Definition DVD contains the following special features:
- Road to Justice
- Heart of Justice
- Technology of the Justice League
- Justice League: The New Heroes
- Steppenwolf the Conqueror
- Scene Studies: Revisiting the Amazons
- Scene Studies: Wonder Woman’s Rescue
- Scene Studies: Heroes Park
- Scene Studies: The Tunnel Battle
- Suit Up: The Look of the League
Including never before seen bonus scenes
The League are united as Warner Bros. UK and DC Entertainment’s epic action adventure Justice League arrives onto 4K UHD, Blu-ray™ 3D, Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital Download. Directed by Zack Snyder, the film stars the famed lineup of DC Super Heroes: Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg.
The 4K UHD, Blu-ray™ 3D and Blu-ray™ will include an all-new bonus scenes never before seen in cinemas as well as featurettes and interviews with the cast, filmmakers and creators.
Justice League also stars Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta, and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. The screenplay is by Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon, story by Chris Terrio & Zack Snyder, based on characters from DC, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger.
The film’s producers are Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder, Jon Berg and Geoff Johns, with executive producers Jim Rowe, Ben Affleck, Wesley Coller, Curtis Kanemoto, Daniel S. Kaminsky and Chris Terrio.
The behind-the-scenes team includes director of photography Fabian Wagner (“Game of Thrones”), production designer Patrick Tatopoulos, editor David Brenner, Oscar-nominated costume designer Michael Wilkinson (“American Hustle”) and visual effects supervisor John “DJ” Des Jardin; and Oscar-nominated editor Richard Pearson (“Kong: Skull Island,” “United 93”) and Oscar-winning editor Martin Walsh (“Wonder Woman,” “Chicago”). The music is by Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman (“Milk,” “Men in Black”).
The Blu-ray™ discs of Justice League will feature a Dolby Atmos® soundtrack remixed specifically for the home theatre environment to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead. To experience Dolby Atmos at home, a Dolby Atmos enabled AV receiver and additional speakers are required, or a Dolby Atmos enabled sound bar; however, Dolby Atmos soundtracks are also fully backward compatible with traditional audio configurations and legacy home entertainment equipment.
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