Story, villain problems continue to plague the DCEU

(Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

Justice League

Part of Wonder Woman’s charm was its sense of humor and its lighter tone. It still took the material seriously, but Wonder Woman isn’t haunted by an unyielding  darkness – like Batman (and for some reason this DCEU version of Superman). Wonder Woman likes helping people – she is a beacon of light for those around her, even inspiring Steve Trevor to make his sacrifice at some level.

With director Zack Snyder, both Man of Steel and Batman v Superman were very dark in tone. And, in my opinion, it worked better in the latter than it did in the former. Even, in some respects, I think Batman’s darkness in Batman v Superman helped to lighten up Superman a bit from his Man of Steel debut.

Snyder has a vision, which Warner Bros. bought into wholeheartedly. But when the opportunity came to take Justice League away from Snyder (via a family tragedy no less) – in order to re-shoot and re-cut the film with a lighter tone, more humor, and a shorter run-time – the studio didn’t hesitate.

Justice League is a Frankenstein monster of at least two visions – Snyder and Joss Whedon, who finished the film, but is only credited as a writer. Whedon is very talented, as demonstrated by Marvel’s The Avengers (2012) and all he did to oversee Phase Two of the MCU. So, Justice League wasn’t a fair demonstration of his abilities. But it also wasn’t fair to Snyder.

Snyder deserved the chance to put out the film that he intended. There is a mythical “Snyder Cut” of Justice League out there, which probably should be put out to the public. In my opinion, the longer (“Ultimate Edition”) of Batman v Superman was a much better film than its theatrical counterpart.

To try and drastically change a film like Justice League basically destroyed the final product. It isn’t a terrible film, but with all of the greatest firepower in the DC universe at its disposal, it should have been something special – and it is not.

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Justice League is on HBO all the time, and somehow I always end up watching for 10 or 15 minutes. And parts of the film are actually pretty good. But as usual, then comes the third act. The villain Steppenwolf is another CG nightmare, and the plot really shouldn’t have ended the way that it did – they stop Steppenwolf, yes, big surprise.

The whole reason for Steppenwolf is that he brings about Darkseid. The end of the movie could have easily been the heroes failing, and Darkseid’s arrival. It could have been something epic, and left on a cliffhanger for a ‘Justice League 2’ a year later.

Even Superman could have been saved for the sequel, as the rest of the group realizes they won’t defeat Darkseid without him. That’s kind of what makes Superman great, and I have personally argued against the problems with making Superman (or any character) too powerful. But, in the end, he is the greatest of them all. And he does whatever he takes for the side of good. He could easily rule because of his power, but he leads the good fight instead.

The film just feels saccharin in its ending. There really isn’t a moment when you believe the Justice League won’t win. Or that Superman won’t return from death in time and save the day.

Snyder probably made his share of mistakes with the Justice League movie, but what end up being released feels like a reaction to Wonder Woman being a great movie. Which can only mean that there is only one right answer – do it like Wonder Woman and the film will be great. At least that’s what the studio now believes.