Justice League (2017) fan reviews: “It wasn’t as bad as I expected.”
Me: *after reading a lot of negative reviews about the film*
Me: *shrugs* Still not expecting it to be bad.
Me: *after watching it* Yey. I was right.
(Okay, for myself at least. Obviously, it wasn’t perfect. Honestly, there’re a lot of things I could nitpick or be bitter about. But I still ended up lovin’ it.)
It had its issues for me. And I could nitpick all I want. They’re still clear in my head. And it still hasn’t come as close to “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016) in my heart.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER –“Fatigue, repetition, and a laborious approach to exposition are the keynotes of this affair, which is also notable for how Ben Affleck looks like he’d rather be almost anywhere else but here. [Justice League is] a chore to sit through” 3/10
VARIETY – “The film is the definition of an adequate high-spirited studio lark: no more, no less. It’s superior to ‘Batman V Superman’ but it’s also about as close to generic as a sharp-witted high-octane comic-book movie can get. There’s hardly a trope in it you haven’t seen before”
VANITY FAIR –”Justice League is a big ugly mess. The lighting is not good, the script is not interesting, the costumes are not fun. The film is, plainly stated, terrible, and I’m sorry that everyone wasted their time and money making it—and that people are being asked to waste their time and money seeing it”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY – [Justice League] is a placeholder in a franchise that’s already had too many placeholders. It feels like the film’s overarching plot was a second or third priority. Some day, hopefully soon, DC might get the recipe right but today isn’t that day, and Justice League isn’t that film” C+
EMPIRE MAGAZINE – “[Justice League]dives headlong into a scrappy, Swiss-cheese plot which clumsily slaps together its disparate elements. None of which is helped by sub-par VFX, which reach their nadir with an overblown final conflict, plus a lead baddie who’s so unnecessarily and sloppily computer-rendered he should be renamed Missteppenwolf”2/5
ROLLING STONE – “The League members together, bickering and bonding, spike the film with humor and genuine feeling, creating a rooting interest in the audience. Without it, the film would crumble. Steppenwolf is a CGI yawn, the action sequences are a digital blur, and the soundtrack defaults to loud whenever inspiration wanes” 6/10
NEW YORK TIMES – “The story is a confusion of noise, visual clutter and murderous digital gnats, [but] it’s more watchable than the last one. Mr Snyder remains regrettably committed to a dark, desaturated palette that borders on the murky, and this movie’s chaotic, unimaginative action scenes can drag on forever”
COLLIDER – [Justice League] is beyond saving. Sure it’s better than ‘Batman v Superman’, but that doesn’t make it good. It is a largely bland, forgettable affair. There’s no time or effort put towards character building, giving the team a personality, crafting themes, or challenging expectations. Justice League’s most impressive feat is that it doesn’t completely fall apart before your eyes”
IGN –“Justice League is messy and flawed but still offers entertainment value. It seldom delivers any truly “wow!” moments of finally seeing these awesome superheroes assembled together onscreen. It’s marred by a very choppy story, a run-of-the-mill villain, some shoddy visual effects, and an overall haphazard execution” 7/10
US WEEKLY – “Not even Wonder Woman can rescue this uninspiring superhero flick. The straightforward narrative and the special effects-heavy set pieces are all disappointedly derivative. [Justice league] should be an exciting event, not a mildly fun, noticeably flawed vehicle that leaves the consciousness as soon as the closing credits roll”
TOTAL FILM – “Justice League’s most significant shortcoming is how forgettable it all is. There’s barely a moment that sticks, not a single sequence to rival the stand-out superhero set-pieces of recent years” 4/10
SCREENCRUSH –“Another DC disappointment, Justice League is a collection of missed opportunities and flubbed ideas. Steppenwolf is maybe the worst villain in a superhero movie since that yellow cloud of evil in ‘Green Lantern’ and overall the film looks unusually bad for a movie of it’s size and budget” 4/10
INDIEWIRE – “Justice League hums along as a pure assault of archetypes and sprawling set pieces. The resulting 119-minute pileup of showdowns and one-liners is a tired, conventional attempt to play by the rules, with “hold for laughs” moments shoehorned between rapid-fire action that’s nothing we haven’t seen before” 2/5
UPROXX – “Justice League is a drag and a big step backwards for DC. The plot is barely comprehensible. Justice League is a bit better than Batman v Superman, in that it at least moves along at an okay pace, but somehow it’s not as interesting”
THE VERGE – Justice League has something for everyone and no way to fit it all together. It often feels fractured and sometimes the reshoots are painfully obvious. There are also a disconcerting number of Wonder Woman upskirt shots for the disrespectful horndogs in the audience”
TELEGRAPH – DC’s superhero embarrassment is beyond saving. It’s consistently embarrassing to watch, and features plot holes so yawningly vast they have a kind of Grand Canyon-like splendour. Justice League is a mess in ways cheaper productions could only dream about” 1/5
Hmmm. It’s horrible but better than “Batman v Superman”? Oh, okay. Well, I love “BvS” so… *shrugs* I’m no professional critic, but I am a DC fan who reads the comics, as well as a fan of movies in general. And I’ve been happy with the DCEU since “Man of Steel”. But that’s just me. So, yeah. Still excited to watch “Justice League”. I don’t think I’ll need to overanalyze or nitpick, too, because I just want to see my superheroes get together.
I’m already tired of everybody shitting all over this movie just to try and outdo each other on how hard they can shit on a movie. I enjoyed BvS and I’m sure I”ll enjoy this too. I don’t give a shit what critics say because more than 90% of the time I disagree with them. I also don’t give a rat’s ass what Rotten Tomatoes gives it because those are the same turds that gave Sharknado an 82%.
^^^^^^ thank you both @a-wayne-at-heart and @batfam-blacksheep ‘cause that criticism made me kind of sad and I was already upset to go and see it. Really thank you for remind me that there ARE fans like me, like us, who really enjoy seeing his heros together no matter what the others say
Same to you, @sophiartstart! Members of the cast have said it best themselves. These movies are made for the fans, not for the critics. Clearly, as with ANYTHING in fandom, “Justice League” can’t possibly please every fan – doesn’t mean it’s not good or worth watching.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER –“Fatigue, repetition, and a laborious approach to exposition are the keynotes of this affair, which is also notable for how Ben Affleck looks like he’d rather be almost anywhere else but here. [Justice League is] a chore to sit through” 3/10
VARIETY – “The film is the definition of an adequate high-spirited studio lark: no more, no less. It’s superior to ‘Batman V Superman’ but it’s also about as close to generic as a sharp-witted high-octane comic-book movie can get. There’s hardly a trope in it you haven’t seen before”
VANITY FAIR –”Justice League is a big ugly mess. The lighting is not good, the script is not interesting, the costumes are not fun. The film is, plainly stated, terrible, and I’m sorry that everyone wasted their time and money making it—and that people are being asked to waste their time and money seeing it”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY – [Justice League] is a placeholder in a franchise that’s already had too many placeholders. It feels like the film’s overarching plot was a second or third priority. Some day, hopefully soon, DC might get the recipe right but today isn’t that day, and Justice League isn’t that film” C+
EMPIRE MAGAZINE – “[Justice League]dives headlong into a scrappy, Swiss-cheese plot which clumsily slaps together its disparate elements. None of which is helped by sub-par VFX, which reach their nadir with an overblown final conflict, plus a lead baddie who’s so unnecessarily and sloppily computer-rendered he should be renamed Missteppenwolf”2/5
ROLLING STONE – “The League members together, bickering and bonding, spike the film with humor and genuine feeling, creating a rooting interest in the audience. Without it, the film would crumble. Steppenwolf is a CGI yawn, the action sequences are a digital blur, and the soundtrack defaults to loud whenever inspiration wanes” 6/10
NEW YORK TIMES – “The story is a confusion of noise, visual clutter and murderous digital gnats, [but] it’s more watchable than the last one. Mr Snyder remains regrettably committed to a dark, desaturated palette that borders on the murky, and this movie’s chaotic, unimaginative action scenes can drag on forever”
COLLIDER – [Justice League] is beyond saving. Sure it’s better than ‘Batman v Superman’, but that doesn’t make it good. It is a largely bland, forgettable affair. There’s no time or effort put towards character building, giving the team a personality, crafting themes, or challenging expectations. Justice League’s most impressive feat is that it doesn’t completely fall apart before your eyes”
IGN –“Justice League is messy and flawed but still offers entertainment value. It seldom delivers any truly “wow!” moments of finally seeing these awesome superheroes assembled together onscreen. It’s marred by a very choppy story, a run-of-the-mill villain, some shoddy visual effects, and an overall haphazard execution” 7/10
US WEEKLY – “Not even Wonder Woman can rescue this uninspiring superhero flick. The straightforward narrative and the special effects-heavy set pieces are all disappointedly derivative. [Justice league] should be an exciting event, not a mildly fun, noticeably flawed vehicle that leaves the consciousness as soon as the closing credits roll”
TOTAL FILM – “Justice League’s most significant shortcoming is how forgettable it all is. There’s barely a moment that sticks, not a single sequence to rival the stand-out superhero set-pieces of recent years” 4/10
SCREENCRUSH –“Another DC disappointment, Justice League is a collection of missed opportunities and flubbed ideas. Steppenwolf is maybe the worst villain in a superhero movie since that yellow cloud of evil in ‘Green Lantern’ and overall the film looks unusually bad for a movie of it’s size and budget” 4/10
INDIEWIRE – “Justice League hums along as a pure assault of archetypes and sprawling set pieces. The resulting 119-minute pileup of showdowns and one-liners is a tired, conventional attempt to play by the rules, with “hold for laughs” moments shoehorned between rapid-fire action that’s nothing we haven’t seen before” 2/5
UPROXX – “Justice League is a drag and a big step backwards for DC. The plot is barely comprehensible. Justice League is a bit better than Batman v Superman, in that it at least moves along at an okay pace, but somehow it’s not as interesting”
THE VERGE – Justice League has something for everyone and no way to fit it all together. It often feels fractured and sometimes the reshoots are painfully obvious. There are also a disconcerting number of Wonder Woman upskirt shots for the disrespectful horndogs in the audience”
TELEGRAPH – DC’s superhero embarrassment is beyond saving. It’s consistently embarrassing to watch, and features plot holes so yawningly vast they have a kind of Grand Canyon-like splendour. Justice League is a mess in ways cheaper productions could only dream about” 1/5
Hmmm. It’s horrible but better than “Batman v Superman”? Oh, okay. Well, I love “BvS” so… *shrugs* I’m no professional critic, but I am a DC fan who reads the comics, as well as a fan of movies in general. And I’ve been happy with the DCEU since “Man of Steel”. But that’s just me. So, yeah. Still excited to watch “Justice League”. I don’t think I’ll need to overanalyze or nitpick, too, because I just want to see my superheroes get together.