This movie feels much like a case of too many cooks in the kitchen. It is not any one person's vision, and hence, feels inconsistent. Zack Snyder kicked it off, but due to unfortunate circumstances, was unable to complete it. Joss Whedon (who has a rather opposing style & vision) was asked to complete it. And then there is the directive from Warner Bros chiefs to keep it light and to keep it under two hours. The outcome: neither here nor there.
Among the many flaws in this movie, the biggest among them are the overly simplistic, generic, predictable plot. It is literally like taking the common denominator of all superhero flicks of the past 10 years. And the plot feels so shallow - things just happen too quickly and the characters doesn't seem to change or have any character development at all.
To make it worse, the main villain in here is so dull & lame. If not for the stupid & weird Enchantress (in Suicide Squad), I can almost say that the villain in Justice League is the worst comic book villain in the past 10 years. Not to mention the CGI that wasn't really done well.
And speaking of the CGI, the overall visual effects in this movie was rather poor as well. I can still bear with it, but for a movie the size & scale of Justice League, it should have been done better.
But moving towards the more positive aspects of the film. It has great characters, in terms of the members of the Justice League. The dynamic between the characters was pretty cool & fun to watch. And despite some misses with the humour, a lot of the jokes does land and I thoroughly enjoyed the banter between the heroes. Such that if these characters were put in a different (better) story, I think this would have been a good movie. Crossing my fingers for Justice League 2...
Meanwhile, the action is still pretty good & fun to watch. And the score is okay, though it doesn't stand out. In fact, the one part I do like is the song used in the opening credits (Everybody Knows - Sigrid). Though it is not a good testament to the overall movie, but that song in the opening credits was my favourite part of the film. I really like that song.
Overall, the film is watchable & enjoyable, for me, but it is not of high quality in any way. As much as Batman v Superman wasn't great, at least it was fully Zack Snyder's vision. This one isn't, and that is what disappoints me most.
VERDICT: 60 / 100
Much like last December, and the December before, we have a Star Wars movie, one or two other (quite) big budget films, and some Oscar potentials...
For this list, I will only mention films which gets wide release (in the US) in December, so films like The Post will only get mentioned for January 2018...
The Shape of Water (Dec 8-USA, Feb 16-UK, Jan 18-Singapore)
I can actually say that this film looks to be among those Oscar potentials as well. But I am interested in this film for more than just the quality of directing, story or performances. The story itself interests me. And I have always liked Guillermo del Toro's ideas/concepts for visual storytelling. And the fact that this film (as of writing) has 97% rating in Rotten Tomatoes and has won the Golden Lion award in the 74th Venice Film Festival, it does look to potentially be GDT's best film other than Pan's Labyrinth, and this is something to be excited about.
Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA4WD92it0k (Trailer #1)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Dec 15-USA, Dec 14-UK, Dec 14-Singapore)
And of course, this is the one! Most of you would know by now how a big a Star Wars fan I am. This was easily my most anticipated film of the year, and looking at the landscape right now, this is probably my most anticipated film until Star Wars Episode 9 comes out. Not only am I very excited to see Luke Skywalker in action, or the continuation of the stories of Rey, Kylo Ren, and co, but I am also very hopeful that this will be one of the best SW films ever.
A big reason for that would be director Rian Johnson. And the fact is Rian was the only director in which there have been no word or rumblings of any trouble at all (unlike the Han Solo film or Episode 9). Add to that the fact that this film has been fully completed (with post-production and all) a few months before release. There is just so much confidence and positive vibe surrounding this film. And finally, of course, the trailers for this film is just awesome!
Trailers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qsg0fku78o&t=1s (Teaser)
MUST SEE!!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-qnbOVhM_U (Trailer #1)
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (Dec 20-USA, Dec 20-UK, Dec 21-Singapore)
I am actually quite doubtful of the quality of this film. But it sure does look like fun, so why not. And I suppose that sums up my thoughts about this film. It looks fun, and I'm probably going to go watch it simply for that, but for sure I am not expecting this to be a high quality film. If I'm wrong, then all the better.
Trailers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leE10vdvkho (Trailer #1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3f1Tvev010 (Trailer #2)
Other Movies:
Let's kick it off lightly, before we get to the Oscar potentials. First up is this animation flick - out on December 15 - Ferdinand (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hggl_Ime15I), which I'm really not quite interested in. The synopsis of the plot doesn't interest me, and Blue Sky Studios' recent track record have been poor. So unless this film comes out with stellar reviews, I'm probably going to stay away from it.
Next up, Pitch Perfect 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8GbmkbKTGg) comes out on December 22. I had watched the first film sometime back, but to be perfectly honest, I had never been very interested in these kind of movies, anyway. Also out on Dec 22 is a science-fiction comedy that I am much more interested in, Downsizing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoBLLqlI3tQ), starring Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, and more.
Now, moving to the likely Oscar potentials. For these kind of films (which I rarely watch), the ones that could get me interested are those in the crime-drama realm (as compared to biographies or the likes), so when a movie like All the Money in the World (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJtqk0qq0uk) comes along, it caught my attention, especially knowing that Ridley Scott is at the helm. But of course the more interesting thing is the fact that Kevin Spacey (for obvious reasons) gets replaced by Christopher Plummer just a month before a release. This film is out on December 22nd.
Out on December 20th is a film called The Greatest Showman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gXEF3G0fAc), which usually isn't my kind of film, but the performances and the color and the visuals of the film got me a little bit interested. And finally, I would like to call out a movie titled Phantom Thread (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtWNdHDWsB0). I am not personally interested, but given that this is likely to be Daniel-Day Lewis' final film, maybe its worth a mention. This film is out on December 25th.
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Hela
I hate to say this - because as a female villain, Hela has the potential to be one of the better villains in the MCU - but I feel that she is among the weaker of them, partially undermined by her limited interaction with Thor (so lacks the emotional/character damage to the heroes) but I think also because her origin story does not feel that powerful to me - felt a little bit cheesy.
Hulk
Meanwhile, Hulk is like the perfect supporting character & partner to Thor. The banter between the two is just brilliant. Some of the best humour in the film also comes when Hulk is around, among which my favourites are:
- In the arena, when Hulk smashes Thor around much like what he did to Loki in The Avengers
- After he exits the tub, and poor Thor had to see something he can never unsee
- When Banner leaps of the ship and does not change into the Hulk in time
I got to admit, I kind of wish that Hulk will turn back to Banner, because Mark Ruffalo as Banner himself has that unique charisma of a simple and intelligent man. Though I would not be disappointed if we get to see Hulk like this in his full glory.
Loki
To this day, I still think that Loki is the most charming character in the MCU. I really enjoy a lot of his interactions with other characters, including Thor himself. And to think about it, some of the best humour also comes when Loki is around, among which my favourites are:
- The Play/Drama: The Tragedy of Loki (to be honest, it felt weird at first, but thinking about it, it does fit Loki's character to be asking his people to perform a play about himself...and my, what a cameo from Luke Hemsworth, Sam Neill, and my boy Matt Damon as Loki)
- His interactions with Doctor Strange (falling for 30 minutes)
- His responses watching Thor and Hulk battle in the arena
I am happy to see that he sticks around at the end. I realize that they did not specifically explain how Loki escaped at the end, but perhaps it was the Tesseract? Given how he took a prolonged glimpse at it, it's teleportation capability, and how it as an Infinity Stone (and Loki) will most certainly play a part in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War.
And speaking of that, very quickly, I am happy how they touched upon and addressed that (with Hela's comments) that the Infinity Gauntlet in the Asgard Vault is a fake, especially as we had seen Thanos wield it at the credits of Avengers: Age of Ultron...
Who's Gone?
Odin's death is probably not much of a surprise, and it is actually a critical element to kick start the plot. I only wished that it was delivered with more emotional impact. And actually, similarly with The Warriors Three, who dies very quickly and very easily without much fanfare. I don't particularly care much, but for quite important supporting characters, I don't think it does them justice.
What's Gone?
Mjolnir is clearly gone, for now. I personally thought it would come back at the end somehow, but as of now, we still have no Mjolnir. Meanwhile, the other thing that I am more shocked to see is the fact that Thor loses his eye. That is a bold move. It is not a simple flesh wound that would just heal in time. This really means that Thor has lost his eye, and moving forward, it appears that we will always see Thor with an eye patch.
But perhaps the biggest & boldest move of all is to see Asgard gone. Of course, we heard the saying that Asgard is the people, not the place. But still, to see Ragnarok (instead of it being stopped) actually happen instead is a really bold move. As far as endings go, this is one of the boldest I have seen in recent time, and I really am curious to see where these Asgardians will go and rebuild.
