Justice League (2017)

Movie · 2017 · Action, Adventure, Science Fiction · 2h · PG-13 · English

Curator score: 0.3/10 (1.2M ratings)

You can't save the world alone.

Overview

Fuelled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince assemble a team of metahumans consisting of Barry Allen, Arthur Curry and Victor Stone to face the catastrophic threat of Steppenwolf and the Parademons who are on the hunt for three Mother Boxes on Earth.

Ratings

Director

Zack Snyder

Production

Cruel & Unusual Films, Atlas Entertainment, Warner Bros. Pictures, RatPac Entertainment, DC Films

Cast

Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J.K. Simmons, Ciarán Hinds, Amber Heard, Joe Morton, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Ingvar E. Sigurðsson, David Thewlis, Sergi Constance, Julian Lewis Jones, Salome R. Gunnarsdottir

Where to watch

Max

Curator Review

Verdict

A noisy, uneven superhero team-up that feels more like a compromised assembly of setup scenes than a satisfying movie. It has a few appealing character beats and some comic-book spectacle, but the thin villain, rushed plotting, and awkward tonal shifts make it hard to recommend except to completists or franchise historians.

Best for

  • DC franchise completists
  • viewers curious about the theatrical cut versus the later director’s cut
  • fans of glossy, effects-heavy blockbuster spectacle who don’t mind narrative mess

Skip if

  • you want a coherent ensemble story
  • you’re looking for strong character development or emotional payoff
  • you dislike obvious studio interference or unfinished-feeling CGI-heavy finales

Overview

Justice League has the bones of a crowd-pleasing superhero crossover, but the theatrical cut never fully finds a pulse. The film rushes through its team-building, trims away connective tissue, and leaves the cast stranded in a story that feels assembled from fragments rather than shaped into an arc.

Worth noting

There are flashes of charm, especially in the banter between the newer heroes and the attempt to pivot the DC universe toward something lighter after Superman’s sacrifice. But the villain is generic, the stakes are muddy, and the visual effects often look overworked rather than epic.

Bottom line

As a piece of franchise cinema, it’s mostly interesting as an example of what happens when a blockbuster loses its center. For viewers who enjoy superhero movies as process, spectacle, or cultural artifact, it can be worth a look; for everyone else, the later cut is the version that actually justifies the premise.

Top Letterboxd reviews

Minty (2★) · 5585 likes

my favorite superhero is aquaman because I too like to contribute to group projects by yelling “MY MAN!” and “ALL RIGHT!” and doing literally nothing else constructive

DirkH (2.5★) · 3827 likes

The Mehvengers.

demi adejuyigbe (1.5★) · 3513 likes

hahahaha okay okay, a 2 hour trailer is a fun gag but where’s the real movie

Lucy (1.5★) · 1659 likes

to put it eloquently: this movie fucking sucks

matt lynch (1.5★) · 1423 likes

All getting-the-team-together shoe leather followed by an entirely green-screen finale. Looks, feels, and sounds like a very expensive TV pilot.

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Topics

superhero, ensemble, action-adventure, comic-book adaptation, blockbuster, grief, team-building, visual effects, franchise, CGI

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