The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) has had a rough couple starts with their feature films, excluding this summer’s Wonder Woman.  With the release of Justice League a few weeks ago there was a thought that this will be the saving grace of the DCEU.

Is Justice League the miracle that DC fans needed?

Well… not exactly

Let’s start off what work in the movie. Compared to other DC films this movie is definitely more light-hearted despite the situation in the movie.  The casting was excellent. If there was one thing the movie had it going for them it was the cast. Each member brought life into their respective roles honoring the comics yet making their character their own.

The chemistry with cast is clearly there and I believe one of the saving grace of this movie was its cast. The jokes were fairly good, I found myself chuckling and even flat out dying of laughter, something pretty rare in DC films.  The plot wasn’t too complex, simplistic enough to get the job down and not lose the audience.

Lastly, the costume design was pretty good as well, some of them were comic book accurate with its own unique aesthetic as well.

But, that was about it.  The movie needed more because there was plenty wrong with it.  For starters it was the editing – it had a huge factor on why the movie did not do as well as it should have.  The transitions were sort of sloppy, leaving viewers feel like the movie was a bit rushed. It didn’t feel as if they built up the story, it was more like they plaster it together and hope it didn’t crumble and fall apart.

Another factor was the computer-generated imagery, or the special visual effects created using computer software, commonly referred to as “CGI.” In some scenes, the CGI was good, while in others it was pretty awful. We are at an era where you have to have good quality CGI, especially when dealing with something like a sci-fi or fantasy.  For example, Cyborg’s CGI was poorly done and same for his action scenes as well.

I personally didn’t enjoy Aquaman as much as I wanted to this movie. He wasn’t bad, but he didn’t really stand out it, he was just there. It was towards the end of the film when I found myself liking him. Jason Momoa (Aquaman) does well with the character, honestly, it was just the writing that tarnish it.

Gal Gadot does an outstanding job once again as Wonder Woman and carries a lot of this movie on her shoulders. Her confidence, strength and determination all stand out in this film. Wonder Woman is sort of the mother and glue of the team. She looks out for everyone and keeps everyone together.

Ezra Miller makes The Flash into his own character and does it well. Wonder Woman is possibly the heart of the team but The Flash is definitely the soul, with his child-like manner and fidgety tendencies, he brings this light heart aura to the DCEU that we haven’t yet seen before in the other films.

We see an improvement on Ben Affleck’s Batman in this film as far as character. He is not the brooding, angry, and gung ho person that we saw in Batman vs. Superman. Instead he is calm, calculating and more relaxed in this film.  Batman is obviously the brains of group but also one of the more vulnerable characters. This character still feels guilt for the death of Superman and is often questioning himself, though not directly. You can see through his actions and his character’s struggle to fit into the team since he is, despite all his skill sets, still a human next to all the meta humans.

Cyborg probably surprised me the most other than The Flash. He is probably the most emotional out of the group since he has lost most of his human body.

Ray Fisher portrays a lost, depress, and broken Victor Stone (Cyborg) beautifully.  His encapsulation on the fact that he believes he is no longer believes his human helps set the tone on his actions in the film and what also helps makes him fit in the team. The fact that he is no longer human, the fact that he is different, is the very thing that makes him unique and what earn his place on team. His chemistry with the flash is definitely one of the highlights of this film.

Despite what other critics were saying, I do not believe the movie is  as bad as they say it is, though it does have its fault.

I gave the analogy that this movie is taking a foot in the right direction when dealing with the Justice League itself but also two steps back when dealing CGI, plot and editing.

I definitely rank this higher than Suicide Squad and Batman vs. Superman but for now this is slightly below Man of Steel with Wonder Woman still crowned as the best DC film to date.  Overall, it is 7/10 or a C.