Movies | What happened to the Justice League? Part 2

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    Although it's hard to admit it because I love these characters, this was a cinematic failure when we take into consideration not only the opinion of both critics and the fans but also the box office. It wasn't a solo movie of a random hero, that kind usually makes less at the box office than releases where several characters meet as is the case of Avengers, it was the formation of the freaking Justice League, a group that have some of the most famous superheroes in history and with the longest trajectory: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman (known as the DC trinity). Unfortunately it was the one that made least money in the entire franchise.

    In the previous entry I made reference to a determining aspect in the failure of the film, the rushed building of this cinematographic universe to try to catch up with the competition (Marvel). The effect of this mistake was evident in the lack of enthusiasm in the audience at the time of the film's release. A carefully constructed universe (there aren't many out there) develops its characters step by step, generating on the way the expectation of seeing them together on screen, as well as the expectation of seeing the outcome of some story arc patiently planted along of the franchise.


    When things are hastily done character development is compromised, causing motivations and actions that aren't well received by all. Such is the case of Batman v Superman (2016), where Superman didn't receive the attention he deserved in order to deepen more in the story of the character after Man of Steel (2013) had already been sufficiently divisive. After the criticisms that many made alleging that this new version wasn't the Superman they knew and admired a time dedicated to him, a treatment so that he could become that emblematic hero, was needed.


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    What was supposed to be his sequel and the perfect opportunity to rehabilitate the character in the eyes of the fans eventually became a completely different movie, Batman v Superman, where he had a shortened screen time to give space to a new version of Batman, now played by Ben Affleck, and died in a very loose adaptation of the Death of Superman story from the comic book pages that didn't has the desired emotional impact precisely because it was just the second film in which we saw him and without enough character development.


    As for Batman, he was presented in Batman v Superman stealing much of the protagonism of the latter, but acting in a way that made many angry. As an example it can be mentioned that this version of Batman had no problems with taking the guns of the thugs and shooting them. Part of his attitude, especially his rejection of Superman, is self-explanatory at the beginning of the film in the sequence set during the final battle of Man of Steel where Superman fights Zod causing great destruction on Metropolis. However the rest of his bitterness could be a consequence of the 20 years of experience as a masked vigilante and especially the death of robin, or at least one of the possible robin, at the hands of the Joker.


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    Unfortunately this aspect of the story that could help us identify more with him has been superficially revealed but has not been explored to date. In my opinion that's an opportunity with great potential to develop the character that has been wasted, and with the conflicts behind the camera between the studio and the actor, who had initially signed not only to play the character but also to write and direct his standalone film, the future of Batman within this franchise is unknown. It should be noted that currently there is a Batman film project helmed by director Matt Reeves in the works but the official statements from the studio about it are ambiguous and therefore it's unknown whether it will belong to the same universe or if it will be something apart like the Joker film with Joaquin Phoenix.


    Three characters briefly introduced in Batman v Superman were Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg, through recordings taken from Lex Luthor's files. It really isn't a problem that they have been presented in this way as long as we were allowed to know them better later on, but as the studio had no immediate plans to make films with them until after the rushed groupal film the responsibility to officially do something with them fell on Justice League.


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    Wonder Woman, on the other hand, has had a completely different treatment. It's true that she was introduced for the first time in Batman v Superman like Batman, and without a significant background for her character, but this fact was easily forgiven because she was well received as well as her own movie did in 2017. Wonder Woman was successful at the box office and among critics and the majority of the audience, besides being considered at the time as the savior of the DCEU, bringing a bit of hope for this saga.

     As you can see, I haven't even started talking about Justice League itself yet, and that's the thing, part of the problems that affected it are prior to the film, an accumulation of flaws and discontent that resulted in a lack of interest of the audience. I still have not been able to write what I had in mind when I started the previous post, basically the problems during the filming, and I have extended too much in what would initially be the introduction. I will continue in the next and last part of this article.

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