JUSTICE LEAGUE

*mild spoilers*

Well, it was definitely a lot better than the mess of the Whedonised release. Zack Snyder's JUSTICE LEAGUE needs half-a-working-day to watch, but it's worth it.

It's certainly flawed, but what's there is at least consistent and sure of itself. Snyder knows how to frame and a compose a shot, and add surface lustre to the telling of a hero's tale. The trouble is he has a habit of doing it at the expense of nuance and humanity. (A film's job is to reveal those aspects of humanity we all share, isn't it?)

I didn't find anything in JL that matched Sarah Polley's distress at the opening of DAWN OF THE DEAD; or Kevin Costner's doubt about what his son should have done when faced with the dilemma of the children on the bus in MAN OF STEEL. Everything in JL is packed with punch and power... which means very little actually has any punch or power.

The film is really about the resurrection of Superman, and it tells us how much the other heroes and we on Earth need Jor-El to see off the threat of Darkseid and Steppenwolf. But it never shows us the power-limits of the other JL heroes, so we never feel the threat of extinction. In fact, the film smudges the boundaries of the heroes' capabilities so we get a Cyborg who is all-powerful and potent with alien tech that he could unleash all the nuclear weapons on Earth if he chose to (his father gives him so much power as to drive a person mad, it's an irresponsible act by a parent who never spent much time with his son); a Flash who can run so fast his speed can unlock a para-scientific energy force of massive atomic power; an Aquaman who can either fly or "fall in style" in such a way that he is able to keep up with Flash and WW (although when travelling on land on his own, he tends to favour slumping in the back of a filthy truck); and a Wonder Woman, who, when handling the nihilistic terrorists and their big bomb in the first act, keeping up - on her knees - with a spray of rapid machine gun fire, makes you wonder why she needs anyone to help her to do anything.

Or why the superpowered heroes need Batman? Depressive, moping, joysucking Ben Affleck, who only a short while back was trying to kill Superman. Why would the others listen to him? His reasons for bringing together a team have no substance. A poor man's Tony Stark with none of the glee. And bringing the heroes together because of a dream he had, with no sense of a clear and present danger is just... daft. At times, I wanted the other heroes to get rid of him because he was just bringing the party down, and then get on with fighting the Big Bad Steppenwolf.

Let's go back to those limitations. When your film is predicated on the need to transcend the laws of science to bring back Supes, you have to give us a strong sense that he is needed. By falling into the trap of having your other heroes do cool stuff because it looks good on screen and keeps the vfx teams happy, you discard a sense of concern and jeopardy, and even empathy, we may feel towards the heroes and their perception of the threat. (Watch how CAPT AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER depicts the hunting of Nick Fury in its first act car chase if you want to see how it's done). So, when the league finally gets around to the resurrection of its messiah (a nicely choreographed sequence, other than Bats being absent for most of it, I guess he had to walk to the location), it appears to be answering a desire that isn't an intrinsic part of the story. And then, having been freshly reborn, Superman flies off to spend too much time with Lois Lane, who, unfortunately, spends most of the film in a state of agonised grief (I guess it would be tough for anyone finding a new BF to replace Supes but, even so, this behaviour from Lois is out-of-character and feels misconceived). Lois clutching at the empty pillow next to her on the bed... really?

The pickle in the gourmet burger, fortunately, is Ezra Miller's Flash. It's left to him to spark the film with momentary bursts of life and humour, some of which feel improvised, but at least they are alive. Miller channels an irreverent energy that can't help but evoke Evan Peters' Quicksilver sequences in the X-Men films.

If I'm carping about JUSTICE LEAGUE... it's because I wanted it to be better. It is good and an interesting addition to the genre, but Snyder was too indulged (we know why he was indulged and we all stand behind that), and those indulgences throb and weaken the film.

There is part of an epilogue, for example, that will be confusing to viewers unaware of the Batman Knightmare storyline in the comic books and which almost undoes the feeling the film has been trying to give us of relief that Supes is back; and there are some tone deaf musical choices - Nick Cave's There Is A Kingdom over Aquaman walking towards his waves had me shrieking at the screen.

A fresh pass on the screenplay (the lengths to which the Amazons go to communicate with Diana through a holy mystical flaming arrow are absurd) and a dare-I-say-it tighter cut would have benefited everybody (there are non-sequitur moments of dialogue that hint at a longer cut). But... that's not the point.

The point is... here it is. The Snyder Cut. Superwarts and all. Despite the misgivings detailed above, I found it compelling and charged.