Thoughts & life experiences of a Chicago area graphic artist

20 November 2017

Warner Bros. Was Prolly Happy For The Audience Rating of JL



Social Media needling of #JusticeLeague fans over "disappointing" early box office receipts of the DCU's prospective flagship movie has been brutal. But since 85% of the audience reporting on Rotten Tomatoes liked the movie, I feel like there's is nothing to be alarmed about. I'm confident that Justice League will recoup Warner Bros. production costs easily through worldwide box office sales and DVD/Digital release. Although I'm sure the bean counters will be ringing their hands.

Illustration © O. Douglas Jennings. All rights reserved.
As far as I'm concerned, the movie (even with it's flaws) was a satisfying, enjoyable and fun experience. I loved the characters and felt they embodied their respective heroic icons well.


SPOILER ALERT - If you read further, I discuss aspects of the movie in detail. If you don't want to know surprises or other plot details, please read no further until you have seen the film.

Okay.

We're clear.

On the outset, the film dove directly into the plot of the invasion. Actually, it seemed at first that it was a typical night on patrol for Batman as he apprehends a criminal. But then the next layer of understanding and story is revealed as he actually is setting a trap for a Parademon. Some viewers expressed dislike for this continuing faced-paced plot. But I enjoyed it.

To me, it was classic Batman as he and Alfred were trying to decipher the clues left by remains of the Parademons, Lex Luthor's notes on mysterious sketches of "boxes".

Meanwhile, Wonder Woman was thwarting a terrorist plot to blow up a city block. This action was quite an exciting ride.

Then the scene switches to Themyscira where the Mother Box being held by the Amazons is vibrating and making alarming noises. The first appearance of the invader Steppenwolf is dramatic and menacing. I suspended any disbelief that might have been caused by some less-than-perfect CGI. I could easily stay captivated by the action.

I caught many of the Easter Eggs in the flashback scene with Steppenwolf upon his first thwarted invasion. The Atlanteans, the Green Lantern, the Greek Gods/Heroes were easy to follow as they battled Steppenwolf and the Parademons. This was all great fun.

As Bruce Wayne and Diana worked to gather the team, I was happy with the way each character of the team was introduced & developed.

The MUSTACHE CONTROVERSY

You might have heard about the scenes where there was obviously some weird visual stuff going on with Superman's face. It's like when someone shaves off their eyebrows and you can tell at first what is missing. Actually it's not that bad. But there was something just a bit off about Henry Cavill's upper lip as he talked, smiled etc. It's not in every scene. Just in the scene's they added after filming had ended and they decided to add some extra scenes. That is when they brought back the cast to film some select scenes to help the story, etc. Problem was that Henry Cavill already was in the middle of filming a Mission Impossible movie and he had a mustache that contractual obligations did not allow him to shave. So... much $$$ was spend on "fixing" it. Fun behind the scenes story.

But that did not ruin the movie for me by any means.


APPENDIX : A bit of Industry Teasing from Teen Titans Go! Producers! Haha




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