Justice League Is Desperate For Your Approval

Well, the big movie this weekend is Justice League, the culmination of everything DC has been building towards in their shared universe - or, "building towards" might not be the right words. More like "flailing wildly and throwing everything at the wall and praying something sticks." So far, very few things have. This universe started 4 years ago with the pretty divisive Man of Steel, continued with the terrible Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad, and seemed to have turned a corner with Wonder Woman this year... but if you've been following the production of Justice League, it was tough to get your hopes up for this one.

Director Zack Snyder (who made Man of Steel and Batman v Superman) left the project earlier this year due to a personal tragedy, so they brought Joss Whedon in (who made both Avengers movies) to try and save face. The movie was shot and reshot and written and rewritten over and over again, they had to beef up Wonder Woman's role after that movie was such a success, Ben Affleck seems like he REALLY doesn't want to be there, and perhaps most hilariously of all, they had to spend probably thousands of dollars to digitally remove Henry Cavill's mustache, which he had grown for a different role.

That doesn't even account for the fact that this movie's lineup includes The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg, three characters who have not appeared outside of 30 second cameos in any of these movies, so this one has to spend a ton of time introducing these people (as compared to the original Avengers, which had the advantage of having already introduced its characters in their own movies). The plot - such as it is - sees Batman and Wonder Woman assembling a team after the death of Superman in Batman v Superman, and then having to save the world from the villain Steppenwolf. Reviews have been a little better than they were for Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad, but not by much - there are so many cooks in this kitchen and so many different styles on display that it seems to be a kind of Frankenstein's Monster of a movie. In a time where even a third Thor movie can be awesome, it makes no sense that a Justice League movie with this lineup of characters can be this mediocre.

Also out this weekend is a drama called Wonder (not to be confused with Wonder Woman, who's in that other movie). It stars Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson as parents who have a child with a weird face - like a modern day version of MASK. I thought the trailer made it look terrible, but it's been getting solid reviews and might make a good "take the family out to the movies for Thanksgiving" type of movie.

But my conclusion? Go see Thor: Ragnarok again, it's a blast. Until next time we'll Meat at the Movies.