There are nods to Smeagol, Terminator and True Blood in this film. The action sequences are fast-paced, dynamic and really brutal at times. There isn't the kind of language you'd associate the Justice League with. These are some of the left-field issues that pop up in
Justice League: War. Don't get me wrong, they're not a bad thing. In fact, they all lend credence to and justify how good an adapation this is of Geoff John's NEW 52 arc where he pit a Darkseid invasion versus the ragtag misfits to kick off the new order at DC Comics.
This film follows the same frame of mind. Apokolips' Parademons invade at Darkseid's behest to raze the planet (in a David Goyer fashion) and to harvest the inhabitants (metahumans, aliens etc) to embed them into Darkseid's army. Pretty straight forward plot. The heroes of Earth 'randomly' come together after their paths intersect fighting off invading hordes. Yes, simple premise indeed. With such an elementary story, this film prides itself of violence and humor. Both are done with great effort and they work, albeit with some flaws.
This film is clearly showing a young budding team that are barely able to work individually, much less as a unit. It throws back to Kal-El in Man of Steel as there's a lot of collateral damage and some deaths that leave you scratching your heads...at the hands of some usual suspects (as of recent). It's digestible because it's a friggin' war. Batman and Green Lantern take most screen time up and with Jason O' Mara as Wayne doing his best Bruce Dern impersonation, it works. Not all the time though because Batman comes off uncharacteristic and a bit lax in voice. High standards given I'm a Conroy fan. Hal (Justin Kirk) and Flash (Chris Gorham) do have great chemistry and their epic banter is done smartly. It felt like Bradley Cooper and Ryan Reynolds went at it. Superman (Alan Tudyk) is decent enough as his relationship with Diana takes a turn for...well, the NEW 52. Michelle Monoghan as Diana is poorly written I admit and bar her bravado and strength in battle, she comes off more forced, especially when they try to flesh out her and Superman.
It's great to see territorial, learning, arrogant heroes construct this partnership but sometimes, the dialogue and script pacing feel like somethings are missing. It's disjointed at times but with over a half-hour of Darkseid in battle, the feeling's washed away. His Omega Sanction and brainpower are drastically reduced and he comes off like a big-level Nintendo boss but the action's spot on with a fitting finale, all taking the right direction from the comic arc. Even nods to Luthor and Dr. Morrow appear in a film where Vic Stone and Shazam really come to life to make you forget why Aquaman was missing. In fact, there's a mid-credit teaser that helps fill in this, which no doubt was led by Johns. DC has this entropy on screen and continue to set the benchmark on the animation front. This is a template for a potential live-action JLA film but it's surely better on cartoon as the flaws are ignorable and you get away with shortcomings.
Darkseid and his invasion seem a tad peripheral when the writers try to build the team but instead of great JLA chemistry, you get a rushed ending and partnerships between heroes that feel more right than others. With my only gripe being Darkseid was more thug than a power-villain, it's safe to say DC can chalk another success down. There's enough changes from the lore, enough loyalty to the comics and grand character designs that ooze awesomeness. That aside...pretty solid ride. There's a shocking death involved also that I tried phoning Goyer for but to no avail. Mid-credits ftw.
8/10