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'Justice League'
by Neil Cole
Justice League is a 2017 American superhero film based on the DC Comics superhero team of the same name, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the fifth installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film is directed by Zack Snyder, with a screenplay by Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon, from a story by Terrio and Snyder, and features an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, and J. K. Simmons. In Justice League, the superhero team, consisting of Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg forms to honor the memory of Superman and to save earth from the catastrophic threat of Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons.
The film was announced in October 2014, with Snyder on board to direct and Terrio attached to write the script. Initially titled Justice League Part One, with a second part to follow in 2019, the second film was indefinitely delayed to accommodate a standalone Batman film with Affleck. Principal photography commenced in April 2016 and ended in October 2016. Snyder then hired Joss Whedon to write scenes that would be filmed during reshoots; however, Snyder left the project in May 2017 following the death of his daughter. Whedon was hired to oversee the remainder of post-production, including directing additional scenes written by himself. Snyder received sole director credit for the film, while Whedon received a screenwriting credit.
Justice League is the second most expensive film ever made with an estimated production budget of $300 million. The film premiered in Beijing on October 26, 2017, and was released in the United States in 2D, 3D and IMAX on November 17, 2017. Justice League grossed $657 million worldwide, against an estimated break-even point of up to $750 million. It received mixed reviews from critics; the action sequences, visual effects, and performances (particularly Gadot and Miller) were praised, while the plot, writing, pacing, villain, and overuse of CGI were criticized. The film's tone was met with a polarized reception, with some appreciating the lighter tone compared to previous DC films, while others found it inconsistent.
Cast
Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne / Batman: A wealthy socialite, and the owner of Wayne Enterprises. He dedicates himself to protecting Gotham City from its criminal underworld as a highly trained, masked vigilante equipped with various tools and weapons.
Henry Cavill as Clark Kent / Superman: A member of, and inspiration for, the Justice League, a Kryptonian survivor, and a journalist for the Daily Planet based in Metropolis.
Amy Adams as Lois Lane: An undaunted and compassionate award-winning journalist for the Daily Planet and the love interest for Kent.
Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman: An antiquities dealer, acquaintance of Wayne, and an immortal Amazonian warrior, who is the crown princess of Themyscira and daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. She is endowed with metahuman attributes and abilities inherited from her parents.
Ezra Miller as Barry Allen / The Flash: A Central City University student, who can move at superhuman speeds with his ability to tap into the Speed Force.
Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry / Aquaman: The heir to the throne of the undersea nation of Atlantis. His metahuman aquatic abilities and physical attributes originate from his Atlantean physiology.
Ray Fisher as Victor Stone / Cyborg: A former college athlete who, after being cybernetically reconstructed after a nearly fatal car accident, is turned into a techno-organic being enhanced by reactive, adaptive biomimetic alien technology. Fisher portrays the character through the use of motion capture for the cybernetic portion of his body.
Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth: Wayne's butler, chief of security, and trusted confidant.
Diane Lane as Martha Kent: Kent's adoptive mother.
Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta: Diana's mother and Queen of the Amazons.
J. K. Simmons as James Gordon: The Commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department, and close ally of Batman.
Ciarán Hinds as the voice of Steppenwolf: An alien military officer from Apokolips who leads an army of Parademons and is searching for the three Mother Boxes held on Earth. The character is described as "old, tired" and trying to find a way to escape his role of servitude under Darkseid. Hinds portrayed the villain through use of motion capture and received some advice in the process from Liam Neeson, who had recently done similar work in A Monster Calls.
Filming
Principal photography commenced on April 11, 2016, with shooting taking place at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, as well as various locations around London and Scotland. Additional filming took place in Chicago, Illinois, Los Angeles, and Djúpavík, in the Westfjords of Iceland. The old herring factory in Djúpavík was one Iceland filming location (Ben Affleck appeared to be standing near the herring oil tanks in the "Heroes" trailer). Snyder's longtime cinematographer Larry Fong was replaced by Fabian Wagner due to scheduling conflicts. Affleck also served as executive producer. In May 2016, it was revealed that Geoff Johns and Jon Berg would produce the Justice League films, and would also be in charge of the DC Extended Universe, after the largely negative critical reception of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The same month, Irons stated that the Justice League storyline would be more linear and simple, compared to the theatrical version of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Johns confirmed on June 3, 2016 that the title of the film is Justice League, and later stated that the film would be "hopeful and optimistic" in comparison to previous DCEU films. Filming wrapped in October 2016.
Post-production
In May 2017, Snyder stepped down during post-production of the film to properly deal with the death of his daughter. Joss Whedon, whom Snyder had previously brought on to rewrite some additional scenes, took over to handle post-production duties in Snyder's place. In July 2017, it was announced the film was undergoing two months of reshoots in London and Los Angeles, with Warner Bros. putting about $25 million into them (more than the typical $6–10 million additional filming costs). The reshoots coincided with Cavill's schedule for Mission: Impossible – Fallout, for which he had grown a moustache which he was contracted to keep while filming, so Justice League's VFX team used special effects to digitally remove the moustache in post-production. Warner Bros. later announced that Whedon would receive a screenwriting credit on the film alongside Chris Terrio.
Music
In March 2016, Hans Zimmer, who co-composed the score for Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, stated that he had officially retired from the "superhero business". Junkie XL, who wrote and composed the soundtrack of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with Zimmer, was originally scoring the film. In June 2017, Danny Elfman was announced to have replaced Junkie XL. Elfman had previously composed the films Batman and Batman Returns, and the theme music for Batman: The Animated Series. Elfman confirmed that he would use the Batman theme music from the 1989 film for Batman in the film, and would also briefly use John Williams' Superman theme during "a dark, twisted moment" in the film. The film features a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows" performed by Sigrid, "Icky Thump" performed by the White Stripes, and a cover of the Beatles' "Come Together" performed by Gary Clark Jr. and Junkie XL.
