By Bob Bloom The following titles are being released on Tuesday, March 13, unless otherwise noted: Justice League (Blu-ray + DVD + digital) Details: 2017, Warner Home Video Rated: PG-13, sci-fi violence and action The lowdown: Superheroes, either individually or as a team, can vanquish most foes — terrestrial or extra — but the one enemy immune to their super powers is the studio boss. This is most evident in “Justice League,” DC’s continuing bumbling efforts to create a cinematic universe for their costumed heroes that will equal or surpass their counterpart, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Justice League” began under the direction of Zack Snyder, who also helmed “Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice.” After the movie was nearly completed, Joss Whedon (“The Avengers”) took over, scrapped some of Snyder’s footage, rewrote the script and shot new scenes. This messy mesh is quite evident on screen because “Justice League” lacks a consistent tone and a hurried — and harried — storyline that lacks character development and any sense of camaraderie among its characters. The filmmakers were under orders by Warner bosses to keep “Justice League” at 120 minutes, which included closing credits. As a result, the story itself runs about 110 minutes, which doesn’t leave much time for character or plot development. And that definitely shows as Wayne’s Batman and Prince’s Wonder The restrictions placed on the filmmakers fails to give the audience any chance of really getting to know each of these characters. We mostly learn about their powers — period. That is the least of the film’s problems. The others center on the resurrection of an iconic hero — which is handled in a perfunctory manner without any buildup and messy CGI work during action sequences that make it difficult to follow who is fighting who (or what). Everything in “Justice League” is one-two-three. It’s as if The Flash was behind the camera instead of in front of it. The performances, for the most part, reflect this hasty mish-mash. Critics noticed this as well, giving the movie a disappointing 40 percent fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com. Compensating for the film’s flaws is a dynamite home entertainment release with a brilliant picture and kick-ass audio options that will rock the room. This release would have benefited from the inclusion of the Snyder version of the movie to give audiences some comparison. Perhaps, Warner is holding that for a later time.
New to View: March 13
New to View: March 13
New to View: March 13
By Bob Bloom The following titles are being released on Tuesday, March 13, unless otherwise noted: Justice League (Blu-ray + DVD + digital) Details: 2017, Warner Home Video Rated: PG-13, sci-fi violence and action The lowdown: Superheroes, either individually or as a team, can vanquish most foes — terrestrial or extra — but the one enemy immune to their super powers is the studio boss. This is most evident in “Justice League,” DC’s continuing bumbling efforts to create a cinematic universe for their costumed heroes that will equal or surpass their counterpart, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Justice League” began under the direction of Zack Snyder, who also helmed “Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice.” After the movie was nearly completed, Joss Whedon (“The Avengers”) took over, scrapped some of Snyder’s footage, rewrote the script and shot new scenes. This messy mesh is quite evident on screen because “Justice League” lacks a consistent tone and a hurried — and harried — storyline that lacks character development and any sense of camaraderie among its characters. The filmmakers were under orders by Warner bosses to keep “Justice League” at 120 minutes, which included closing credits. As a result, the story itself runs about 110 minutes, which doesn’t leave much time for character or plot development. And that definitely shows as Wayne’s Batman and Prince’s Wonder The restrictions placed on the filmmakers fails to give the audience any chance of really getting to know each of these characters. We mostly learn about their powers — period. That is the least of the film’s problems. The others center on the resurrection of an iconic hero — which is handled in a perfunctory manner without any buildup and messy CGI work during action sequences that make it difficult to follow who is fighting who (or what). Everything in “Justice League” is one-two-three. It’s as if The Flash was behind the camera instead of in front of it. The performances, for the most part, reflect this hasty mish-mash. Critics noticed this as well, giving the movie a disappointing 40 percent fresh rating at Rottentomatoes.com. Compensating for the film’s flaws is a dynamite home entertainment release with a brilliant picture and kick-ass audio options that will rock the room. This release would have benefited from the inclusion of the Snyder version of the movie to give audiences some comparison. Perhaps, Warner is holding that for a later time.