Six Things the ‘Justice League’ Film Needs

LordTJ
Movies DC
Movies DC

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has now come and gone the hype is finally over and we have seen what Zack Snyder and his team has done with some of the world’s most beloved superheroes. Despite how you may feel about the film being good or bad the WB/DC train is still moving and filming for Justice League is already underway in Europe.  Though the script has long been written for both movies we can only hope that they will correct things for the big team-up which failed in Batman v Superman. Below I have compiled six crucial things I believe Justice League needs to be a great film in part one and part two.

6. Darkseid

darkseid

No matter how you spin it Darkseid is one of the most revered villains in the DC universe and has been a primary foe of Justice League for some time. Originally born under the name Uxas, he was a regular prince from the royal family of the planet Apokolips.

He seized the throne from his brother by obtaining the power of the Omega Realm and when he emerged from it, he was transformed into the stone like skin villain we see him as today and he took up the name Darkseid. His main goal has been to rid the universe of free will by means of obtaining the anti-life equation in which had caused him to show a special interest in Earth, as he always believed human beings to contain most of the equation within their minds.

We have seen the Justice League and Superman  himself take on Darkseid in the comic books, animation, and video games but never have we see him on film. With Batman’s nightmare sequences showing the omega symbol and the deleted Lex clip of his communicating with Darkseid minions, it is no doubt that he has to be the main villain. If done right, this could be the greatest clashes in cinema history.

5. Green Lanterns

Officially the Green Lantern film is set to come out in the year 2020 but you can’t have a Justice League film without him. However notice I put an (s) on to lantern, because they need to have at least two to three Green Lanterns to make sense of the route WB/DC are taking. A lot of these heroes in the extended universe are already existing and more than likely have been for some time. Batman has been around fighting crime in Gotham for twenty years, Wonder Woman for decades and Aquaman  for unknown lengths of time under the sea. DC is trying to bridge the gap and do a completely different model than Marvel, and to do that not only does Hal Jordan needs to appear but at least John Stewart as well. I personally think three to four Green Lanterns at the max: Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Kyle Raner, and Jessica Cruz for the team. Justice League is not complete without at least showing one of them, even if the other lanterns come later in 2020 but one needs to be present in the Justice League films.

4. Atlantis

atlantis

Aquaman is due to grace the silver screen with his solo film in 2018 but next year we are going to see him in all of his glory in Justice League Part One. Batman and Wonder Woman are going to assemble the team and without a doubt, they have to get Aquaman by going to the depths of the north Atlantic. We can only hope that Atlantis will be shown in its full glory and we get to spend some time there to bask in the underwater realm. This is an untapped place that filmgoers have not experienced yet and can provide some amazing visuals.

3. Teamwork

Batman v Superman trio

In Batman v Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman come together rather quickly and not from an organized plan but from the threat of Doomsday. One thing is clear; they were not working as a team. There wasn’t really a plan in place but to ultimately stop Doomsday. Batman ducked down and hid, Superman shot heat beams and then went running off to save Lois, and Wonder Woman went in full in like the warrior she is. It would have been nice to see a coordinated effort to bring down Doomsday, but hopefully, this will change in Justice League. Each of the seven members of the Justice League has their own special strengths and they should be utilized in unison onscreen to defeat their enemies.  This is what makes the Justice League work so well in the comic books and the animated movies. Hopefully Zack and his crew will recognize this and bring it to the screen. If they don’t work as a team then what’s the point?

2. Character Development

lego batman feature

One thing Batman V. Superman and Man of Steel lacked was character development, particularly with the Man of Steel himself. Much of what the characters do in the films are simply just random things to move the story along, but there is not a solid transformation or inner journey in any of these characters. In Batman v Superman we are not connected to Batman’s sole cause to kill Superman and no real sympathy for the possibility of Superman dying. These characters need better arcs where we are able to connect with them on a personal level; this allows us to feel for them when tragic things happen. As the Justice League manifests, one can only hope we are submerged on a personal level with these characters and the choices they make.

1. Fluid Storytelling

Clayface Batman

One thing Zack Snyder boasts is great visuals but as we have learned from several other films sometimes pretty pictures isn’t enough. Everyone nowadays has gotten pretty much used to visual effects, so what may have been amazing thirteen years ago visually may not be now. The ground base for any film is always its story first. As a person myself who has a degree in filmmaking, I have seen many of my colleagues get hyped up about the technical element and imagery that they forget about the story. A movie script is its foundation, it’s what everything is built upon, though Zack is not solely responsible for penning the screenplay, he is the director. The director will always take the bulk of the heat as he is the creative overseer of the film. We do know it was his idea to have Batman and Superman together, but seeing the end result showed us the storytelling was sloppy and there was evidence that they were trying to do too much given the running time. With Justice League, they need to take time with the characters and not overcrowd the film with unnecessary story lines. Tell us a concise story one where we will fill for the characters, understand their reasons, and be gripped by the intense moments where the action and visuals matters.

Justice League releases November 17, 2017