'Justice League' (2017) Movie Review

Justice League is clunky and messy. It’s jumbled and misshapen. The presence of multiple directors—Zack Snyder did the bulk of the heavy lifting, though Joss Whedon handled extensive reshoots and rewrites, and roughly 20% of the finished film belongs to him, according to reports—is readily apparent in the mishmash of tones and the fact that it watches like multiple movies shoehorned together. Cringe-worthy choices abound. The fight scenes all look like they’re lifted from a video game promo. And, of course, since this is a superhero movie, the plot revolves around an iconic group of comic book characters searching for CGI boxes powerful enough to destroy the world. But for all the bumps and bruises and problems, and they are legion, Justice League is a hell of a lot of fun.

SIFF '13 Review: 'Much Ado About Nothing'

Though they may seem unlikely bedfellows, when you throw William Shakespeare and Joss Whedon together, you wind up with one hell of a popcorn movie. That shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, that’s what Whedon does. He has a fantastic pop sensibility, and turns out great, whip-smart movies that are equally entertaining. And even given his pantheonic placement in academia, that’s precisely what the Shakespeare did in his day, deliver populist entertainment that was never watered down. And when you put the Bard in the hand of the man who directed “The Avengers,” what you get is the latest adaptation of “Much AdoAbout Nothing.”