The first full official trailer for Warner Bros/DC’s new tentpole film, Justice League, hit this morning! If you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, here it is! Be sure to keep scrolling to see what the Psycho Drive-In All-Stars had to say about it, and then let us know what you thought in the comments section below!
The DC Universe is on a roll. It ain’t really the kind of roll you want to be on, though. With the triple hitter of duds like Man of Steel, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, they need something to break their slump.
The Wonder Woman trailer that premiered a few weeks ago looks fantastic, but with this new Justice League trailer, they have reached an all-time low it seems. It is visually detestable. The muted color palette is a carryover from the unrepentantly dour look of Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Zack Snyder has somehow been given the keys to the kingdom with the entire DC Universe. The only one of these films that came close to working was Man of Steel. Since then the films have been rushed into production with barely completed, if not still-being-written scripts. This looks to be par for the course. There seems to be a murky outline of a story here. Seeing this trailer reminded me that this film faced countless filming issues and that whatever is happening with Ben Affleck’s Batman film seems to be facing an uphill battle.
It is fun seeing The Flash and Wonder Woman, but the rest of the crew have wardrobe updates that exist in some false reality that I haven’t been privy to. I’m rooting for this film. I’m rooting for this universe a lot because Batman, Superman and Wonder woman are all heroes that I love. However, it is getting increasingly hard to root for this series. I hate seeing these characters stranded in this kind of schlock.
Years from now we will look upon this string of films with the befuddlement one tends to think of when they recall such works as Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever. I hope I am wrong when November rolls around, but unfortunately, it looks like we will be trapped in another overlong and over-serious comic book iteration that can’t find a clear or coherent story to tell.
— Peterson Hil
After dropping teasers for each of the main characters over the past few days, Warner Bros finally gave us an official trailer for Justice League this morning and it’s pretty much everything you might have imagined it would be. Of course, depending on what you’ve thought of their previous Superhero movie magic, that imagining could be good or, in my case, horrible.
I’m still waiting for a good DC Superhero movie (fingers crossed for Wonder Woman in June) and this trailer is a conglomeration of all the previous films’ worst characteristics. We’ve got ridiculous slow-mo, horrible green screen backgrounds, unnecessarily angular armor on just about everybody, lots of Batman-related machine-gun fire, explosions, fire, and lots and lots of murky darkness. And since it was the best part of Batman V Superman, we also get a shot of Wonder Woman in battle stance with the dudes behind her.
The action is difficult to follow thanks to the way it’s cut together (hopefully just for the trailer – if it’s this fractured in the actual film, it’ll be migraine-inducing), but there seems to be a lot of it. There’s also a fair amount of humor on display – not all of it actually sticks the landing, but at least it shows some awareness of what people actually want from these films.
And by that, I mean, people want heroes that are heroic and likable, rather than mopey sour-pusses singularly obsessed with their pain and damage.
Speaking of the heroes, there’s not a lot to go one here (and no, there’s no hint of Superman anywhere, although we do get a shot of Lois so we don’t forget he’s out there somewhere), but based on the style alone, this looks like an amazing Crime Syndicate film!
I kid, I kid! Sort of.
Zack Snyder’s avoidance of any bright colors that aren’t fireball, laser, or lava-related makes it difficult to really see our heroes when they’re in action. And personality-wise, aside from some snarky wisecracks (all aimed at Batfleck) we’re still not given an idea of just who these characters are. Wonder Woman and Batman are essentially set up as super serious and bland. (Should the Bat-Suit make Affleck’s face look that puffy? It’s like his cowl is a size too small. And his Bat-Voice is still garbage.) Flash is, well, I don’t know. He’s snarky. Cyborg is kind of vanilla and boring.
But the character that’s going to be the most love him or hate him appears to be Aquaman. I’ve been reading comics for 45ish years and this isn’t any Aquaman I’m familiar with. His look is taken almost entirely from Jae Lee’s 90’s Namor (Marvel’s alternative to an Atlantean Monarch), and it seems that Jason Momoa‘s frat bro characterization is an attempt to distance the character from that same source. If he started talking like an actual king instead of some jock dude who might slip a roofie in your drink at a party, Marvel might have grounds to sue.
I’m also a little concerned that the bad guys are yet another variation on the faceless CG minions in the hundreds that both DC (Suicide Squad) and Marvel (just about everything) have fallen back on as suitable grand finale material. It’s getting boring, guys. And that’s my biggest takeaway.
Even with all the explosions and slow-mo action, this trailer bored me to tears. What I could actually see of it, anyway.
— Paul Brian McCoy
My first thought is, “Where’s Superman in all of this?” Because, despite that lame-ass fakeout at the end of BATMAN V SUPERMAN, we all know he isn’t dead. Even if that was one’s first ever exposure to the world of superhero movies (where the dead are never really dead), he’s in the damn movie poster. But sure, I’ll play along.
At least we finally get a good look at the newly revamped Aquaman, a big bro-hunk who might do more for the ladies than he did with orange fish-scales and green tights. Apparently, he can do more than just ride dolphins and open cans of tuna for the Super Friends’ lunch now. The other guys look alright too, meaning the robot-dude and the Flash. Someone remind me why we needed another new Flash when there’s a perfectly good one over on the CW. Oh yeah, because of DC’s inconsistency.
And, of course, there’s Wonder Woman. She was the biggest draw to last year’s superbrawl for me, hell, for most of us. Now that Ben Affleck’s not directing the next bat-flick, she’s the only one of these jokers’ stand-alone films I’m even looking forward to. Too bad that in the trailer for this one, she pretty much makes the same kinda appearance in the same kinda pose that she did in the last one. Kinda felt like a repeat.
All of that being said, I think Zach Snyder should consider just directing trailers. Because – here it is – that actually looked okay to me. I would have said that it looked “pretty damn good,” but I thought MAN OF STEEL and BATMAN V SUPERMAN both looked pretty damn good based on the trailers. I see those trailers now and, if I’ve been drinking enough to forget I’ve seen the end result, I still really want to see them. Oh yeah, Zach Snyder, you’ve burned us before. So I’ll just say that looks okay . . . and reserve judgment for November. But I don’t have a good feeling about this.
— John E. Meredith