Justice League (2017)

Elevator Pitch: After the death of Superman, an extra terrestrial being Steppenwolf invades earth with his army of parademons, which are sort of flying ghouls. Steppenwolf intends to unite three “mother boxes” which have super powers, which would establish earth as his home planet. He has opposition, Batman and Wonder Woman recruit The Flash and Cyborg and finally Aquaman. They also dig up superman and reanimate him by using the mother box which they control. Initially Superman does not remember whose side he is on, but being reunited with his foster mother and Lois Lane, he remembers. They battle with Steppenwolf for the future of the world.

Content: No sex or nudity, or drinking or drug taking. The parademons are fierce looking and might frighten small children. We witness Superman’s funeral, accompanied by a terrific cover of Leonard Coen’s “Everybody Knows”. Wonder Woman shows her paces saving people from a bank heist. Batman confers with Alfred, who is a computer wiz. Batman and Wonder Woman, in costume and civvies, get the band together. At various points they fight Steppenwolf and his army. There are also flashbacks relating to previous battles for the boxes, on Atlantis underwater in Aquaman’s territory and elsewhere. Batman makes use of his various planes and vehicles.

A View:  This was an incredibly expensive production said to have lost $60 million, but I note it still costs good money to download.  I watched the first scenes, of the funeral and Wonder Woman doing her stuff and thought it was great, but it was downhill from there. I thought it was just me being unable to follow exactly what was going on, but as it has turned out we were all in the same boat. Honestly, a weak plot bolstered up by numerous peripheral scenes, but maybe a watch for no money just as a curiosity.

Some recent DC Comics superhero films reviewed on this site: The Batman, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Superman 6: Man of Steel .

Additional Info: There is much controversy over the original Zack Snyder rough cut, which was apparently trampled on by the Joss Whedon reshoots and editing.