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Justice League

8/10

Stars: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J.K. Simmons, Ciaran Hinds, Amber Heard, Joe Morton, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Ingvar Sigurdsson, David Thewlis, Sergi Constance

Director: Zack Snyder

Superman died in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

So, continuing the action-heavy saga of DC Comics' (Definitely Commercial?) legion of comic book superheroes, director Snyder states, 'Just the idea of getting the Justice League together on the same playing field, taking their place on the cinematic landscape as a team and embarking on an amazing adventure - the mere concept of it was awe-inspiring', And, armed with Chris Terrio, and Joss Whedon's anything-and-everything-goes screenplay (story by Terri and Snyder) and award-worthy special effects and editing, Snyder delivers enough action and movie magic to satisfy most superhero devotees.

The central storyline of this follow-on to the first film finds the world still mourning the death of Superman (make sure you read the opining credits - they might just help ease your grief which sadly isn’t the case for Affleck's Bruce Wayne/Batman, who, still shattered Superman's demise, is miserable as hell - until, naturally, he finds a mission destained to save Mankind yet again and ease his emotional misery into the bargain.

Monstrous, huge-horned intergalactic villain Steppenwolf (satanically voiced by Hinds), accompanied by hordes of demonic winged monsters have invaded Earth in search of a trio of magic energy-packed 'Motherboxes' which, used correctly, can destroy the planet, leaving Affleck and Gadot's Wonder Woman to recruit a band of DC superheroes (well, what else would you expect?) to save Mankind, the planet and probably the universe as well.

So enter three more DC creations - Miller's The Flash, whose talent for high speed makes comets seem sluggish, Fisher's Cyborg who, despite having to cope with being part robot does the heroic business and super-swimmer Aquaman (Momoa) - who, along with Batman and Wonder Woman, naturally succeed in saving the day and paving the way for yet another sequel.

Everyone involved on both sides of the camera does exactly what is required of them, resulting in Snyder delivering a surefire success with genre fans as well as providing celluloid superhero movie neophytes with lashings of action, movie magic and easy-to-assimilate emotional motivation that creates extraordinary characters with unexpected - if hardly Phd Level - emotional depth that blends convincing superpowers with all-too-human passions.

Alan Frank

USA 2017. UK Distributor: Warner Brothers. Colour.
119 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: 12A.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 0.

Review date: 16 Nov 2017