With mostly terrible reviews (40% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a disappointing opening weekend at the box office, “Justice League” is not the momentum-builder the DC Extended Universe needed after “Wonder Woman.” IndieWire’s own Eric Kohn called the film a “wannabe ‘Avengers’ movie,” and most critics agreed the film is haphazardly plotted and has distractingly bad special effects. Unsurprisingly, Armond White doesn’t agree.
The controversial film critic’s “Justice League” review on the National Review is glowing, hailing the film as a “masterpiece” and the “epic we deserve.” White previously gave a praiseworthy review to “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” which received even worse reviews than “Justice League.” The critic has been a vocal proponent of Zack Snyder’s superhero movies, and the love continues on “Justice League.”
“It’s one of those wondrous Zack Snyder extravaganzas that fulfill the aesthetic potential of comic-book graphics and achieves essential cinema kinetics,” White says of the movie. “His imagery is classical, mythic, and erotic, whereas the males and females in ‘The Avengers’ were kitsch, and Nolan’s Batman films were decidedly asexual.”
According to White, “Justice League” plays like Snyder’s “greatest hits” collection and is a “truncated epic masterpiece” and “triumph.”
“After Marvel has cheapened our pop dreams, Snyder enriches them,” he writes. “Snyder uses the superhero form to evoke our culturally established dreams, myths, and hope. Against all unrelenting studio and media efforts to arrest cinema as juvenile pastime, Snyder exults in its adult spirituality, sensuality, and kinetic intensity; he urges that we keep cinema moving.”
The superior film is now playing in theaters nationwide, but it will need a lot of supporters like White if it wants to turn a profit. According to Deadine, “Justice League” would have to make at least $750 million worldwide just to break even after its reported $300 million budget and $150 marketing fee. Forbes estimates that based on the movie’s lackluster opening that the movie could cost Warner Bros. anywhere from $50-$100 million.
Read White’s entire “Justice League” review here.
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