In all fairness, this is a rollicking ride.
Just wish I wasn’t quite bored with it.
The DC movies have this thing with the collateral damage in the super-powered fights. It gets really overblown with lots of property damage.
When I think back on the last few Marvel movies since Endgame (destroyed the Avengers Compound), they have been somewhat careful about where the major fights take place and the damage it might cause to the surroundings be it Black Widow (a floating fortress crashing down in some empty field), Shang Chi (a mystical village but barely scratched, really), Eternals (an island in the Pacific), or even the most recent Thor (mostly New Asgard but mostly the square there, the Eternal City maybe). The last time a city got destroyed was probably Age of Ultron, leading to the Sokovia Accords implemented in Civil War (destroyed an airport there).
DC fights have brought down buildings around Metropolis (Man of Steel), a whole Russian town (Justice League), flooded a city (The Batman); even Aquaman destroyed a few buildings in a Greek village but kept the big fight in the middle of the ocean. Should we mention the destructive chaos of The Suicide Squad? Now we’re in the fictional country of Khandaq for this one, ripe for destruction in some way.
Maybe that’s why some movie fans are leaning away from the Marvel films favouring the explosions and destructions over character development. While we have some (or actually very little), it is outclassed by the mayhem. That’s not to say the cast don’t do well, they just do the best they can with the material they have.
As advertised, this is Dwayne Johnson’s show, and as much as they other characters want to talk about the rage of Teth-Adam, Johnson doesn’t quite bring that as much as the pathos inherent in the character. Johnson gets that very well and the story plays out the very core of that aspect. The rest of the Justice Society, however, don’t quite latch on to that, focussing on the potential ‘rage’ within Adam and the destruction it might cause, while causing much of the chaos themselves.
That’s down to a typical aspect that turned me off the DCU CW shows. Dialogue gets drowned out over platitudes and posturing about who’s right and who’s wrong. It just feels so odd having Hawkman /Carter Hall (Aldis Hodge) keep going on about how heroes should behave, while carrying out orders from one Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). And if you’ve been following her through the other DCEU movies, its quite a dichotomy going on there. On top of it, you have Adam frequently declaring “I’m not a hero” as a counterpoint.
It has to take Adrianna (Sarah Shahi) to mediate tentative talks between the two opposing punching bags to the point where even Dr Fate (Pierce Brosnan) just settles into a seat waiting for the fisticuffs to blow over, as the two hotheads are trashing a whole apartment. Fights for the sake of action beats that go nowhere, and the fight design doesn’t impress because they’re both overpowered super-beings mostly duking it out.
It doesn’t feel like there’s any peril, the stakes feel minimal; there’s no real struggle with neither side really fighting for any right. The idea and philosophy over heroics is there, but barely explored. It could have been interesting for them to tackle the misinterpretations of mythologies and legacies of heroes, especially with myths and legends given the 5000 years spanning Adam’s incarceration, but that’s glossed over.
It’s a skinny burger of a story with so much potential… and it still runs a full two hours. By the time the movie finished, I felt like someone had dug up some old 90s superhero flick and gave it a big budget VFX polish.
Director Jaume Collet-Serra (Jungle Cruise), who has delivered a string of decent to mediocre Liam Neeson thrillers (Unknown, Non-Stop, Run All Night, The Commuter), seems to direct with a journeyman sensibility, delivering what might have been ordered by a committee who have scoured a few Marvel movies and did a pick-and-mix. He does well, finding a few moments to bring some flair and shine, and ultimately he does deliver an entertaining film.
It satisfies, but leaves you wishing there was more to it.
Or as written at the beginning, it’s a rollicking ride.
Rating: 
/5
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra
Written by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines, & Sohrab Noshirvani
Stars Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Sarah Shahi, Noah Centineo, Quintessa Swindell, Marwen Kenzari, Bodhi Sabongui, Mohammed Amer, with Viola Davis, and Pierce Brosnan
et all three!
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