Justice League reviewed by Mark Kermode

Mark Kermode reviews Justice League. Batman and his new ally, Wonder Woman, enlist other super-powered people to help fight off an extraterrestrial threat to the planet.
Please tell us what you think of the film -- or Mark’s review of the film - below. We love to include your views on the show every Friday.
www.bbc.co.uk/5live
Fridays at 2pm on BBC 5 live.

[@IrishPuroFan]

* Clip ends * "He's the comic relief" , the exhaustion in Kermodes voice says it all.

[@joynerkt]

Jonny Norwood lol

[@XEM_Ajax]

@Fox Eliseo yeah no one cares

[@CaradocX]

"By comparison, Joel Schumacher's Batman and Robin is a masterclass in coherence, in character development and razor sharp storytelling" If Mark Kermode was a Mortal Kombat character, we'd have just seen his FATALITY move.

[@stefanfilipovits21]

🤣

[@AJ-kj1go]

I don't think he liked it

[@TheTonyEntertainment]

The Bamboozler 😂 you think

[@timy9197]

Really? I thought he seemed pretty positive about it...

[@RabbiSteve]

The Bamboozler What gave it away?

[@tbd8702]

"That feels like an oversimplification"

He didnt like it because he isnt very intelligent. He didnt even understand that she got there on her invisible plane.

[@TheGoldSwordSquad]

The thing that people on the internet don't seem to understand is that when somebody criticises the Justice League film it probably isn't because they are a marvel fan who hates DC films it's probably because they are a DC fan who was genuinely disappointed with the quality of the movie

[@timetochronicle]

He pointed out Wonder Woman and the Dark Knight as good comparisons.

[@TheTonyEntertainment]

Rolf Penison 😂 savage

[@juancarlos-dx1or]

I am one of those disapointed dc fans(i learned to read with those characters) and i think the problems so far are the generic plots(mcguffins and cgi villains) WB tought the solution was more comedy and it clearly was not.

[@TomGallagherSuperboyBeyond]

i'm a huge fan of DC comics, the best thing i can say about Justice League is that they finally got Superman right. He finally feels like the character ive been reading in comics for a quarter of a century, too bad his mouth looks weird

[@battlep0t]

I want both Marvel and DC to be good to encourage competition. But Wonder Woman is really the only film of their shared universe i've liked so far, that's not bias that's just honesty.

[@jerrycornelius3466]

If you want a cgi hero this week....Paddington is your man. Paw of Justice.

[@cooperm4185]

Jerry Cornelius but I live in the states :(

[@avxx0035]

Cooper McGill Good news, WB is gonna release it in the US

[@brandonwalton443]

“He’s the comic relief..” hahahaha absolutes trashing

[@PauLtus_B]

How else were we supposed to tell?

[@langerlord]

The threatiest threat in the history of threatiness!😂

[@davechucks]

Kermode steals from Black Adder but lacks the cunning of a Turnip or the intellect of Baldrick.

[@doodooswaggy3825]

@@davechucks Yeah well you’re gay

[@davidalkhed3368]

This is one of Kermode’s best rants in a long time.

[@kernel2006]

"Thunderously boring".

[@TheSt1092]

Nothing will ever beat the Pirates of the Caribbean 3 rant.

[@RabbiSteve]

Yes. Loved the rant. But also loved the movie.

[@niallh4194]

Entourage will always be the best. But it is a good day when we get one

[@kermodeandmayo]

Thank you, David.

[@passiveagressive4983]

6:50 Jesse Eisenberg playing Lex Luther 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@grantwallace1882]

Sooooo looking forward to seeing... ... Paddington 2

[@hamidrahman120]

Grant Wallace seen it it's great and better than this

[@grantwallace1882]

Doctor Doom Sorry, I don't smoke.

[@EthanJohn1986]

omg yer so funny and witty and edgy ....omg

[@subroy7123]

"Threatiest threat of threatiness".

[@PeterPurdie]

My 12 year old (seen-every-MCU-film-20-times) daughter's review was that she "wasn't sure whether it was deliberately corny or not because some parts were sooooo corny."

[@aliasbrush2]

Your 12-year-old daughter sounds more sophisticated than many adults.

[@metbluejones3455]

When he said that JL is a mess and makes Schumacher's Batman films look like master class in filmmaking... you know shits about the get real.

[@avxx0035]

thefleece 2 nope, Batman and Robin had better effects and was funnier than this

[@sugelanren]

...but did he like it?

[@TheTonyEntertainment]

sugelanren I think he did. I'm not sure 🤔

[@barobaro1]

yeah i could see in his insult to the movie that he really liked it

[@yakuza01]

I agree with Kermode about the misguided criticism of BvS or MoS being bad because of lack of humor. I couldn't care less if you don't throw one single joke as long you got a good story and engaging characters. Frankly, the lack of jokes is the least of the problems with these movies. I feel this has set WB to a completely wrong course to fix this mess.

[@leonthesleepy]

HELLO DARKNESS MY OLD FRIEND

[@FutureBoy.]

Darkness: Hello.

[@moeezS]

"Thunderously boring" Ruthless. Love Kermode.

[@rhaenyrareigns2200]

I think that Kermode meant it as an underlining of how strongly boring it was. Thunders are extremely loud and so he emphasized how boring the film was without shouting about it. Think this way: "You've heard the applause" versus "You've heard the thunder of applause".

[@avxx0035]

WhiteRussianBC It is when it's in a DC movie where everything is

[@professionalhater9]

Klaymen!!

[@Rocketscienceshorts]

That line stood out to me too!

[@SamrudhVNayak]

Mark really is disappointed, isn't he?! You can totally feel it.

[@hilaryc8648]

DC seem to be intent on creating a completely new genre of 'barely films' film. Perhaps it's something we should embrace as we might a newly discovered species of beaver or something.

[@nosuchthing8]

Hilary Celery go see antman gone

[@hilaryc8648]

Michael Otis - That reminds me a bit of Woody Allen's 'Sleeper' when people in the future have discovered that tobacco and deep fried food are 'two of he healthiest things in the world. '

[@arlosteiner8382]

Hold on. There's a new kind of beaver?

[@idjamzul]

Go watch The Justice League & feel free to buy the DLC 😂

[@rhaenyrareigns2200]

I'm afraid that 'barely films' film category was invented by Uwe Boll years ago.

[@akort7276]

I saw this movie last night and I thought it was meh. Kermode is making this sound like it's a bad as a Transformers movie. Its ok though this movie isn't for everyone and I appreciate your honesty.

[@Film_Fan24]

As someone who likes all the DCEU films except Suicide Squad, this movie was underwhelming. It's even more clear after this film Warner Bros. have no idea what they're doing.

[@Sinkinson_]

Personally was really disappointed as a DC and Cinema fan 😥

[@oscarmike1131]

Who Films as a comics and movie fan, I had fun with it.

[@nathanliteroy9835]

Did you like BvS?

[@Sinkinson_]

Nathan Literoy I enjoyed elements of it, but overall not really

[@nathanliteroy9835]

Ok, thanks :) Seems we had the same experience

[@Sinkinson_]

It's a shame because I love the comic characters (Im reading the DC Rebirth line with Superman specifically)

[@NowhereMan2710]

I love that Mark's key Doctor Who reference is 'reverse the polarities'!

[@Vidar_Odinson]

All of the Superman scenes are hilarious because they had to digitally edit out the actor's moustache and it shoooows so badly. He was contractually bound to keep it due to another role he had while they did reshoots for Justice League. What an epic waste of time and money.

[@fitnessabcvideo]

VidarOdinson79 Yup, his face was hard to take serious, and the most annoying thing it was most obvious in the best scenes of the film (headbutt). Sigh...

[@ezrasky3761]

Only because they told you this beforehand. You wouldn't have noticed otherwise.

[@Vidar_Odinson]

Weird non-provable argument. It looks fake and unnatural, like CGI Tarkin and Leia in Star Wars.

[@fitnessabcvideo]

Ezra Sky Nope, his face looks off, proper off, it was like when the done a CGI scorpion king in the mummy returns. I didn't know about the Superman CGI, I heard of steppen Wolfe being a little stiff but that's about it. I never watch or listen to views prior to a film if I can help it.

[@manjackson2772]

VidarOdinson79 they should have done a Cesar Romero

[@ImmaterialDigression]

This is why I am subscribed to this channel.

[@StreetsOfVancouverChannel]

FYI: Snyder had shot and planned for an almost three-hour final theatrical version... but the head of Warner issued a decree that the film had to be edited down to two hours long (so that its runtime facilitated a maximum number of showings per cinema). It's likely that an extended cut Blu-ray version will be closer to three-hours long... but from the sounds of your review it won't make the film any better or more coherent.

[@marcb2raw]

Same thing they did to BvS. Warner Bros are not very good with comic book characters except for Batman.

[@mitrooper]

Well, Thor Ragnarok had also lots of cuts..but it was a blast from beginning to end.

[@AnthonyMcNeil]

Streets of Vancouver Why do people use this excuse. Every damn movie is cut. Seriously, if ever director wanted all the scenes they shot in the movie then every single movie we would get would be 3 to 4 hrs long. The problem is Zack Snyder, he bot a competent director and yet people still defend him. People seriously act like the directors cut of BvS turned it into a masterpiece. 3hrs of this movie wouldn't have made it a LoTR masterpiece...

[@TheArtkaw]

3 hours will never make Snyder's version of Luthor any better, that's for sure.

[@DavidHeffron78]

Excellent. Another 60 minutes of dross.

[@Markfjames]

also to add the hilarious fact they had to digitally remove Henry Cavill's moustache

[@fracmental5166]

The only movie that makes you ask your self "How did I get here?"

[@CalumRaasay]

Always enjoy when Kermode drops a video game reference. He mentioned Assassins Creed a while back, now the Lord of the Rings games! Good stuff.

[@andrewproctor3922]

It's not very often I agree with a film critic, but in this case I do. I came out of the cinema on Friday and I still can't quite describe what I saw. The saddest thing about seeing this film is that I enjoyed the trailers more. All I can say is that I'm really looking forward to seeing Darkest hour. That's all I took away from this "Film", if you can call it that.

[@Mr_RichardH]

You didn't like it then?

[@seano19]

He’s the comic relief *perfectly timed pause* Haha

[@joshkkg1519]

I love re-watching this review. One of his best IMO.

[@rochestertostivesrace1068]

The theatrical release of Justice League was an absolute mess. A Project that was taken over by Joss Wheldon who transformed it into a frankenstien movie. Zach Snyder has been given the opportunity to complete the film as per his original vision. A four hour epic that is being released on HBO Max in 2021.

[@brianfunt2619]

I remember watching it and being somewhat surprised that a film could be this bad

[@otterpoet]

"...the threatiest threat of threatiness..." Yep, that pretty much had me in tears XD

[@bullzeye1423]

I wish this was longer. Good review

[@CROSSFADEEDAFE]

I'm gonna have to disagree with Kermode here, those licensed LOTR games were damn fun!

[@andrewmorton7482]

It's interesting to compare this with Avengers: Endgame. Kermode's comments on the vulnerability of superheroes plays out big time in that movie

[@timothymclean]

One big problem I noticed was the pacing. They tried _so_ hard to cut the film down to the two-hour mark, and it shows. The scenes have no room to breathe; it's like nearly every moment where the characters weren't doing or saying something important for plot, action setpieces, or the character development outline was chopped out, and perhaps entire character scenes which were necessary only in aggregate. They tried to cram in too much, and then they cut it down.

[@idlt4]

Just came out of this and would rather have been watching BVS. That film had ideas, conviction, and character. They were all, absolutely all of them completely wrong, but as Kermode says, I'd rather watch a properly bad film than a half-hearted, boring one

[@rhaenyrareigns2200]

The threaty threat felt truly threatening... heard repeated so many times.

[@hellion7514]

Simon’s reaction at 3:04 😂😂😂🤣

[@TehDookman]

Anyone know who he's talking about at 6:10? (really hope it isn't Jason Momoa)

[@Makkajakka]

7:10 - I haven't seen the film yet, but was Kermode referring to Lex Zuckerberg by any chance?

[@doomantidote]

While the threatiest threat of threatiness threatens.

[@WildSkyMtn]

Didn’t you think the part where steppenwolf attacked the women on the island was awesome? How about the batmobile scene? That was amazing how he was shooting all those bug things while driving backwards. I don’t get how reviewers didn’t like that stuff. But yet they gush when it happens in Thor or Wonder Woman. But if amazing scenes happen in Batman they hate it. I don’t get it

[@aazell]

Btosky... that's the problem with Zach Snyder... it's just a series of cool bits... not a coherent film. I love the warehouse battle scene from BvS but that doesn't make it a good film...

[@doodooswaggy3825]

Clearly he didn’t think those were “awesome.” I’m glad you like cartoons and more power to you, but don’t expect everyone to gush over it.

[@davidwinters8325]

The Flash sounds like Morty from Family Guy. The film is terrible, don't watch it.

[@d-x-v-i]

When Mark's chair creaks in the silence after the clip, it's a judgement in itself.

[@Poseiden2]

Great comment Mark - any superhero film has to have a lead character (and also its villains/supporting cast) with vulnerabilities, nuances and qualities that make them 3 dimensional and allow people to relate to them. The original Spiderman trilogy and the Dark Knight trilogy had this; many of the more recent films haven't, in my opinion.

[@davechucks]

This review is simply total rubbish and a dishonest reflection of the film. I don't mind people having different opinions about things but Kermode is actually inventing complete lies about Justice League.... I say inventing but he's reading a script. I'm not sure who's hoops he is jumping through but it's woeful critiquing.

[@cindytartt4048]

@@davechucks yup, you and I and the original poster must be confused about the film he’s actually reviewing….🙄😬

[@nickparton5663]

I can't see Kermode being willing to sit through 4 hours worth of unadulterated Zack Snyder, but I would enjoy listening to him giving the Snyder Cut an utter kicking

[@ion_iot]

But many critics think it's better than the first one.

[@cindytartt4048]

@@ion_iot many critics being the ones sitting on their couches with microwave popcorn…..

[@doodooswaggy3825]

@@ion_iot Not like that’s a high bar to clear.

[@JamesMc2051]

Really wish they'd reduce the number of superhero movies made nowadays. I like the odd one but you can mine a subject too much and too often.

[@stevengao8527]

Comic nerds need to realise in the general population there is no Marvel fan or DC fan. It's just people who want to watch a good movie

[@basjar2]

Ah, a good old fashioned Kermode rant. Made my day, thank you Doctor

[@rynglbrt_]

hahaha i love it, add this to the list of greatest kermode rants

[@spicyoctopus]

Any guesses which actor he was referring to as wooden and possibly CGI?

[@sneakpeeker]

Same thing happens to me. I look at you and wonder how did you get there?

[@lordmclovin3694]

Do they make these films bad as part of an elaborate scheme to sell extended blu rays? Because the 3 hour directors cut show more of the plot? I'm really want to know.

[@ladair30]

Rushed as Marvel doing well, needed origin films linking up to this mostly Cyborg and Aquaman

[@TroysFilmClub]

Ah.. Simon's final line is genius.

[@geesus77]

This was amazing, had to watch three times. Thanks God for making kermode.

[@wulfric9573]

I enjoyed the movie. Though it doesn't "faithfully adapt" the stories of any particular DC thread or event, this is exactly what it's like to read and follow DC comic books.

[@maverickmak]

That was pretty brutal.

[@nicholasdickens2801]

I think Wonder Woman was a really great film. This was just yet another mess. They really need to learn from WW and not do BvS but with jokes.

[@leema8492]

Finally a succinct and accurate review!

[@manuelpolanco6109]

Did that character at the 2nd end credit have a his facial hair CGIed off?

[@tobiaspaterson6507]

I haven't seen it but i imagine that end character he is talking about is Jesse Eisenberg's Luthor lol

[@sebwilkins]

I watched the movie last night and i share his disappointment and it takes quite a lot for me to be disappointed in a super-hero movie. A lot of the scenes felt cobbled together and disjointed, as though a lot of the story was cut from the movie and left on the cutting room floor. It essentially tried to be the Avengers of 2012 and failed.

[@skelly7230]

NUMBER 10 ON TRENDING BABY

[@ashesfrombones]

Joel Schumacher knew he was making a stupid corny batman flick when he did batman, Zack on the other hand, PRETEND he knew how a story or plot of a movie was made

[@ConnorEllisMusic]

Batman has a grappling hook and he can glide. Wonder Woman CAN fly. That's how they got up there.

[@stefanfilipovits21]

“ it has the Michael Bolton problem: Where do we go from here?” 😆😅😂🤣💀

[@luckyspurs]

If Kenneth Branagh or Wally Pfister had made the exact same film though, he'd have loved it. Murder on the Orient Express was wooden and rubbish too wasn't it?

[@PhDTony_original]

It's been a while since I've been able to just sit back and enjoy a torrent of piping hot Kermode-isms. It's the little things in life that make it worth living.

[@TadRaunch]

Who was the character that came back at the end that Mark was talking about?

[@davechucks]

The final end credit sequence, don't scratch your head too much on this, you might go bald.

[@TadRaunch]

I didn't realize there was another end credit sequence since I really wanted to get out of the theater, and I thought the race scene was all there was. I guess it was the DC Thanos or whatever? Anyway, my hairline's already receding.

[@davechucks]

Nearly everyone went in the Cinema we were in on Thursday... but it was worth the wait... there is another character in that sequence too, initials DS... or when not in costume SW.

[@davechucks]

Oh bald was a clue ... it wasn't Darkseid

[@TadRaunch]

Yeah, I figured it out nearly immediately after I hit reply, but I figured I'd leave the post up just so everyone knows how slow I am.

[@jor9423]

Any idea which actor he’s claiming to be the wooden one?

[@geesus77]

Kermode is national treasure.

[@LDBCFC]

Mayo cracked me up so much in this review hahah

[@sdg172]

From the trailer it appears that lessons have not been learnt from BVSDOJ.

[@Betterthingswecanachieve]

He’s spot on about Dr Who’s running out of threat levels

[@chrisofnottingham]

Well, I wasn't going to see this film, but based on Mark's recommendation I'll give it a go.

[@davechucks]

Yes you know when Kermode hates on something it's going to be a thousand times better than he says.

[@mic187x2]

Ezra Miller was trying to be in this movie what Tom Holland was to Captain America Civil War.

[@readynow12345]

This review makes me want to see even more.

[@wnapholi]

Hilarious review. Made me laugh on a Friday evening

[@simonmandrakejones]

The threatiest threat of all time...Gotta love Kermode.

[@simonmandrakejones]

Was it Jar Jar Binks? Much as I love Mark ranting, I love Simon's little dry asides.

[@AHALambda101]

oh i'm looking forward to this....

[@RabbiSteve]

AHALambda101 it's good. This is Kermode's opinion. I respect it, and usually agree. But not here. I think he's way off. Not in his not liking it. Obviously, that's his prerogative. But in his saying it is an incoherent mess. It is true that the reduced running time makes it feel rushed. But unlike Kermode, I was never bored. Nor did I have any problem following. And I had no, "Oh, c'mon, give me a break!" moments, unlike with BvS.

[@MrSteveyLou]

I haven't seen it yet. Who's the wooden character?

[@cklambo]

superman

[@efosaosaghae2899]

cyborg

[@Triertop]

judging from the Clip they showed it's Bruce Wayne

[@cymrogogogoch931]

Solomon Grundy,

[@SlartiMarvinbartfast]

Batman's chair?

[@chriscicala324]

One of the first honest reviews

[@passiveagressive4983]

This is DC trying to play catch up with Marvel and failing

[@BluRayMan12]

I'm not going to lie. I absolutely despise 2/4 of the DC extended universe films (Wonder Woman is great though.) Even with that being said I'm kind of fascinated to see what the final cut of this film looks like (not seen it myself yet) just because of the sheer number of production issues that were involved in making it. I'm legitimately amazed they were able to get it finished on time. If I were to take a guess I'd say the production and back story behind the film will be more interesting than the film itself.

[@MrGlenbw]

(Using Mark Kermode's squeaky voice from his Sucker Punch review): ZACK SNYDER! JOSS WHEDON! ZACK SNYDER! JOSS WHEDON! (repeated ad nauseum)

[@matth2357]

I can understand why DC wanted to fast-track the extended universe and bring JL to the big screen having seen how successful the Marvel cinematic universe had become. But Marvel had taken it's time to develop each character with solo movies and guest slots into other movies to introduce the next etc. They had also used different directors throughout keeping it relatively fresh (albeit it within the same mold). DC's decision to stick with ZS is crazy (imo), MoS bored me to tears, BvS was actually worse. As MK says there was zero attempt at storytelling and narrative throughout! ZS must be the greatest salesman that ever lived to have sold whatever universe he was creating to DC and keep being called back!

[@lelxrv]

Thanks. Now I know what I won't be doing this weekend.

[@simonprentice8153]

You're so wrong about this. Yet another example of a film you should watch with a normal audience. The screening I was in was rocking.

[@parasbenal3083]

I Agree

[@spiderknife4142]

I have never been so bored doing something I love - my review

[@neilthompson5740]

Will judge for myself. I have disagreed with Mark before but respect his opinions. Let's remember Mark did like High School Musical .... and Antichrist lol

[@colinthedogfromspaced9365]

2:06 That's how I felt when I saw the trailer for this ...thing

[@SpaceCowboy5]

The “Michael Bolton problem” is the death of narrative cinema