The major heroes of the DC Comics universe come together for this middling blockbuster which proves intermittently diverting while never coming close to fulfilling the potential its character line-up presents.
As the world mourns Superman (Henry Cavill), who died at the end of last year's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, his absence allows for the arrival on Earth of ancient evildoer Steppenwolf (played via motion capture by Irish actor Ciaran Hinds), a tall horned god-type whose on-screen presence and back story are noticeably Sauron-esque.
Inspired by Superman's sacrifice, Batman (Ben Affleck) teams up with Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) to recruit three other emerging heroes with special abilities: undersea champion Aquaman (Jason Momoa), the technologically-enhanced Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and the ultra-fast Flash (Ezra Miller).
Although light on its feet and rarely boring, Justice League is doomed by thoughts of what it should be. It should be the biggest superhero movie ever, the grand culmination of the last five years of DC movies, the ultimate big screen embodiment of everything its central icons represent. It is none of these things.
Epic stakes are articulated as everything plays out with a sense of aggressive inconsequentially. Some of the action displays creativity, but for the most part the fight scenes are still overly rubble-centric.
