JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017) (4K UHD Review)

JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017) 

Label: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment 
Region Code: A
Rating: PG-13
Duration: 120 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD 7.1, DTS-HD MA 5.1 MA with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 2160p HD Widescreen (2.40:1) 
Director: Zach Snyder
Cast: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, Ezra Miller, Jeremy Irons, Ray Fisher, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Jason Momoa, Ciaran Hinds, Connie Nielsen, J.K. Simmons

Ever since I was a kid watching the Super Friends animated series on TV I had dreams of a live-action Justice League movie, and it holy cow it finally happened, so that's pretty awesome right?  It was DC properties Superman (1978) and Batman (1989) that arrived on the silver screen first, beating Marvel to the cinema by decades, but Marvel have been killing it in the modern age beginning with Iron Man, going on to create a Marvel movie universe that's largely been cohesive and varied. The Marvel movies have what feels like a grand design, the tone while not consistent always feels connected, which is not something I can really say of the DC films so far. The overall tone of the DC movies have been dire and overly serious, a tone set by Christopher Nolan with Batman Begins (2005), which I don't think is a bad thing on it's face, but you sort of want a superhero movie to be fun, right? Man of Steel (2013) and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) also were overly serious, as was Suicide Squad (2016), but that at least had some fun moments. Wonder Woman (2017) was firing on all cylinders, it had a sort of epic grandeur missing from the DC films up to that point, so it looked like maybe DC was on the right track, doing a bit of course correcting. Sure enough DC have really tried to bring some humor to Justice League, though the final film is a mixed bag. Director Zack Snyder left the film after his daughter passed away during production, it was then that Joss Whedon (who directed Marvel's Avengers) who was already on the project to provide a script polish was brought in to finish the film and you can feel it, the tonal differences between Snyder and Whedon is quite evident, and it doesn't make for the most cohesive film. Sure, a lot of us wanted more humor and superhero-banter, so maybe we have ourselves to blame, but sometimes you just want Batman to be an unflappable guy, not the guy who gets flustered in an embarrassing word fumble with Superman!

In the events following Batman V Superman we have Batman assembling a team of superheros in the absence of Superman, Batman sees the need to a team of superheros to combat a coming threat, and the new team consists of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and the Flash. The new baddie is one of the New Gods, Steppenwolf and his horde of para-demons, a war-mongering minion of Darkseid, the tyrannical ruler of the planet Apokolips, who sadly is absent from this film. 
Steppenwolf makes for a decent villain, though largely underdeveloped and he's only a placeholder for the big baddie that coming, Darkseid.  Not helping is that I didn't love the motion-capture presentation of the character, in general I didn't love a lot of the special effects of the film, as an example the final confrontation taking place in a Russian, I though the whole red-sky tinted thing looked rather awful honestly, the digital rendering looking cheesy through and through and the live-action and digital elements not mixing well, and don;t get me started on the scenes of Cavil as Superman with a hideous digital removal of a mustache, ugh. That's not to say there aren't decent action set-pieces, a few of my favorites are an early scene of Wonder Woman rescuing a bank full of innocents from terrorists and Steppenwolf visiting  Themyscira to retrieve one of three Mother Boxes he needs to destroy Earth, with him battling the warrior women, it's one of my favorite sequences.  

Looking at the heroes I'm a big fan of Ben Affleck's Batman, I think he's a great version of the caped crusader, and Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman is still near perfection to me. While I think Henry Cavil is still too cold of a character as Superman I think this is his best performance to date as the Man of Steel so far. Looking at the new recruits I enjoyed Jason Momoa's very bro-ish surfer dude take on Aquaman, it worked for this version of the character, I didn't even mind the goofy bit where he accidentally sits on the lasso of truth and has a tender confessional to the group. Ezra Miller as the Flash was a bit too Spider-Man-ish for me, I love Spider-Man but I never really thought of the Flash as that sort of  quip-y character, and I/m a huge fan o The Flash TV series, so anyone not Grant Gustin is going to be struggle foe me, and Miller has a very Justin Long-ish quality about him that sort of annoyed me. Ray Fisher as Cyborg is too down-played, I wasn't feeling him, not helping was that I didn't care for his character design either, though there's a later post-credits scene where it morphs into something a bit difference that I liked more. 

At the end of the day it's an entertaining but seriously flawed  superhero movie, it's definitely not one of the greats, it's not even the best modern DC superhero movie, that honor goes to Wonder Woman. This might have something to do with the way DC tends to make movies by committee, there always seems to be re-shoots based on what they feel the audience wants, and it seems like it always a knee-jerk reaction to what worked for Marvel. JL feels like "we need to make it more like the Avengers", to the point that Avengers director Joss Whedon was brought into polish the script and eventually helm the re-shoots.  The tonal shifts draw attention to themselves and don't make for the most satisfying watch, the stitched togetherness of it in fails to allow and moments of epic superhero grandeur that these characters deserve.     

Audio/Video: Justice League (2017) arrives on Blu-ray/4K UHD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment framed in 2.40:01. Having caught this in the cinema I can tell you that this things looks rather brilliant on the 4K screen at home, colors are dynamic and thoroughly saturated, there's a nice crispness to the image, the colors played wonderfully, it dips into that DC-ish monochromatic palette from time to time, but this thing is impressive looking. Likewise the Dolby Atmos audio is bombastic and deep, the Danny Elfman score comes through wonderfully, plenty of use of the surrounds to create an atmospheric sound design, my bass was rumbling throughout, nothing to complain about in the A/V department - this sucker is bad ass.  

Onto the extras, we get over an hour's worth of HD extras from the history of the JLA in comics and TV, to the technology of the heroes, the design of the costumes and featurettes about a few of th notable action sequences. While we sadly don't get a Zack Snyder workprint or loads of deleted scenes we do get two very brief bonus scenes featuring Superman after his resurrection, but they don't add up to a lot, I wish they had packed this sucker with loads of deleted scenes which we know are out there somewhere! My favorite of the extras is the history of the JLA with the artists and creators spanning fifty years, they even reference the Super Friends TV show which was my introduction the the DC heroes. This 2-disc set includes a Blu-ray, a 4K UHD and a Movies Anywhere digital code, plus a slipcover (o-card). 

Special Features: 
- Road to Justice: Journey alongside DC comic creators as they explore over fifty years of the Justice League, from comic books to animated adventures to their cinematic debut. (14 min) HD
- Heart of Justice: Discover the heart, soul and mind of the Justice League, as the cast and filmmakers share their admiration for DC’s iconic Trinity: Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman (12 min) HD 
- Technology of the Justice League: From Batman’s arsenal to Cyborg’s alien tech, interface with the Justice League database to learn their most advanced secrets. (8 min) HD 
- Justice League: The New Heroes: Join Ray Fisher on a personal tour to meet the newest members of the Justice League: Aquaman, the Flash and Cyborg. (12 min) 
- The Return of Superman: Bonus scenes not seen in theaters(2 min) HD 
- Steppenwolf the Conqueror: Join actor Ciarán Hinds and the filmmakers as they reveal the story behind mankind’s ancient enemy and the Justice League’s greatest challenge. (3 min) HD 
- Scene Studies: Revisiting the Amazons: Take a closer look at the filmmaking process behind Justice League’s most visually exciting and action-packed sequences (3 min) HD 
- Scene Studies: Wonder Woman’s Rescue: Take a closer look at the filmmaking process behind Justice League’s most visually exciting and action-packed sequences (3 min) HD 
- Scene Studies: Heroes Park: Take a closer look at the filmmaking process behind Justice League’s most visually exciting and action-packed sequences (5 min) HD
- Scene Studies: The Tunnel Battle: Take a closer look at the filmmaking process behind Justice League’s most visually exciting and action-packed sequences (4 min) HD
- Suit Up: The Look of the League - Costume Designer Michael 
Wilkinson explores the innovation and artistry that goes into creating the costumes of DC’s iconic heroes. (10 min) HD 

Obviously I didn't love Justice League, and I really wanted to LOVE it with all my super-hero loving heart, but like most of the DC movies it is a mixed bag. On one hand it's a big, fun superhero movie, it's loud and loaded with big action, but on the other hand it's tonally all over the place and doesn't live up to the promise of what a Justice League movie should be. While I am not a huge Zack Snyder fan I would be keen to see his cut of the film if it exists, just to see his singular vision, because what we have here is a movie with multiple conflicting visions thrown together in a soup pot, and the results are over-spiced to the point of blandness. My feelings for the movie itself aside I can pretty much guarantee that the phenomenal 4K UHD presentation will knock your underoos right off!  

WONDER WOMAN (2017) (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Review )

WONDER WOMAN (2017)

Label: Warner Bros. 
Region Code: A
Rating: PG-13
Duration: 141 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 with Optional English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.40:1) 
Director: Patty Jenkins
Cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen, Lucy Davis

Synopsis: Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, Princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers…and her true destiny.

It's been a long time coming but we finally have a Wonder Woman movie on the big screen, and what a fun adventure and origin story is is! We have Gal Godot as Diana, Princess of the Amazons, born on the mythic and hidden island of Themascira, home to a race of warrior women created by Zeus to protect mankind. Diana's mother, Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen, Rushmore) does not wish for her daughter to learn the ways of a warrior, shielding her from something, from some sort of fate. We learn of how in an ancient war wherein the jealous God of War Ares warred against Zeus, jealous of his love of mankind, Ares was defeated, and Zeus left the Amazons in charge of a weapon known as the "Godkiller", a mythical sword to be used to defeat ares should he ever return. 

Despite her mother's hesitation to train her to fight Diana secretly trains with her bad ass aunt Antiope (Robin Wright, The Princess Bride), who trains her to be a fierce warrior. A training that is put to the test when WWI American pilot Captain Steve Trevor's (Chris Pine, Star Trek)plane is shot down by German forces, the pane piercing the thick stormy veil that hides the island from mankind. Diana witnesses the crash and rescues Steve from drowning in the wreck, she brings him to the island against the wishes of her mother, and soon the island beach is overrun with Germans storming the beach, in pursuit of Trevor. In the ensuing battle Antope dies, and Diana leaves Themyscira with the Godkiller in hand, believing that the God of war Ares has returned to cause the war. 

Director Patty Jenkins gives this origin story a grand scale, shot in scope, with gorgeous, vibrant visuals of Themyscira - a true paradise untouched by the outside worlds. There's a good amount of world building happening there, establishing the woman-centric order of things on the island and the mythology around it, it's appropriately grand and wonderful. It's not spoiled until man step foots on the island, and when Diana embarks on her adventure with Steve Trevor to London the tone shifts appropriately to a dour, smoke-filled, war-torn place,  best represented by the nightmare that is No Man's Land, trench warfare won and lost momentarily by mere inches of ground gained. 

The main plot line has Diana in search of the God of War, theorizing that if she can find and kill him the horrific war will end, to that end she ends up joining a secret mission to seek out a Spanish  chemist named Isabel Maru (Elena Anaya, The Skin I Live In) and General Erich Ludendorff (Danny Huston, X-Men Origin: Wolverine) whom are creating a new form of deadly mustard gas, which will turn the tide of war in favor of the waning Germans. Diana joins in on the mission believing it will bring her closer to Ares, believing it to be the German General Ludendorff, and thus saving the day for all humanity. 

 I think this is the first DC movie to fire on all six cylinders, Jenkins has crafted an epic origin story with loads of action; that epic beach battle scene on Themascira is one I could watch on a loop and love hours, then there's the scene where Diana takes out a entire Church steeple where a German sniper is camping out. Who hasn't wanted to do this when they play Call of Duty, right? They do a fantastic job of showing Diana's naivety about mankind and how things in the work work, she has a simplistic view of right and wrong, and part of her arc is realizing the inhumanity of humanity. They also do an impressive job of showcasing just how powerful she is, the action sequences are thrilling, as she flings vehicles with ease and rushing the German front line, using her shield and bracelets to deflect weaponry - it's all powerful stuff.   

There's always gonna be some small something you can nitpick, and Wonder Woman is no different. While not ruinous there were a few small things that gave me pause, the one that sticks out was (SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD)a reveal that Ares does not reside within whom Diana thought he would, she had an idea that stopping a certain someone would halt the horrors of war, and it goes a different direction, culminating in a big boss battle at the end. For me this felt like  just more of the same, and I felt that for the most part this movie was above the usual superhero stuff. I would have liked another option which I think is hinted at for a moment, and I would have been good had it ended right there, that there's no evil God of War in the wings pulling the strings of mankind, that humanity has a dark heart, that we need no help from Gods to destroy ourselves. I might be in the minority on this thought, superhero film fans love their good vs. evil battles, it might be expected but everyone seems to have enjoyed the battle, myself included, but I think it could have been something deeper and less fought with the usual big battle stuff we see in every other superhero movie. 

A few small qualms aside I was blown away by Wonder Woman, the visuals are inspired, it didn't all feel like an origin-story  retread, and it holds up to repeat viewings. In my opinion this is the best cinematic superhero origin story since Richard Donner's original Superman (1978) - yeah, it's that good. 

Special Features: 
– Epilogue: Etta’s Mission – Etta Candy gets the boys back together for a secret mission that could impact humanity’s future. (3 min) HD 
– Crafting the Wonder – Wonder Woman finally comes to life in her first, breathtaking solo film. Explore the journey to create an adventure worthy of DC’s greatest warrior.(16 min) HD 
– A Director’s Vision: Themascira: The Hidden Island (5 min) HD 
– A Director’s Vision: Beach Battle (5 min) HD 
– A Director’s Vision: Wonder Woman at War (5 min) HD 
– A Director’s Vision: A Photograph Through Time (5 min) HD 
– A Director’s Vision: Diana in the Modern World (5 min) HD 
– Warriors of Wonder Woman – Witness the creation of the Amazon army as the women of “Wonder Woman” transform emotionally and physically into the world’s most powerful and heroic warriors. 910 min) HD 
– The Trinity – Filmmakers and comic book creators explore the legend of Wonder Woman and how she stands shoulder to shoulder with Superman and Batman to create the pillars of the DC Universe. (16 min) HD 
– The Wonder Behind the Camera – Meet the women behind the wonder as they welcome a group of aspiring filmmakers on set for an exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime experience. (16 min) HD 
– Finding the Wonder Woman Within – Feel the power of Wonder Woman as award-winning poets and inspiring public figures reveal the impact and importance of DC’s greatest heroine. (23 min) 
- Extended Scene: Boat Conversation (4 min) HD 
- Extended Scene: Selfridges Shopping (2 min) HD
- Extended Scene: Parliament Steps (1 min) HD 
- Extended Scene: Morning At The Train Station (1 min) HD 
- Extended Scene: Charlie Never Sleeps (1 min) HD 
– Blooper Reel (6 min) HD 

Wonder Woman (2017)is the best superhero movie of 2017 and the best of the new millennial DC films, the scope and circa 1918 visuals are breathtaking, the action is awesome and the story arc makes for a great origin tale for Wonder Woman. I cannot wait to see what director Patty Jenkins brings to the sequel which she has signed up to direct! 

DISCLAIMER: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray for the purposes of this review.