Justice League Reviews: 12 Early Reactions You Need To See
1. More Superman Problems/Superman's Redemption
The reviews don't seem to agree on the issue of Superman, who is definitely in this film, despite Warner Bros attempting to hide the fact sometimes.
Polygon really didn't like what they'd done with him:
"All of this would be forgiven if it wasn’t for the treatment of one notable character. I can’t go into much detail about Superman without major spoilers, but the circumstances that involve his character are egregious. I wish I could explain why, but I’m trying to keep this as spoiler-free as possible. Superman is a representation of hope, but he’s not treated as such by the time the movie comes to an end."
And neither were Mashable:
"Superman's comeback is not pleasant, or surprising, or particularly well-done. It's actually really gross and macabre, and will have you thinking more about Daniel Radcliffe's role as a corpse in Swiss Army Man than you've ever cared to. You can almost smell the sepulchral stench while this all goes down. It's not uplifting, it's disgusting and unnatural, and the self-aware jokes about it don't land. Yuck."
And The Telegraph didn't like his portrayal either:
"Then there’s Henry Cavill’s Superman, whose personality changes on a shot-by-shot basis, from blank-eyed demigod to lumbersexual funster faster than a speeding bullet."
Mashable are also one of a few outlets to specifically mention how messed up Supes' moustache is:
"From the very first frames of this film, it's a problem. Who knew that a little bit of facial hair (which the actor refused to shave for Whedon's copious reshoots) could present such a challenge for digital makeup artists who are used to removing all manner of flaws, including double-chins and terrible hangovers, from movie stars? Superman winds up looking like a CGI character from The Polar Express, in scene after scene, and it's terribly distracting. It's unconscionable that any studio executive would look at Cavill's creepy wax-figure appearance in 2/3 of his scenes and go "You know what? That's good enough for the biggest character in our top franchise. Print it." Shame on them."
But Variety do say that "by the end of “Justice League” you’ll be grateful, indeed, that Cavill is in the movie. It needs every inch of his square-jawed stud-demigod command." And the IGN review is also far more positive:
"It may have taken him three films, but in his performance here Henry Cavill ultimately finds the warmth and soul that makes Superman such a hopeful and heroic icon. It’s nice to have you back, Superman."
So it's not ALL bad.
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