The superhero genre is certainly oversaturated at this point, but it still proves to offer substantial entertainment when executed properly. Take for instance the grizzled and brutal flick, Logan: a film that blends the best of comic book heroism with a plot reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s dystopian thriller, The Road. The spring release debuted strongly at the box office and gave the beloved Wolverine saga a unique and fresh finale. We also witnessed the traditional superhero movie turn upside down last year when Marvel’s Deadpool landed onto our screens and became a massive and unexpected success. The capital R-rated adventure was bold and brash and chock-full of Tarantino-esque brutality. These aforementioned films showed viewers that the genre itself is still worth exploring despite the slew of cookie-cutter offerings every summer.
While Marvel’s Spider-Man, Captain America, and The Avengers continue to dominate pop culture, DC’s own entities have had their share of recent missteps. The brand followed up Christopher Nolan’s universally acclaimed Batman trilogy with a couple of real duds, which truly distanced fans and set back their cinematic franchise. Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman were overacted and devoid of substance and now sit at a measly 25% and 27% on Rotten Tomatoes respectively. As for the planned Batman reboot, the drama has no end in sight. These failures are looming over an already green-lit DC series which will soon release Wonder Woman and Aquaman standalones. While we hold out hope for those origin stories, the same can’t be promised for Justice League, which is set to be unveiled later this November.
DC is surely hoping Justice League will compete with The Avengers both critically and successfully, but that’s easier said than done. It’s not farfetched to expect the appearance of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman to rake in some serious cash, but it has a lot of lost ground to make up in order to compete critically with its established rival. Why do we know this? Because DC has released the first official trailer for the movie and it’s underwhelming to say the least. The teaser is armed with cheesy one-liners, dimly lit shots, and Zac Snyder’s tiresome slow motion sequences. As for what it lacks? Basically everything else, including an established villain to generate any intrigue. Don’t just take our word for it, check it out for yourselves.
