What Went Wrong With Justice League (and How to Fix It)

Forget CGI: Concentrate on Character

Snyder’s superhero movies forget something intrinsic in their charm: The humanity of their heroes. Justice League treats our protagonists—even Wonder Woman—as a collection of powers and skills and underplay the people underneath. Maybe that’s why Miller’s Flash is such a standout in Justice League: He feels real. In spite of the suit and speed and lightning he generates, he feels like a guy you just might have coffee with.

Iron Man 3 will never be considered the best Marvel movie, but it did something I found kind of heroic in itself. It stripped Tony Stark of his suit and forced him to be a hero without it.

No one would dare to do that in D.C.’s universe. Not now. Its superheroes are all about the “super”—how strong or fast or talented they are. But while all that’s nice and good, I think most of us in the audience know that it’s not their abilities that make superheroes superheroes. It’s the heart. The will. The soul.

Captain America is more about his unshakeable values than his super-strength or shield. Iron Man’s as much about Tony Stark’s struggle between vanity and altruism as  his super-charged suit. In Ragnarok, Thor lost his hammer and his hair, and he faced a villain he knew he could never beat. The result? A sky-high Rotten Tomatoes rating and the most successful Thor movie ever.

Wouldn’t Justice League have been more interesting if they left Superman in the ground a little while longer? If our heroes had to figure out a way to beat Steppenwolf, even though they understood that their abilities wouldn’t be enough? Like the trailer originally suggested?

That’d be a movie I’d pay to see.

Character counts, and so do characters. CGI may bring folks through the theater doors, but protagonists to which we can relate and embrace send us home feeling satisfied. There are no shortcuts, no special effects that can make that happen. It’s all about heart. It’s all about good storytelling.

That’s what I want to see from D.C.’s cinematic universe. They’ve shown they can deliver it in Wonder Woman. Let’s hope they find a way to make it a habit.