Justice League - Blu-ray

Film: Superman (Henry Cavill) is dead and chaos now seems to rule Metropolis and the rest of the world. Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) tries his best to keep law and order as Batman. But when a powerful foe from ancient times returns in the form of Steppenwolf, and once again nothing less is at stake than saving Earth and all of humanity, he realizes he needs help. Together with Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), they set out to recruit other super-powered humans to put a stop to Steppenwolf and his army. But although they manage to assemble a powerful team with Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher), in the face of Steppenwolf's incredible power, it becomes clear that the Justice League is missing a key member - Superman!

Zack Snyder hasn't really made many friends with his DC Universe films. Both Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman were (visually) too dark, humor-free effects orgies that lacked any form of charm or fun. At least that was the opinion of many critics and genre fans. And then there was that unintentionally hilarious thing with Martha! True, there were some small glimmers of hope. Both Ben Affleck as Batman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman were convincing. But there wasn't really much anticipation for Snyder's reunion of DC superheroes.

However, after Wonder Woman was largely well-received, this also had an effect on the expectations towards Justice League. And indeed: even if the story is so thin that it would fit on a postage stamp and the supervillain disappoints once again - both dramaturgically and visually - the entertainment value of this superhero movie is still way up there. There are several reasons for that: For one, it's clear that Joss Whedon, who already successfully brought the Avengers together, is responsible for a reworking of the script and numerous reshot scenes. The reason for this is tragic, however, as Snyder was forced to leave production early due to a horrific incident in his family.

On the other hand, the studio has obviously taken fan criticism to heart and insisted that the tone be a little lighter this time around. And that, of course, is where Whedon's occasionally delightfully self-deprecating tone came in handy. Certainly, with Barry Allen aka The Flash in particular, it feels like he's only in it to provide a few good laughs. He's so obviously designed to be a crowd pleaser that this may well be called manipulative. But it just works. This Flash is funny, likable at the same time, and really cool in his nerdy way.

Also the other members of the Justice League get to do more than just scowl at a bleak future. As a result, a coherent dynamic develops between the individual superheroes that works really well for long stretches and is a lot of fun to watch, despite many a cliché and thickly applied pathos. Even this contribution to the DC universe is far from perfect. But the team around Zack Snyder is at least noticeably on the right track. One problem that all DC movies so far, including Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad, have suffered from is the finale. And that, unfortunately, is no different with Justice League. Here, (not always good) special effects and a quick-cut orgy of destruction dominate the proceedings.

While it succeeds also here just by a very particularly funny scene to loosen up the action a little, but overall the final fight against Steppenwolf is just too much of a good thing. Thus, the enthusiasm is dampened a little bit more. At least it still has such a high level that Justice League can be called entertaining comic fun and enjoyable popcorn cinema in the end, despite its criticisms. And for that there is then also quite clearly a deserved: absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: As was to be expected, the Blu-ray can definitely convince in the technical area. The image features extremely high detail sharpness, which is not a given given given the many gritty scenes. The artificial-looking coloration can also convince all along the line, as well as the image depth, which has been tuned really well even in the 2D version. The sound in a Dolby Atmos TrueHD mix is explosive in the truest sense of the word and really lets it rip from all channels, especially during the many action scenes. But even the quieter moments offer a pleasant spaciousness and the dialogues are well intelligible to the rest of the tonal action. For this, we give it an absolutely deserved: very good!

Extras: The bonus offering is good, but suggests that certain material has been held back for a possible further edition. This is because the additional footage is limited to two mini-sequences that expand a little on Superman's return (approx. 2:04 mins). In addition, there's a short journey through the comic book history of the Justice League (approx. 14:02 min.), a short documentary about the three main characters Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman (approx. 11:52 min.), as well as one about their new companions Aquaman, Flash and Cyborg (approx. 12:24 min.). Featurettes on the Justice League's technology (approx. 8:14 min.) and their adversary Steppenwolf (approx. 03:03 min.) are complemented by a four-part behind-the-scenes look (approx. 15:16 min.). Good.

Conclusion: Justice League didn't quite turn out to be the movie fans were hoping for after Wonder Woman's very successful solo appearance. A lot of potential is left untapped and sacrificed to yet another CGI overkill, especially towards the finale. Still, the film is entertaining and a step in the right direction. The Blu-ray is technically well realized, the bonus material is worth seeing, but, like the film itself, falls short of its potential. Nevertheless: for fans an absolutely worthwhile disc!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp