Anghus Houvouras on Justice League and how Batman got his groove back…
I loved the new Justice League trailer. That should hardly be surprising. Trailers for the adaptations of everyone’s favorite DC Comics’ icons have been pretty damn good. The finished product has been a mixed bag of ambitious, sometimes baffling storytelling with finished films that don’t feel completely finished.
This trailer had all the right elements. It provided us brief glimpses into the larger, more expansive world of the DC Extended Universe while delivering some great character moments. I loved every interaction between Batman and Aquaman. Here’s a relationship that feels non-existent in the comics. Two characters that have been around for decades on the same team but lack any definable consanguinity. With this new trailer and last year’s Comic-Con sizzle reel, it seems like Batman and Aquaman have the most dynamic relationship in the film. Two alpha males constantly at odds with one another forced to work together in order to save the world. I had a hearty chuckle at the final line of dialogue between Ben Affleck’s Batman and J.K. Simmons’ Jim Gordon.
“Nice to see you working well with others again.” says Gordon. After Aquaman throws a nice dig at the Caped Crusader, he replies “It might not last.”
That’s the kind of stuff that was lacking in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. And I understand at some level it’s not exactly what Zack Snyder was going for. He was telling a very bold, very dry story about the burden of selfless heroism and the toxic fear that makes people abandon their principles to feel safe. Batman v Superman was a little too heavy and a little too scattershot to be anything other than polarizing. Justice League feels like it could achieve a more crowd-pleasing balance that eluded Dawn of Justice.
What I truly enjoyed about the trailer was that one line from Jim Gordon: “Nice to see you working well with others again”
One of the things I like about the DC Extended Universe is Batman’s role in it. We’ve seen Batman at different stages on film before, but never like this. We were introduced to a dark, brooding, bitter hero. A Dark Knight detached from humanity. We never saw his time with Robin, nor the tragic circumstances surrounding his demise. Batman is a cruel instrument of justice who has strayed far from the foundation of his war on crime. This Batman is comfortable with killing.
But the events of the film help change the character. Batman ends the movie with a rediscovered sense of purpose. The Justice League trailer shows us that continuing transformation of a hero learning to be the man he once was: someone who was willing to be part of a team and trust others. The Justice League trailer shows me a Batman who got his groove back, and that’s something to get excited about.
We’re so used to reboots that retell origin stories and set us on the same basic path. Batman v Superman gave us an older, weathered, beaten down Batman. Similar to what we saw of Wolverine in Logan. It’s rare for studios to give us late-in-life heroes and show us a different side of the heroic experience. That’s what makes me hold out hope for Justice League:
I like this version of Batman and I like this version of his story.
Anghus Houvouras
Originally published March 26, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
