With Superman now dead following the conclusion of 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a new threat rises to threaten the very existence of the planet and reality itself. As the god-like Steppenwolf and his swarm of eerie Parademons desperately try to hunt down three magical motherboxes that can tear humanity apart, it’s down to some of DC’s most famed heroes to band together to fight the good fight and save the day. Will they get the job done, which heroes are up for the task at hand, and just how badly can you botch the CGI removal of a moustache?

First things first, the cover art and promotional material for this release all feature a certain Last Son of Krypton standing loud and proud with the rest of the Justice League, instantly making you aware that *shock horror* Superman’s death isn’t exactly a permanent arrangement. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s look at the other heroes who’ll be around for Supes’ grandstanding return. Firstly, there’s Ben Affleck’s Batman and Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. These two come up with the initial idea to form a team of superheroes to help protect the world, in turn recruiting Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, Ezra Miller’s Flash, and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg. With the group amassed, the fight is on as our heroes do their best to stop the uber-powerful Steppenwolf. Of course, this ‘big bad’ is no push over, meaning the ballsy call is made to resurrect the fallen Man of Steel to help in the Justice League’s fight.

To say the prelude to Justice League was a troubled path is an understatement. With Warner Brothers’ DC Extended Universe having struggled to hit anything remotely like a homerun with three of the ensemble’s four predecessors – Wonder Woman being the exception – the water was only further muddied by Joss Whedon being brought in to oversee extensive reshoots after Zack Snyder had to step back from the film due to the tragic passing of his daughter. On a general level, it’s clear to see Whedon’s influence at times, with some of the more light-hearted moments having the Buffy creator’s fingerprints all over them.

For many, the very future of the DCEU was hanging on the success of Justice League, meaning this was a huge, huge movie for Warners. The logic was, if this bombed then question marks would be placed over the huge amount of DC-driven pictures already in development at the WB. Maybe it was because of the negative buzz that surrounded the film way before it even hit the silver screen, maybe it was a lowering of expectations due to Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Suicide Squad, but regardless your humble scribe didn’t find Justice League to be all that bad at all. Was it great? No, not a chance, but it wasn’t as awful as some may have you believe.

In terms of positives, each of the core cast of heroes wear their roles like a second skin; Affleck is a brutal, unrelenting and intense Caped Crusader, even if there is maybe a little too much humour thrown Batman’s way; Gadot continues the hugely impressive work of Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman in making her Diana truly feel like an epic figure for the ages; Momoa swaggers and broods majestically as a grittier version of Aquaman than many Golden and Silver Age comic book fans will be familiar with; Miller’s Scarlet Speedster often threatens to steal the show as the awkward, bumbling Barry Allen who is still finding his feet in the hero game; and Ray Fisher’s Cyborg is actually quite the compelling character for the most part, even if we still can’t take Vic Stone as anything more than a Teen Titan, dammit! Then there’s Henry Cavill’s Kal-El.

At the third attempt, Cavill’s Superman actually feels like Superman. While Cavill himself has always been a good fit for the role, Man of Steel and Batman v Superman seemed to forget some of the very fundamentals that make this iconic pop culture figure tick and mark him out as a true symbol of hope. Here, despite being absent for the majority of the film, the Big Blue Boy Scout steals the show when he inevitably rises like the proverbial Phoenix.

So, if all of those boxes are ticked off, why isn’t Justice League the outright hit that longtime comic books fans were hoping for? For starters, Steppenwolf is a dire villain, looking like he’s been pulled straight out of one of those ropey CGI-heavy movies of the 2000s. Ciaran Hinds is tasked with voicing the character and providing mo-cap for the rogue, but no matter how good a performance Hinds put in, his hands were ultimately tied. Sure, Steppenwolf is more-or-less a foot-in-the-door for Darkseid to make his presence known in a future film, but that’s no excuse for making him such an awful, lame villain here. And even then, there are moments when he is positioned as a hugely powerful force of nature. Yet when it comes down to it, he sucks. Absolutely sucks. As in,  ‘Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2‘ sucks. As in ‘Whiplash in Iron Man 2’ sucks. As in ‘Abomination in The Incredible Hulk’ sucks. You get the idea. The Parademons, though? They’re actually quite sinister and impressive upon initially showing up, although they soon become merely generic fodder for our band of merry men (and ‘wonder’ woman) to swat their way through.

In terms of the narrative of the film, too, that feels awfully paint-by-numbers. Yes, many highly acclaimed Marvel efforts of recent years similarly follow a predictable formula, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe makes the most of what’s at their disposal to add depth and intrigue to their stories. Even if you ultimately know what’s going to happen, they do enough to plant the seeds that have you still questioning how things are going to play out. With Justice League, it’s formulaic, sluggish, and bogged down by a subpar villain for the most part.

As touched upon earlier, however, it’s not the total dud that many have labelled it. There are enough positives to take away from the film to mean it’s not a complete stinker – most notably the characterisation of its core heroes and for finally giving audiences a Superman that feels far more in tune with what the Boy Scout should be – and Justice League just about ranks above the majority of its predecessors in the DCEU. That’s not exactly saying much, of course, with Wonder Woman the only film able to hold its head up high where the greater DCEU is concerned.

In terms of extras, the ample featurettes give a nice glimpse at what went on behind closed doors for Justice League, and the deleted scenes give us a look at the famed black Superman suit that was rumoured to appear in the film.

All in all, Justice League is still not the smash hit that Warner Brothers were hoping for from their DC Extended Universe, yet it is a movie that does have some impressive moving parts to it if you’re able to go in with an open mind and modest expectations. Really, we should be expecting a lot, lot more from the cinematic coming together of such staples of comic book lore, but given what’s gone before it, the fact that Justice League isn’t a total stinker is strangely seen as some sort of victory.

Special Features: Ten featurettes / Deleted scenes

JUSTICE LEAGUE / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: ZACK SNYDER / SCREENPLAY: CHRIS TERRIO, JOSS WHEDON, ZACK SNYDER / STARRING: BEN AFFLECK, GAL GADOT, JASON MOMOA, EZRA MILLER, RAY FISHER, CIARAN HINDS, HENRY CAVILL / RELEASE DATE: MARCH 26TH