Film Preview: Justice League (2017)

Page Revisions:

(July 31, 2016) Original
(March 26, 2017) New Trailer (#2) / New Posters (#1-#7)
(July 30, 2017) New Trailer (#3) / New Posters (#8-#9)
(November 5, 2017) Added Image Gallery
(November 12, 2017) New Posters (#10-#29)

Release Date:

November 17, 2017

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy.”

Poster Rating: C / B / B- (5) / C / C+ / D (5) / D+ (5) / C- / C / C+ / B / C / B (5)

SEE ALL POSTERS BELOW
Review: (#1) While there is plenty of detail, especially in terms of texture on the lettering, the design is teasingly simplistic. (#2) The Justice League is now united with a vacant backdrop, but plenty of color and detail in the lower half to balance. (#3-#7) These character posters are largely identical with slight differences in background, especially a very minimal detail beyond the rocky outcroppings on which they stand (such as Flash’s city background or Aquaman’s oceanic one). These details aren’t generally distinct enough.

(#8) The Justice League in all their bold splendor with big lettering to boot. It’s just such an exciting design that it might just put me to sleep. (#9) It’s not a great design. The lighting is awful and the actors look stranded, but using character symbols as lettering is a nice touch.

(#10-#14) For one of the biggest potential blockbusters of the year, the design quality of their posters is sub par. Take for instance this set of five character posters. The backgrounds are patently bland and utterly unexciting. (#15-#19) Here we have another set of character posters that is likewise unappealing. They are at least a little more exciting than the prior, but not by much. (#20) Combine your heroes together, which is kind of important. Do so with little splash to the background makes the entire thing feel dull.

(#21) Our characters as if drawn by a talented comic artist. That doesn’t make the entirety that much more appealing, but it at least has some style. (#22) Another drawing that might grace the cover of a comic book, this one is even slightly better than the prior. (#23) Now we have a design that’s far more interesting than all the most recent designs. Lots of detail, a comic book style, and the end result is something visually distinctive. (#24) Here we are back to the lifeless backgrounds of prior designs. A failure. (#25-#29) Of all the character posters, these are the most fascinating. Overlaying the character’s own symbol with their secret identity over their real identity makes for an interesting design element any time it’s used and these are sufficiently well used, though the background could have at least been lit.

Trailer Rating: C+ / B / C

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Review: (#1) There are some outright funny moments in the trailer, but every detail is carefully measured and directly intended. It feels cold and calculating in ways super hero films aren’t supposed to.

(#2) This new trailer brought together the Justice League members with plenty of action to sate a event-fueled audience. There aren’t a lot of details about the enemy, but is that really something that the target audience is really going to care about?

(#3) Now they seem to be trying to focus on the modest humor in the film while attempting mightily to convince the viewer that it’s more in line with the Wonder Woman film than Batman v. Superman. That comparison is superficial, though, as the premise and the strangely bland action sequences might not be the boost the producers expected.