Directed by Zach Snyder and Joss Whedon, “Justice League” is the joining of everyone’s favorite D.C. Comic’s superheroes. The star-studded cast includes Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Erza Miller, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons, Amy Adams and J.K. Simmons. Steppenwolf, destroyer of worlds, has returned, and Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg have to come together to destroy this powerful foe.

This is the fifth film in the D.C. Cinematic Universe, and the follow up to the best movie of the five, “Wonder Woman.” “Justice League” had a very difficult shoot, with director Zach Snyder stepping down during post production to deal with a family tragedy, and Joss Whedon, the director of both Avenger movies, to take over.

Along with a change of director, the film underwent two months of reshoots that included the digital removal of Henry Cavill’s mustache and a five-month pregnant Gal Gadot. Did the “Justice League” soar despite these setbacks? Not really.

The biggest props I can give the film is that the main six actors give, at the very least, good performances. Batman played by Affleck and Wonder Woman played by Gadot are the easy standouts, as both of them are fantastic and own the roles they play. The newcomers, Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg, bring a sense of fun to the film. Finally, Henry Cavill as Superman is fantastic, as he gives his best performance as Superman to date, which leads me to my criticisms with the film.

For those who prefer not to read spoiler alerts, read no further. The end battle of the film, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman vs. Dooms- day, concludes with Superman sacrifcing himself to kill the monster and saving the day. The original shot of the movie is of Superman’s casket. From that point on, everyone has just assumed that Superman would return and, shocker, he does.

To use such a pivotal storyline as the death of Superman, and to waste it like D.C. did, is just embarrassing and foolish. It is hard to not com- pare this film to Joss Whedon’s “ The Avengers,” as this film is almost an exact copy. A villain looks to destroy the world by bringing another world to Earth, a band of heroes have to stop him by removing an object that opens a hole in the sky, while a bunch of mindless aliens attack the heroes. The only difference between the two films is that one film is an incredibly fun and entertaining blockbuster, while the other is a boring mess of a movie.

One of the biggest problems with “ The Justice League” is the over reliance on CGI and its poor execution. Nothing looks remotely realistic. The best example of this is the main villain, Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf is one of the worst villains I have ever seen in any comic book movie.

Steppenwolf is as generic as they come, with little to no personality and a very generic plan to destroy the world, and he looks like a villain out of a PlayStation 2 game. When comparing the CGI in “ The Justice League” to “ The Avengers,” there’s no competition. “ The Avengers” villain, Loki, is likable and has a general plan, and the aliens he brings through the hole in the sky look real, which makes the audience care more.

Overall, “Justice League” is a disappointing mess of a superhero film that tries to copy the success of Marvel, but fails. There should’ve been more movies to develop the other members of the Justice League, and “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” shouldn’t have been made in the first place. That being said, I’m interested in seeing what D.C. does next because I want to see more from these heroes. I’m a massive fan of Batman, I really love Wonder Woman and I believe Henry Cavill can play a great Superman. I just want the studio to stop rushing to copy that of Marvel, and to take time and develop these heroes.