With the amount of superhero content being released this year, it's easy to forget that the DC Extended Universe is still trying to be a thing.
While there are thankfully some exceptions, most of their installments have shown the potential of this franchise. But it ends up feeling like they're playing catch-up and not giving its material time to breath, flourish and make us care what is happening from a narrative perspective.
I honestly thought this latest release was as abandoned as Marvel's Gambit film. For what seems like a very long time, this project has been in the works in various ways. We thought it was going to be part of a bigger project. Then it became its own thing.
It begins with a lot of backstory exposition that makes me feel that this was forced to be cut to not make it feel like the almost 4hrs Zack Snyder's Justice League.
With so much information being given, it did take a while for me to slow down and enjoy things at a gentler pace. But once things got moving, we could actually start to somewhat enjoy this action filled adventure.
I was still seeing the common issue most people have with DC films, as that is a messy and/or rushed narrative. Lots of characters and elements get introduced to us and we are expected to care for something that has been given little development. It reminded me a lot of the first Suicide Squad where I was highly intrigued with each character and wanted to know more. But any sort of backstory is given a brief summary and then we return the main story.
It still shows that the studio wants to get all of its content out there as soon as possible to show the audience what they have rather than giving us time to invest in it. Fans of the source material will only know about these characters, and the general audience who will want to play catch-up will most likely feel alienated.
But thankfully the thrilling action and solid performances by the cast gave me enough intrigue to keep my interest and enjoy the concept to make me entertained rather than annoyed at another missed opportunity. Unlike most of DC's previous films, there is some lighter moments to mix up the tone and give us decent comedic moment which helped the viewing experience.
The cast were pretty serviceable on the whole. Dwayne Johnson is the one that sells this film. While I still feel Johnson is an odd casting choice for this character. We instead get his deadpan humour on screen rather than this insane amount of charisma. You could feel the threat his character posed as well as his 'fish out of water' moments that gave most of the films comedic relief.
Aldis Hodge did a good job in one of the many characters that were given a rushed introduction that we're meant to care for. But I could Hodge put in the work and certainly made me want to see his character be in a standalone adventure.
Same goes for Pierce Brosnan. It was a nice supporting role for him and his supposed relationship with Hodge's character is one that I would have liked more screen-time.
From the technical side, the visual effects do a good job with the heavy amount of CGI required for certain characters and landscapes. It never felt overly digital, and it blended into the practical surroundings really well. I would have liked more variety in Lorne Balfe's score. While I liked the romp and energy, it felt too constant for me that almost felt exhausted to listen to.
I really liked the eye-pleasing character designs as well. It's just a shame we don't really get any development on most of the characters origins.
While it wasn't a big issue for me, I would have liked the camerawork to be a little less hectic to give us a bit more perspective on the action sequences.
I'm still going to give it a pass despite its issues. The franchise still has its usual narrative problems that doesn't make us as an audience care enough for what is happening. But the action and intrigue of various characters made it enjoyable to somewhat forget about the negatives.
I do remain hopeful that DC can blossom into something special with its universe. But for now, there is still plenty of room for improvement.
There is a mid-credits scene to stay for and while it is bad to say that it was the best part of the film, you will understand once you see it.
Rating: 7/10
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