Justice League is the 239th episode of Screen Junkies comedy series Honest Trailers. It was written by Spencer Gilbert, Joe Starr and Dan Murrell. It was narrated by Jon Bailey as Epic Voice Guy. It parodies the 2017 DC superhero film Justice League. It was published on February 20, 2018 to coincide with the release of the film on home video and Blu-ray. It is 6 minutes 33 seconds long. It has been viewed over 4.7 million times.
Watch Honest Trailers - Justice League on YouTube
"I wish the Snyder cut wasn't a made-up, fanboy pipe dream." ~ Honest Trailers - Justice League
Script
Somewhere, between the awful Suicide Squad and the excellent Wonder Woman, a new DC movie will get it sorta down to middle. But when the best comic book characters unite for a film that just okay, YOU BLEW IT! AGAIN! AHHHHH! HOW DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?! Justice League.
In the most production beset by tragedy (Zack Snyder's daughter suicidal case), Warner Bros bravely forge ahead so the executives keep their bonuses; mixing Zack Snyder's trademark gloom with the optimism of Joss Whedon and the priorities of Brett Ratner's production company (RatPac Entertainment) (Aquaman: Oof, you're beautiful.), that results in its own significant blend: of orange. Lots and lots of orange. Man I really wish they released the Snyder's cut. Also, man I wish the Snyder's cut wasn't a made up, fan boy pipe dream.
Witness a film that looks like it's being rendered right before your eyes, where this CGI villain (Steppenwolf), stealing these CGI boxes (Mother Boxes) from their CGI places (Themyscira, Atlantis) uniting these CGI heroes in a big CGI fight on a big CGI battlefield until this CGI hero (Cyborg) merges with this CGI box while this CGI villain gets punched in the mouth by the hero with a mouth made of CGI (Superman) (Clark Kent: Yes, ma'am.). Ugh, that's just wrong.
Meet the Justice League, a bunch of sad losers (Arthur Curry: I want to be alone.) (SIlas Stone: If you stay up brooding.../Victor Stone: I'm processing.) (Bruce Wayne: I wouldn't count on the tribes of men.) (Barry Allen: I need... friends.), who ocassionally make jokes now (The Flash: Dostoyevsky!). There's Wonder Woman, a three dimensional hero turned into girl hung up on her ex (Steve Trevor) (Diana Prince: I lost someone I loved. I once knew a man who would have love to fly it.) (Wonder Woman: When it's your fault, they're all Steve Trevor.); Brosidon, king of the Brocean (Aquaman: My man!); Cyborg, who's... there (Cyborg: Boo-yah!); Spiderman (Barry Allen), and in this movie goes by Flash; Superman.. God, that mouth is so distracting, poor Henry Cavill worked out months for this role, but all I can see is his weird fake baby mouth. They couldn't really just shave his mustache? Or grow a beard... or you know, delay the movie (show clips of The Flash laughing during Superman/The Flash post-credit scene)? And of course, the Batman; he may be not tough (show clips of Batman struggling to wake up after being thrown by revived Superman) or that smart (Aquaman: So your genius move... is dying!) or that careful with his secret identity (Arthur Curry: Dressed like a bat. You're out of mind, Bruce Wayne.) (Bruce Wayne: Bruce Wayne./Barry Allen: You're the Batman?) (Barry Allen: That's the bat-signal. That's your-..., oh sh-, sorry, that's your signal.), but... wait, there's no but? That's a shame, he was the best part of the last one (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice).
Prepare for the arrival of Steppenwolf, DC's scariest horn-helmeted minor god villain with a giant bladed weapon, since the movie right before this one (comparing Steppenwolf with Ares from Wonder Woman.). He's got a generic look, a generic motivation (Diana Prince: He lived only to conquer.) and super generic dialogue (Steppenwolf: Find the last one. It's power will cleanse the world. You're all too weak to see the truth. I am, the end of worlds.). But no character since Buster Bluth has ever been this much of a mother loved (Steppenwolf: Mother.. I know, Mother. Praise to the Mother. I see, Mother.).
(show clips from Arrested Development episode Afternoon Delight)
Lucille: What the hell is that?
Buster Bluth: These are my awards, Mother. From Army.
How is this possible that they ripped off everything from The Avengers except the good villain (Loki)? C'mon Joss, it's not stealing if you do it yourself!
After all the intricating plot of Batman v Superman, check out all the sequel that says "Whoops! Never mind"; pretending Batman knew Clark Kent for more than 15 minutes (Bruce Wayne: The team needs Clark.), pretending the world didn't hated Superman before he died (Martha Kent: So much bitterness. Of course I think it's all because he's gone.) and pretending that the bizarre Flash nightmare sequence never happened (The Flash: Too soon! You have to find us!) (Bruce shockingly awakened after experiencing The Flash' nightmare sequence). I mean, that was clearly meant for when this movie was going to be a two-parter, right?
So where The Avengers felt like the end of the beginning for the MCU, experience DC's big team-up movie that kinda just felt like the end; where they emptied out their Easter egg cupboard, united all their biggest superheroes, and tried everything they could to make look like they still cared.
Wonder Woman: You know you can't do this forever.
Batman: I can barely do it now.
It's a shame too, they were just starting to take some real steps toward heroism.
Batman: Save one.
The Flash: One?
Batman: Save one person.
Okay, baby steps.
Starring: A Wad of Tin Foil Scrunched Around a Laser Pointer (Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/Cyborg), Jason Moana (Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman), The Dark Nite Owl (Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman), The DCEU Hunger Games Champion (Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman), Super Side Eye (Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman), The Voice of Warner Bros (Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth) (Alfred Pennyworth: We might not have thought this through), Deathpool, I mean.. Deadstroke (Joe Manganiello as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke), Smash Mouth (Superman's CGI face), Spidercar, Spidercar, Does Whatever Spidercar Does (Knightcrawler), Oh Miles Dyson, When You Will Learn? (Joe Morton as Silas Stone), Mike Pence (Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf) (Steppenwolf: I know, Mother), Speedster Parker (Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash), and They Recast Lex Luthor? Yay! (unknown actor as fake Lex Luthor in the prison) (Lex Luthor: Care for a glass of Cout de Diamants?) Awww... (Jessie Eisenberg as Lex Luthor).
Also not starring; trailer shots and scenes that weren't in the final movie: Aquaman consumed by water, Cyborg as a human in a Letterman jacket, the "I didn't knew you were real" scene (Cyborg: Didn't think you were real./Batman: I'm real when it's useful.), Cyborg fighting a tank and talking to a cop (Cyborg: You should probably move.), Flash fighting a Parademon, Cyborg as a human playing football, the original blue color-palette ending sequence, Bruce looking at the holographic Superman, Barry breaking glass, Alfred talking to a mysterious visitor (Alfred Pennyworth: You said you've come.), and Lois and Clark discussing about their engagement (Clark Kent: I'll take that as a yes./Lois Lane: What?).
Warner Bros. Presents Joss Whedon's Zack Snyder's Justice League: Part One.. of One.
So uhmm..., why everyone in this movie have super smelling?
Batman: Fear, I can smell it.
Wonder Woman: The Parademons must have caught the scent of the Mother Box.
Steppenwolf: Her scent is on you.
Martha Kent: You... could smell a story.
Aquaman: Recognize that smell?
Lois Lane: You smell good.
Clark Kent: Did I not before?
Trivia
Honest Trailer Commentaries - Justice League
- The Honest Trailers writers didn't think Justice League was an aggressively terrible movie, however they agreed it felt hollow and lacking in weight. They thought it was a studio over-correction from previous DC movies like Batman v Superman.
Watch the full Honest Trailers Commentary on YouTube
Reception
Honest Trailers - Justice League has a 96.6% approval rating from YouTube viewers. Many media sites thought that while Screen Junkies' criticisms were harsh, the Honest Trailer succeeded because it used humor to highlight real problems with the film. Comicbook.com said "Like pretty much every Honest Trailer before it, the Justice League installment accurately points out many of the criticisms that audiences and reviewers had for Justice League, from the uneven look of the film (the jokes about how everything is just so orange are painfully accurate) to the observations of just how reliant the movie is on really bad CGI to the nightmare that is Henry Cavill's digitally erased mustache." In the same article, Comicbook.com said "Screen Junkies pulls no punches" and that "Even for the humor, the Honest Trailer stays true to the issues that kept Justice League from being the successful film many hoped it would be." CBR.com wrote that the Honest Trailer "looks at the movie in a brutal light, poking fun at the DC Extended Universe, the movie’s production troubles and the copious use of CGI." ScreenRant said "The better moments of this trailer come from breaking down each of the members of the Justice League."
Production credits
Voiceover Narration by Jon Bailey
Title design by Robert Holtby
Producers - Dan Murrell, Spencer Gilbert, Joe Starr, and Max Dionne
Written by Spencer Gilbert, Joe Starr, Dan Murrell
Edited by Kevin Williamsen and TJ Nordaker
External links
- Justice League Honest Trailer: DC Gets It Sorta Down the Middle - ScreenRant article
- ‘Justice League’ Honest Trailer: A Film Being Rendered Right Before Your Eyes - SlashFilm article
- Brutal Justice League Honest Trailer Drags Lots & Lots of CGI - CBR.com article
- 'Justice League' Gets an Honest Trailer - ComicBook.com article