The 1997 Version Of Justice League You Never Knew Existed

Justice League is perhaps the most maligned entry in Warner Bros.' uneven DC Extended Universe. While fans have responded well to a handful of Warner's DC offerings, Justice League isn't considered to be among the best that the DCEU has put out.

The flick had a somewhat tortuous path to the screen. Original director Zack Snyder had to take a leave of absence in the middle of production to deal with the death of his daughter. He was replaced by Avengers filmmaker Joss Whedon, and most fans found the Frankenstein-y result to be... underwhelming. The disappointing final product that arrived in the theaters led to an uproar among fans demanding to see the near-mythical "Snyder Cut" of the film. While Warner Bros. has repeatedly poo-pooed the possibility of releasing another cut of Justice League, that doesn't mean fans have to settle for what they were handed in 2017.

Back in 1997, there was a not-so-heroic attempt to bring DC's most famous super-powered crime-fighting team to screen. The oft-overlooked television version from nearly a quarter-century ago was completely bonkers, and it has the added benefit of being out there in the world to watch, unlike the Snyder Cut of 2017's Justice League. If you didn't tune in to CBS when the made-for-TV movie originally aired, here's what you missed.

Almost 20 years to the day before Warner Bros. unleashed the big-screen Justice League on the world, CBS aired a TV film based on the superhero team. 1997's Justice League of America concerned the induction of a super-powered female meteorologist named Tori into the vaunted League. Her discovery and induction proves timely, as the newly expanded Justice League is called upon to thwart a terrorist holding the fictional city of New Metro ransom with a weather control device.

While the premise is certainly outrageous, the format of the film is even more off-the-wall. The movie is threaded with talking head segments. During these mock interviews, the standard Justice League members offer retrospective takes on their crime-fighting lives in the context of the film's present events.

Are you sold yet? Don't worry, it gets even better.

First thing's first: CBS was unable to obtain the rights to any of the Justice Leaguers you actually want to see on screen. That means no Batman, no Superman, no Wonder Woman – not even Aquaman. For that reason, we're stuck spending 90-odd minutes with the likes of the Atom and the Flash. Second, the whole thing is a visual train wreck. Neither the costumes nor the special effects would have passed muster for Adam West's 1960s Batman series, let alone for a CBS movie produced 30 years later. This total lack of visual flair means that the flick was left to sink or swim on the strength of its script alone which, as noted above, is patently absurd. Keep watching the video to see the 1997 version of Justice League you never knew existed.

#JusticeLeague1997 #JusticeLeagueOfAmerica

Read Full Article: https://www.looper.com/201720/the-1997-version-of-justice-league-you-never-knew-existed/