Justice League: The Art of the Film from Titan Books falls a little flat
The unfortunate thing about Justice League the movie, and as an extension Justice League: The Art of the Film, is that both just feel uninspired and paint-by-numbers. Justice League hit home video today, and for fans of the film, Justice League: The Art of the Film is an acceptable companion piece to add to your shelf if you really feel the urge. I managed to get my hands on a copy of the new art and making of book from Titan Books, and I won’t beat around any bushes by pretending to love this release. It’s just…bland, which really is unfortunate. Titan Books has a track record of hit-or-miss titles, but their art books (regardless of how paint-by-numbers some are) are usually solid at their worst. Justice League: The Art of the Film falls flat, even for an art book, and that’s saying something.
That said, it’s still a peek behind the scenes by way of early concept art, on-set photographs, and director/crew/production team quotes and insights. If that’s your thing, Justice League: The Art of the Film might be worth the pickup. Check out a few photos I snapped from between the covers and let me tell you a little more regarding why this one just isn’t up to snuff.
The book starts off innocently enough, offering up a table of contents that looks to jump from one event or set piece to another as the movie progresses. A typical Titan Books art book does just that. With such a big tentpole blockbuster, I wasn’t really expecting any surprises design-wise or even with the content. Show me some concept art of locations, characters, baddies, and beasties, and then walk me through the film beat-by-beat. That’s what most of these types of books are at their core, so, again, no surprises expected (that said, every now and then you’ll get your hands on a nice stylized art book like the one made for The Great Wall).
Images and Captions are Uninspired
I got a fishy feeling when I saw this little nonchalant image sitting next to another photo of an organized desk at the Daily Planet and above one with an emotionless Amy Adams and the back of Diane Lane’s head. I thought, of all things to include in a making of/art of the film book, why is this here? Why was this story deadline worth including out of every behind the scenes or set photo available? It’s just…boring. It made me sad to think that someone, somewhere, had the job of creating this story deadline chart for the film, and the only way we’d ever get to see it is if it snuck into the art of the film book. Which leads me to another point (sorry for the rant), and it’s one that I couldn’t help but think of as I flipped through Justice League: The Art of the Film. This movie is HUGE! Meaning, there was a lot of money spent on every aspect of the production, and a lot of expectation sat on the film’s shoulders, and it’s a real shame to think about the little blink-and-you’ll-miss-them set dressings and world building elements that went into a movie like this when the movie itself left such a sour taste in so many mouths.
As far as the art book is concerned, it feels almost like an obligation more than an exploration. To methodically lay out photos in a collage pattern like the one seems like placeholder. There’s no real passion or creativity on display as far as design layout goes, and I think that kind of kills this book from its first pages. Here’s another example that had me rolling my eyes at how uninspired the book’s presentation feels:
Sorry about the quality of the photo, but this one says, “Barry, pizza, and Bruce’s one-of-a-kind Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo.” Not one, but two photos are dedicated to the front of this car, pizza, Barry, and Bruce, and the car is also profiled below the spread. The photo caption lazily says “Hey, here’s Barry, Bruce, and a car. Check it out.” I know it’s a nitpick, but every caption throughout the book is as brief and straightforward with no substance. “Here’s a photo. Look at it. Cool, huh?” is the vibe I get from the book in general, which is (again) unfortunate. There’s arguably some enjoyable, exciting moments peppered throughout the Justice League movie, but a disproportionate portion of The Art of the Film is given to boring little snippets and (again) a paint-by-numbers “We are making an art book. Beep boop. This is how an art book is made. Boop beep” procedural and uninspired presentation.
Some Hidden Gems
Yeesh, let’s shake that off. I really shouldn’t dislike this book as much as it sounds like I do, so here are a few fun photos I found buried inside Justice League: The Art of the Film:
Early Parademon concepts were kind of cool, and it’s always fun to see people on-set wearing motion capture suits next to costumed actors. Also, for every piece of mundane set dressing someone had to put together, someone else got to have the fun of designing weird, whacky, and professional-looking posters and pieces of art to hang up around the buildings and cities on display. There’s a page in The Art of the Film that takes a closer look at some of these fun Daily Planet posters and other fictional pop culture/media in the movie.
Look, Justice League: The Art of the Film isn’t terrible. It’s not a throw-it-out-your-window disaster of a book, but it could have been so much more exciting and engaging. From the characters to the action to even the CGI creations, there’s so much in the movie worth taking a closer look at. I just don’t know why this book chose the safe, meandering route instead. Almost every page is designed the same way, with a few square boxes and a character breaking the frame in one, and slogging through felt like just that, a slog, before I’d finished the book. That said, I did laugh out loud when I spotted this Henry Cavill stand-in used for a piece of Atlanian concept art (including a couple other character concepts for good measure):
The Verdict
If Justice League somehow rolled right up your alley, I suppose you kind of owe it to yourself to drop The Art of the Film down on your coffee table to wear your pride on your sleeve. There’s enough here to convince a fan the movie and the book are worth the investment, but for casual film fans and book lovers, I can’t really recommend adding Justice League: The Art of the Film to your collection. Sorry, Titan Books, this one just wasn’t my cup of tea.