“Justice League” was a move in the right direction for the DC cinematic universe, but ultimately, the mistakes weigh down the movie, holding it back from soaring in the sky (and the box office).

“Justice League” had a dismal opening weekend making $96 million in North American theaters, which was 42 percent less than the opening of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”. The lack of enthusiasm and excitement for this newest DC movie can probably be attributed to the nightmarish movie that was “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” but “Justice League’s” quality shouldn’t be based off a prior movie; it deserves the benefit of the doubt.

The movie was directed by two people after the lead director, Zack Snyder, stepped away due to a family death; this caused Joss Whedon to come in and finish the rest of the film. The two distinct differences between the directors show. Snyder takes on a deeper more serious tone, while Whedon, who directed “The Avengers,” brings more quick and light hearted banter into the movie. In a perfect world, this would have allowed “Justice League” to get the best of both worlds: a serious, but also funny movie. Sadly, this wasn’t the outcome. Instead, scenes at some points don’t flow and can feel awkward. It has been reported that Warner Brothers made them cap the movie at two hours and it really shows–it seems like scenes were shortened or missing.

However, there were some things that worked really well. Ezra Miller as The Flash was a controversial casting choice at first, but he perfectly executed his role and portrayed a funny, quirky, and extremely likeable character. Gal Gadot’s performance was perfect as usual, but more Wonder Woman scenes could have been included, and there were many fans that didn’t appreciate the changing of the Amazon’s armor from full bodied to showing the midriff.

Overall, “Justice League” was an improvement, but that doesn’t mean much when the prior movie set the bar really low. The movie has its moments, but the audience will be distracted by the bad production and obvious green screens throughout the entire film.