Perhaps it's not fair that I saw Avengers: Infinity War in the theater before getting a copy of Justice League from Netflix. But, comparatively speaking, DC's latest effort falls short -- and not just because I watched it on a smaller screen.

Where Infinity War brings together the storylines of numerous film franchises and makes it feel complete, League has to juggle only six major characters -- Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg, only three of whom have had their own movies in the past -- and can't manage to make them feel like a team.

Or even, you know, characters we could care about.

I mean, it says something that the Flash/Barry Allen, a fairly straightforward character who runs fast (played here by Ezra Miller), is handled much more adeptly in a TV series than he is in this major Hollywood release. DC would have served its audience better simply by importing series actor Grant Gustin, who at least has a backstory that makes sense.

This Superman (Henry Cavill) has been badly bungled in past films, so it's hard to like him when he reappears. And Batman (Ben Affleck) feels light on history, since more established versions of the character have been discarded for this aging hero who just wants to make friends. Only Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) has had a successful, powerful screen presence in recent years, and even her role feels underdeveloped since it's never explained why she hid from society for 100 years after her World War I boyfriend died.

Besides the Flash, cinematic newcomers are Jason Momoa as Aquaman and Ray Fisher as Cyborg. Neither gets development here, so they're not very interesting.

Batman and Wonder Woman recruit the others because a major threat is coming, and Superman is dead. Once they come up with a surprisingly simple method of bringing the dead Son of Krypton back to life and he joins the fray, the rest of the team quickly becomes redundant and unnecessary to the plot.

Yawn.

Secondary characters include Lois Lane (Amy Adams), who has been writing fluff pieces for the Daily Planet since her boyfriend died, and she's there only to make Superman feel bad for beating up the heroes who resurrected him; Alfred (Jeremy Irons), who does Alfred things; Martha Kent (Diane Lane), whose absence from the film wouldn't have changed anything; Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), who serves to show us the sacrifice Amazons are willing to make to protect a box we previously knew nothing about; and Commissioner Gordon (J.K. Simmons), who's, um, also there.

There also is a family of Russians, living a hardscrabble life in the shadow of a decommissioned nuclear reactor, who pop up a lot in the movie but serve no purpose other than to show that, damn, it's rough when a bunch of parademons swarm your neighborhood. I suppose they serve as familiar faces, so viewers can give an "ah" of recognition when Flash saves them from certain death.

Even the villain pales. While Marvel gives dimension to Thanos, DC's Steppenwolf (voiced by Ciaran Hinds) is a cardboard cutout. His origins are never clear, and his motives are insubstantial.

It doesn't help that the movie was made piecemeal, with director Zack Snyder stepping down (because of a personal tragedy) midway through production, and director Joss Whedon stepping in with an entirely different vision for the film. Individually, either man might have produced something great, but combined, they made a mess.

There was a time when DC made decent superhero movies, and Marvel did not. I honestly would love to see both companies succeed, as both have a long history of storytelling, with great characters to share. Instead, they simply have swapped roles, and DC is struggling to find new footing.

I hope they do so, but Justice League isn't the one.