Looks like Zack finally served Warner Brothers their JUST desserts, eh? Originally released in 2017, Justice League was helmed initially by Zack Snyder, who also directed Man of Steel in 2013 and Batman v Superman in 2015. After a tragic loss in his family, however, the directing role was handed over to Joss Whedon. The result was as convoluted as it sounds, and the massive reshoots and revamp of special effects needed caused the film's cost to skyrocket, which caused the film to bomb despite making a typically reasonable amount. So, despite the constant demand from fans for Snyder to return and bring his vision to life, such a project didn't seem too reasonable for Warner Brothers..... Until now. How does it hold up? Let's take a look!
Quick Mini-Review on Original Cut
Not to spoil too much about this review, but I'm going to have a hard time forgetting this Snyder Cut exists.
Thousands of years ago, a dark being known as Darkseid attempted to conquer our planet using three Motherboxes that, when combined, would destroy the Earth and turn all life on the planet into his slaves. After an epic battle against his minions, however, the boxes were kept separate and protected, and they remained dormant until an event from Batman v Superman caused them to wake up. Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince, both being aware of this, set out on a quest to find other metahumans like them to fight the battle they now anticipate.
What's Good About It
Those who keep thinking that a team-up movie doesn't need to have each character star in their own movie beforehand needs to consider the fact that the version of this movie that actually made the characters more interesting is a 4-hour cut. In the theatrical cut, Cyborg and Flash's backstories are reduced to their quickest explanations and then they're thrown into quips and action scenes, but here, you get to see emotional prologues and establishments of their motivations. They set up background, they pursue their goals (all of which ties into the main story, mind you), and there's payoff by the end. It's not just one liners and punches, it's emotional storytelling.
One of my biggest issues with the theatrical cut is that the villain, Steppenwolf, is the most bland, generic, nothing villain. Here, I don't know if it's the redesign or the execution or both, but he is much more Intimidating here. He comes off less like a bland speech giver and more like an alien horror monster, one who can't be reasoned with, can't be stopped, and can't be easily beaten. Part of that might be because we see the heroes do everything in their power to stop him from obtaining the Motherboxes, whereas I feel like much of the back-and-forth conflict is trimmed to nothing in the theatrical cut.
I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but the length actually made the film come off as more epic to me. The theatrical cut trimmed the film down to the same length as any other run-of-the-mill superhero film, and that's what it turned out to be. This is a superhero epic, and thanks to the length, I can say that in every sense of the word. It's the Lawrence of Arabia or Lord of the Rings of superhero flicks, and it feels like such and it runs as long as such.
Other bits:
-The color scheme looks more genuine
-The Flash is treated with tons more honor in the climax
What Doesn't Work About It
This really isn't an issue for me, as Zack Snyder is a great director in my eyes, but let's be fair, he's not going to win everyone over. If you're not a fan of Snyder's color scheme, fake looking effects, emo-ish soundtrack, or dramatic choirs, this will be a waste of four hours for you. If you're not a fan of how he portrays the characters, this isn't going to change anything for you. None of that bothers me, but if it bothers you, it will still bother you.
Zack Snyder's Justice League is exactly what I wanted from the theatrical cut; it's big, it's epic, it's ambitious, it's emotional, and it expands the universe to a point where I would want to see more from it! I greatly appreciate Zack's hard work at bringing it to life, and I greatly appreciate the studio for giving him the time and resources to put it together! This is a must see for any fan of superhero films!
My rating:
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