‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ Review: A Cut Above in Every Way
The ‘Snyder Cut’ released on HBO Max Thursday morning. Is this original director’s cut a better film than its theatrical predecessor?
“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” came about after fans the world over went into theatres in November 2017 to see the long-anticipated “Justice League”. They knew that Zack Snyder had dropped out of post-production of the film, they knew that director Joss Whedon had stepped in to finish post-production and do some reshoots, and they knew that the film had been shortened for its theatrical release.
No one could have anticipated just how cringe-inducing, uneven, and puzzled together the theatrical cut would turn out to be. Clearly something was wrong, and after a while we learned the answer.
#ReleaseTheSnyderCut became a top-trending hashtag on Twitter as hundreds of thousands of fans proved eager to learn what really happened and what happened to Snyder’s original vision, as what they saw in theatres clearly was not it.
Eventually, we learned in a gradual series of information reveals the true story. In the wake of the unfortunate passing of Snyder’s daughter, Autumn, he took an emotional leave from the post-production and Warner Bros. decided to bring in “The Avengers” director Joss Whedon to do reshoots as they were unsatisfied with Snyder’s film. Whedon reshot and re-edited the entire thing to conform to the studio’s demands that the movie be under two hours and had to resemble the Marvel Cinematic Universe in terms of tone and humor.
Now, with the money to finish the edits and visual effects on his original raw footage, and being able to add one extra four-minute scene to an already four-hour-long film with not a single frame of footage that Joss Whedon shot, we finally get to see Zack Snyder’s original version of “Justice League.”
To start off with, this is a completely different film from the theatrical version. Everything from the tone to the characters to most of the scenes and dialogue is entirely new material.
“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” is a very character-based story, and by far this is the strong suit of the film. Everyone is given fuller developments, stronger arcs, no out-of-place quippy one liners. All of it culminates to pack an emotional punch, and makes these characters feel like real people on their way to becoming heroes, continuing the theme of becoming oneself and achieving greatness Snyder established all the way back in “Man of Steel.”
We get another amazing performance from Ben Affleck as fan-favorite Bruce Wayne/Batman, but as a different Batman and a new Batman. No longer the cynical, obsessive, and broken Batman that we last saw in “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” this Batman has evolved and developed in the wake of the passing of Superman. We see real change carrying over from his previous film, as he now has been rejuvenated to believe in hope and, as he puts it to Alfred, having faith. He has made it his mission to fulfill his promise to a dying Superman, and we can see him use his obsessive nature for good when he stops at nothing to complete his goal and unite the League of metahumans to protect Earth. In this film, we get to see Batman redeemed from being the antagonist in “BvS” to becoming the hero that makes this League possible.
While this Batman’s heart has been softened, he has learned to work with others and let other people into his life, and he believes in hope and faith again, he is by no means a softie as he is still very much the Dark Knight. Similarly, Jeremy Irons’ performance as Alfred in this film is even better than it was in “BvS.” there’s more of his lovable sarcastic comments and his quick wit, but even deeper than that, we see a richer relationship between him and Bruce, and he actually serves as a sort of philosophical well dispensing much-needed advice and ideas to the team.
Zack Snyder was not joking when he said that Cyborg would be the heart of this film. Ray Fisher gives an outstanding performance as Victor Stone/Cyborg with impeccable range and depth, and packs by far the largest emotional punches in the film. He is the character whose emotional arc you are the most invested in, all due to the writing and Fisher’s performance, and your heart just breaks when his does as the emotional moments in his story just shatter you. You feel it in his mother’s death, you feel it in his utter resentment of the world, and you feel it in the wake of his father’s heroic sacrifice. All of these combine to make Cyborg a hero worthy of the Justice League, with a story not only about redemption but about finding the good within the bad, and doing all that you can with the cards life has dealt you, no matter how horrible. Cyborg truly presents an inspirational story in this film for all.
The Flash and Aquaman are also important characters to the film in giving the film not just more heart, but a little bit of levity as well, all of which fits organically in the film and naturally for their characters. Calling them comic relief would oversimplify their role in the film, as these characters, while still broken and needing to actualize themselves as heroes, give the audience a more hopeful and optimistic feel from their character moments.
The Flash is infinitely improved in this version over the theatrical cut. This Flash is much more competent, heroic and capable, and proves his heroism from his first introduction right up to literally saving the day at the very end. Aside from being one of the more lighthearted characters, Flash still has his fair share of emotionally-impactful moments where we see glimpses of his heroic potential in trying to fight tooth-and-nail for justice for his falsely-imprisoned father, especially when he talks to him in the Speed Force not knowing if he will be able to make it out alive. Flash is also used to provide some very interesting and creative Speed Force action, which is easily one of the best ways the Speed Force has been visualized in a medium. All of this makes us more excited to see Ezra Miller continue to portray Barry Allen in his own solo “The Flash” movie in 2022.
Even Aquaman, who at first tries to portray a tough guy exterior, gets to pour his heart out onscreen. The scene that comes particularly to mind is when he and Barry are discussing Victor getting over the death of his father, and we learn that Aquaman really does care, while trying to be standoffish and keep his distance to protect his own insecurities. We see in his actions throughout the film that, despite the tough guy act, he has a warm heart and really just wants to help people and do good.
The focus of the above characters is not by any means trying to minimize the amazingness of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Henry Cavill as Superman, who, as expected, turn in incredible roles, becoming synonymous and inseparable with the characters themselves. However, they have both had the benefit of their own solo movies before this film, so they’ve already been introduced and developed while these other characters had to have their arcs established here.
Cavill’s Superman is beautifully resurrected and revitalized into the DCEU in this film, and becomes the savior and ultimate symbol of hope for the entire planet, written to fit perfectly into this mold previously set up by Snyder. From characters like Flash, we know that Superman is a personal hero that inspired many other heroes like himself, and he finally managed to unite the defenders of Earth once again, which was previously thought to be impossible, ushering in the new Age of Heroes. This all adds on to what Snyder started way back in “Man of Steel” by making Superman a mythical archetype and a symbol of pure legendary greatness.
All of these characters come together in order to explore the film’s theme of unity and have them all work together, which is really where all these characters shine. The team dynamic in this film is incredibly deep and rich, and it’s so enjoyable to watch onscreen. Every one of these characters is broken to some degree and seeking redemption to become a hero, whether you take Wonder Woman just now coming out of a nearly century-long silence to come to the aid of man once more, or Cyborg needing to realize his gifts and use it to save the world instead of curse it. This film balances everyone’s individual arcs very well in the first half without feeling too overwhelmed and scattered, and brings them together in the second half in a way that seems natural, organic and earned in a way that makes the four-hour runtime fly by.
While this film provides a lot more heart and some more levity in its characters and story-telling than previous DCEU filmography, this is still very much Snyder’s film. From the expert cinematography to the stylization of the action sequences to the amazing CGI effects, this is Snyder at his best and most epic. The hopeful feel of this film seems like a perfect compromise between those who loved the dark tone of “BvS” and those who wanted something with more optimism and inspiration, in a way that makes sense as a tonal evolution in the franchise. Also as expected from Snyder, the score and soundtrack is on point all throughout the film, from start to finish. None of it feels out of place and it all feels expertly chosen to exemplify and amplify the emotions of the scene at play, with another epic win for Junkie XL.
Lastly, there cannot be a discussion on improvements in this film without mentioning the main villain, Steppenwolf. In this film, we actually get a backstory on Steppenwolf. His motivations are clear, he has a determined villainous vision, and in a weird sense we actually get a bit emotionally invested in him. We understand why he is doing what he is doing, and it makes us curious as we sit a little closer to the edges of our seats with interest and anticipation as to what he will do next. Not only is his design menacing, but his action is masterfully shot, and he is used to set up a complex and fascinating mythology teasing Apokolips, Desaad, and Darkseid.
While this film is an absolute achievement and cinematic masterpiece, it does come with some of its own mixed aspects and flaws that need to be mentioned. While the movie vastly improves on Steppenwolf as a villain and a character, it cannot be helped but to feel like there is still a little bit lacking from his backstory and character, especially his relationship with Darkseid and Apokolips. We get teases as to what might have happened to put him in this position, but we don’t get a full exploration or resolution, and this would have been helpful in fully realizing Steppenwolf as the villain. It also seems that Cyborg’s emotional arc following the death of his father was a bit underdeveloped and sacrificed for the sake of runtime and to get to the final action. This is especially given how long he mourned for the death of his mother.
However, both of these are only mixed and not negatives as this film was planned to be the first film in a trilogy that would continue this arc and we do not know specifically how this would have all come to fruition. With the Deathstroke introduction and the new Knightmare sequence teased at the end of this film presenting an ever more-certain grim future for Earth and the Justice League, fans eagerly await and anticipate Warner Bros’ next move to potentially continue this series.
“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” is an effective, emotional, character-driven masterpiece that explores redemption in unity and brings our broken protagonists together to actualize their own inner hero and become the mythological archetypes from Zack Snyder’s own creative take.