November, 17th 2017 saw the release of Justice League, which was intended to be a symbol of where Warner Bros. was at with their DC properties. Despite Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad being financial successes (even though BVS and Man of Steel didn’t perform the way the studio had hoped for), all were considerably critical failures. Then Wonder Woman comes along and became the first truly critically and financially successful film in the DCEU, one could assume that the success of that movie would spark positive momentum going in to Justice League. With an opening box office number $93 million, a worldwide total of over $657 million and a not so positive reception from critics and fans (though more praised than BVS), Justice League was a cataclysmic disaster and put the DCEU in a bit of a pickle. Even before the release of this movie, Justice League was already experiencing a lot of production problems, whether it’s the reshoots that completely changed the structure from what Zack Snyder already had for his cut or the allegations of Joss Whedon being unprofessional while on set. It’s also worth noting that Zack Snyder had a personal tragedy that he had to cope with, so in order for the reshoots and post production to happen it was Joss Whedon that was “originally” set to complete the post production portion of the movie. Well, that clearly wasn’t the case at all and suffice to say that the stories surrounding this movie create such an interesting narrative as to how it came to be. So, for the last three or four years, fans and even the cast of Justice League were demanding to see the original edit that Zack Snyder had already had that he showed to some of the Warner Bros executives before Joss Whedon came on board. The #ReleaseTheSnyderCut was spreading like wild fire and some were almost certain that it would never happen when you consider where Warner Bros. was at the current stage of their DC movies.
Well, after all these years and with the high demand to see Zack Snyder’s unvarnished cut of Justice League, fans got their wish this past Thursday on March 18th to see the complete 4-hour movie that Snyder had buried in the vault. And despite what some might say about the movement, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is Snyder’s Return of the King for the DCEU. It’s breathtaking, emotional, epic and quite a miracle. The character moments are earned, the action has substance and spectacle and it’s a MAJOR improvement from the theatrical cut.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League tells the exact story that we saw in the theatrical cut, in where Batman and Wonder Woman work together to recruit a team to stand against this newly awakened enemy, in response to Superman’s sacrificing act at the end of Batman v Superman. In spite of the formation of what is called the Justice League — Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and the Flash — it’s up to them to put a stop to Steppenwolf and his army of Parademons.
I know we like to pretend that the theatrical cut of Justice League is the worst movie in the world but it’s certainly not. It’s by no means a great movie, but it has some merit to it if you look beneath. However, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is step and bounds different from it’s original movie and it’s a massive improvement, especially for Zack Snyder. Aside from the story being the only similar aspect, The Snyder Cut is also a completely new film. Even the same scenes that happened in this version felt completely new and fresh. A 4-hour movie is a hard selling point for the causal movie consumer, but the pace and flow of this movie is wonderfully executed and it felt tighter, more cohesive and crisp, more so than the theatrical cut.
One of the best aspects of The Snyder Cut is each individual character is developed better and has a stronger sense of purpose. You could almost make the argument for any one of them, but maybe the two most notably known character that felt like after thoughts in the theatrical cut were the Flash and Cyborg. Both felt short-sided in the the theatrical version and never really had a memorable moment that left fans wanting more, but in the The Snyder Cut, Ezra Miller and Ray Fisher both bring more justice to the roles and both have exceptional moments of character growth. Even Jason Momoa as Aquaman, who we can all admit is a prefect choice for this character, absolutely rocks in this movie. With the Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman being the new characters in this movie, all of them have great chemistry and a great sense of teamwork. Even Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman has more to do in this movie, especially with her interactions with Bruce Wayne, which felt non-existent in the theatrical cut. Ben Affleck’s Batman is also one of the best things that needed a lot of work from the previous film. He actually gets to do things in battle and it feels more like the character Zack Snyder created in Batman v Superman, instead of trying make him a replication of Tony Stark from Avengers. Now, without getting into spoiler territory, Henry Cavill as Superman is something we shouldn’t have slept on. He’s tremendous in this movie and we’ll just leave it at that.
Steppenwolf is a MUCH better villain in this movie. His design is better, he’s scary, ruthless and very complex, but most importantly, he’s just a better character. Almost in the vein of Kylo Ren from The Force Awakens, Steppenwolf is a character that has more conflicts and enticing aspects as a villain. He’s struggles to satisfy his mentor, Darkseid, despite how much he knows the struggles that he has to deal with by trying to please Darkseid’s demands. It makes him one of the standouts in the whole 4-hour movie and proves that Steppenwolf was meant to have a proper treatment as a villain for The Snyder Cut.
The action in The Snyder Cut is also impeccable and much better than what we already saw. It’s the kind of epic and grand finale that every comic-book movie should have. The movie really builds up to the climactic battle between the Justice League and Steppenwolf, but even the battle in Themyscira with Steppenwolf and the Amazons is intense and much better than the theatrical cut. The action feels more adult and more mature for audiences, though it’s R rating is not super hard R, it’s more of a hard PG-13. It’s visually spectacular and each action scene is beautifully pulled right from the comics, but underneath the terrific set pieces is the emotional crux of this movie. Despite what some might say about Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, the emotion in this movie is gracefully earned and it pays off incredibly well.
The last thing will touch upon between The Snyder Cut and the theatrical cut of Justice League is the film’s music. Danny Elfman is a terrific film composer, who’s created terrific superhero themes (Raimi’s Spider-Man or Burton’s Batman) and quirky and fantastical scores. That being said, it’s not that his score for Justice League was bad it’s more that it felt very inconsistent to what Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL had already created. Paying homages can be fine but in the case for Justice League, it didn’t really pay off as well. Junkie XL comes into finish what Zack Snyder started and his music is absolutely perfection. It’s by far his best piece of music since Mad Max and by continuing off from what Hans Zimmer had already created, Junkie XL’s music is full of weight and excitement that’ll bring chills down your neck.
We can go on and on about the movement of seeing this movie see the light of day. As a fan it’s amazing but from the business side it might stir up some interesting questions. However, to see Zack Snyder complete his vision will you overwhelmed with emotions. The Snyder Cut continues the same tone and visual aesthetics that you would expect from a Zack Snyder movie and it doesn’t disappoint. This was the movie that we were meant to see in 2017 and seeing that this wasn’t the product we got back then is a bit concerning. If you’re a fan of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, then The Snyder Cut will immensely satisfy the fans, and that’s really all you can ask for.
My grade for Zack Snyder’s Justice League: A
Zane's take at the Cinema's 