'Zack Snyder's Justice League' Review: Far From Perfect, But Who Cares?

The story of Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) is one for the ages. Truly the fact that it is even being given the light of day is achievement enough. That being said, those who fought so ardently since 2017 will be pleased with the cut and although I can't support the abusive and toxic nature of a faction of the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, the large majority should be proud of their efforts.

Before we get into the weeds of it all, if you've been living a carefree life away from social media this weekend, or you didn't catch my thoughts on this whole saga, let's do a TL;DR summary: Warner Bros. are short-sighted and think that Joss Whedon can save the DCEU (DC Extended Universe) so they use Zack Snyder's family tragedy as a way of bringing Whedon on board. Justice League (2017) is vastly different from Snyder's vision and it was not good. #ReleaseTheSnyderCut dominates Warner Bros. social channels for three years and by 2020 they relent and allow Snyder to release his cut of the film.

And now here we are, after years of wondering if it really existed, the Snyder Cut was released last week in all of its 4 hour glory.

Also, enjoy: spoiler free zone ahead!

So how do you analyze Zack Snyder's Justice League? Do you consider it in a vacuum, or do you take everything into consideration? I haven't firmly landed in one camp, but I'm leaning towards the latter.

My biggest criticisms of the film can be directly explained by the context of why the Snyder Cut (as we will be calling it going forward) exists in the first place. In fact, let's start with those criticisms and get them out the way.

Indulgent

If I had to describe the Snyder Cut in a word, it'd be just that. Indulgent.

Snyder, always a fan of slow motion, hangs onto shots for 5 minutes longer than necessary (think The Flash (Ezra Miller) saving the woman from being crushed by a truck). He overuses character theme tunes (I'm looking at you Wonder Woman theme) and abuses soundtrack (sorry Nick Cave, I'm a fan, but 'There is a Kingdom' just didn't work for me). To sum up, Snyder is incredibly heavy handed (that 360 camerawork dialogue shot culminating in a superhero hologram is a particularly egregious offender).

There's plenty in the Snyder Cut that could have and should have been cut. The amount of excess in Snyder's style distracts your attention from the actual story and when you're dealing with a MacGuffin like "Mother Boxes", you need your audience to stay the course.

I can't defend the plot or the script (there's some pretty cringey dialogue) but I can excuse why the level of indulgence is high in the Snyder Cut.

The chances of Snyder getting a sequel, let alone his originally planned Justice League trilogy, are small to non-existent. In my opinion (that is neither confirmed nor backed by any kind of authority), the relationship between Snyder and Warner Bros. is shaky at best -- he's been pretty open about how shitty unsupportive the studio has been with his vision and his cut of the movie. I don't know if Snyder has completely burned his bridges with the legacy studio, but I'd wager this is his last shot at a DC property.

UPDATE – 22/03/2021, 11:35 PM EST: in an interview with Vanity Fair, when asked for her reaction to the new campaign #RestoreTheSnyderVerse, WarnerMedia Studios CEO Ann Sarnoff responded: "With [Zack Snyder's Justice League] comes the completion of [Zack Snyder's] trilogy." So there you have it folks, Warner Bros. has emphatically put the kibosh on the hope that Snyder will continue his vision for the DCEU.

So sure, this movie is incredibly indulgent. Snyder doesn't try to hide it to his credit. But if this is your last shot at telling your story, why not just throw everything and the kitchen sink epilogue into this movie?

As an aside, there are some bits of CGI which are less than refined to put it kindly. Keeping in mind that Snyder was reportedly given $70 million to complete his cut, I'm happy to glaze over this detail given the budget. Another reason that I lean towards not judging this movie in a vacuum.

The Justice League We Deserved

With all my criticism for Snyder's direction, there's a lot to like about the Snyder Cut.

For one, the casting is pretty spot on across the board. I know some of these actors are well established with their characters at this point, but it's still worth mentioning:

• Gal Gadot's heart and warmth bring a great strength to Wonder Woman despite uneven line deliveries at times
• Henry Cavill is this generation's Superman and I think he more than deserves that title
• Ben Affleck is our first "older" Batman and he is one of the best to play the dual role
• Jason Momoa took the Aquaman role down a refreshingly, unexpected path
• Ezra Miller takes his job of providing the levity seriously and it pays off
• Ray Fisher is overwhelmingly broody as Cyborg but shows his humanity as Victor

Not only are their individual performances great but the chemistry they have with one another is magnetic and went a long way in developing the characters. The supporting cast is also tremendous -- although when you cast Amy Adams, Diane Lane, and Jeremy Irons, you're pretty much guaranteed solid performances. Irons' Alfred in particular I thought was a fresh take on Bats' gentleman's gentleman.

While I chided the slow motion shots earlier, they are beautiful and add an effective dimension to comic book storytelling. Especially in the fight sequences, which were hands down fantastic. And the dark colour palette used was a welcome change to the bubblegum neon of Whedon's attempt.

Which leads me to perhaps the only question that matters: is the Snyder Cut better than the theatrical cut?

Undeniably, yes.

The plot is better developed and more cohesive. A few things that confused me in the theatrical were explained in the Snyder Cut. The greatest clarity being given to Steppenwolf, the film's main antagonist. Not only does he look and sound 1,000 times better in the Snyder Cut, Steppenwolf's motivations are made clear and dare I say, you may have some compassion for him.

I thought it would be near impossible to please the Snyder Cut believers and supporters -- not because I didn't think Snyder's cut would be good, just that their expectations have been stewing for 4 years and that's a difficult bar to hurdle. I do believe though that Zack Snyder's Justice League will please those fans and maybe even surprise the skeptics.

When I first wrote about the Snyder Cut, I wondered how much of the theatrical release was Whedon's and how much was Snyder's. I can confirm that 80-90% Whedon is a good estimate. Snyder also told the ReelBlend podcast that he only filmed a few additional scenes, against the wishes of Warner Bros. no less. Therefore confirming that the bulk of the film did spend the greater part of 3 years sitting on Zack Snyder's hard drive. Which for me, reinforces what an achievement it is that this film was released at all, however imperfect.

If I were to rate this movie in a vacuum, Zack Snyder's Justice League would score between a 2.5 to 3 out of 5. The gaps in CGI aren't worthy of a Justice League film (just as they weren't in 2017) and Snyder's overuse of soundtrack and slow motion are appalling.

When taking into consideration the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut saga, including the budgetary constraints and presumed finality of Snyder's DCEU, and most importantly, what it means to have a director's vision be released in spite of studio interference, I would give the Snyder Cut somewhere between 4 and 4.5 out of 5.

So as it is:

Recommended for: #ReleaseTheSnyderCut fans, curious bystanders, and superhero movie fanatics.

Zack Snyder's Justice League is available on Crave.