REVIEW: 'Zack Snyder's Justice League' — Snyder's DC redemption
“I don't care how many demons he's fought in how many hells. He's never fought us. Not us united.”
Five years ago, Zack Snyder released his divisive superhero flick Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice into theatres. It was the second film in DC’s growing cinematic shared universe and brought together Batman and Superman together in live-action for the first time. It also introduced Wonder Woman, setting up her 2017 solo film, as well as laying the groundwork for the future trilogy of Justice League films. The film was followed up by seven other films which were a mix of various spin-offs, prequels, an almost-sequel, and other stories set within the same universe.
Finally, the true sequel to Batman v Superman arrives.
I’m struggling to find a logical opening to my review of this gargantuan, indulgent miracle of a film. Zack Snyder’s Justice League isn’t just a movie. It bears a heavy legacy and demands to be understood in the context of its real-world story and not just as a piece of filmic content. It is so much all at once.
Justice League is the continuation of Zack Snyder’s insane neo-mythological epic about comic book superheroes. Justice League is a five-year fan-campaign to restore Snyder’s vision of the film. Justice League is the fight between Snyder and the studio that cast him out. Justice League is the story of a dysfunctional studio and the cast and crew that they hurt. Justice League is the story of Zack Snyder and the tragic loss of his daughter.
Justice League is Zack Snyder.
Snyder and screenwriter Chris Terrio began work on Justice League in 2014 following the release of Man of Steel, the first film in the DC film universe. They pitched a five-film, Superman-driven story to the Warner Bros. executives — Man of Steel functioning as the first of the five — which would serve as the primary story of a film franchise but would allow for various spin-offs to expand on the side characters. The project was greenlit with the follow-up film, Batman v Superman, set for release in 2016.
Batman v Superman was met with a negative reception from critics, but a more positive one from audiences. Principal photography on Justice League was slated to start only a month after the release of Batman v Superman, the studio went into panic mode thinking that Snyder’s vision was thoroughly misguided and needed correction. Warner Bros. hired famed comic book writer Geoff Johns to rewrite sections of the script to the upset of Terrio and Snyder. The studio eventually hired Avengers director Joss Whedon to perform reshoots to add more humour to the film. Rumour has it that the studio was also gunning to permanently remove Snyder from his work as the director.
Batman v Superman was met with a negative reception from critics, but a more positive one from audiences. Principal photography on Justice League was slated to start only a month after the release of Batman v Superman but the studio went into panic mode thinking that Snyder’s vision needed correction after the divisive reaction to the former film. Warner Bros. hired famed comic book writer Geoff Johns to rewrite sections of the script to the upset of Terrio and Snyder. The studio eventually hired Joss Whedon, the writer-director of The Avengers (2012) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), to perform reshoots to add more humour to the film. Rumour has it that the studio was also gunning to permanently remove Snyder from his work as the director.
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| Snyder working with Affleck and Gadot (courtesy: DC/Warner Bros.). |
Tragedy struck the Snyder family when Snyder’s daughter died by suicide in mid-2017. Snyder stepped down from his role as director and left the project in the hands of Whedon.
The film was finally released in November 2017 to negative reception from critics and a poor box office performance. Reactions to and reviews of the film noted that Justice League felt like the Frankenstein-combination of the incomplete work of two very different directors. It was not a Joss Whedon and it was certainly not a Zack Snyder movie.
The hashtag #ReleaseTheSnyderCut began trending after the first release with fans asking for the restored, “Snyder Cut” of the film. As 2017 drew to a close, some 180 000 fans signed a petition. In the years following, all six of Justice League’s key cast got behind the petition and Snyder confirmed the cut’s existence — although, most likely only a workprint version — in late 2019. Finally, in early 2020, Warner Bros. chairman Toby Emmerich said that the studio was moving forward on completing and releasing the project through their new streaming service HBO Max.
Finally in March 2021, a year and $70 million later, the fully restored Zack Snyder’s Justice League has made it to the homes of viewers everywhere.
With that established, what is this new-and-improved Justice League like?
It’s disingenuous to refer to the 2021 cut of Justice League simply as a “director’s cut” or an “extended cut” like The Lord of the Rings or Blade Runner. This version of Justice League is twice the length, adding scores of new characters, expanding upon the flashbacks, and adding droves of new characters. Snyder removed all of the Whedon-shot footage which takes the problems of inconsistent tones and clashing styles that plagued the 2017 version. All of the comedic punch-ups done by Whedon and Johns are gone returning the film to the more serious tone of Batman v Superman and Man of Steel.
While both versions of the film follow the same basic plot outline, the actual presentation of the two films is as different as night-and-day. The depth of field in the cinematography is different, the fight scenes, especially the climactic battle in Russia, are captured differently. There are extended backstories for Cyborg (played by Ray Fisher) and The Flash (played by Ezra Miller). The worldbuilding is clearer. This also means that, thankfully, Superman (played by Henry Cavil) loses his horrifying CGI-altered face. The new cut has been resized to a 4:3 aspect ratio and recoloured to a more muted-colour palette. Dutch composer and producer Thomas Holkenborg, better known by his alias Junkie XL, even wrote a new score for this version of the film after he was replaced by Danny Elfman in the 2017 film.
This highlights just how much of the film was redone by Whedon — according to Slate, Whedon reshot up to three-quarters of the film — and makes Warner Bros.’ meddling with Snyder all the more egregious as it’s obvious that Snyder had completed all of his photography. Snyder only shot one scene for the film, despite the studio telling him not to, during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a brief scene involving the return of Jared Leto’s Joker and his first conversation with Ben Affleck’s Batman.
“One of the rules of making the Snyder Cut,” Snyder said in an interview, “was that the studio said no shooting of any kind. And then I just, of course, shot stuff anyway.”
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| Behind-the-scenes image of Jared Leto as The Joker (courtesy: Zack Syder). |
This onslaught of differences between the two films makes Zack Snyder’s Justice League a major upgrade to the 2017 version. While certainly not a perfect movie, my criticism will be explored, I was delighted to see a version of the film that felt complete, cohesive, and of the same creative mind.
One of my favourite improvements to this film is how it develops and humanizes the three new characters: The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg. Many of the deleted scenes were character moments between these three and the various side-characters that will make up the supporting cast of their solo-movies. These additions establish their motivations, give them personalities, and re-contextualize their actions. Aquaman (played by Jason Momoa) converses with romantic interest Princess Mera (played by Amber Heard) and his mentor Nuidis Vulko (played by Willem Dafoe) which further introduces the world of Atlantis and his personal stakes. We spend time getting to know Barry Allen, his father (Billy Crudup), and his future love interest (played by Kiersey Clemons). The film’s breakout character, however, is Cyborg. Ray Fisher’s performance, his film debut, is strong throughout and his relationship with his father becomes the film’s emotional centre.
Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman change the least between the two cuts. Batman certainly improves. He shows remorse for his actions in the previous film and is given motivation for putting the team together. It seems like basic character writing, but somehow the 2017 cut was missing all of this. Superman’s scenes are certainly improved, although he is not in the film for very long. Wonder Woman is the only one of the lead characters who is not treated well. Her job in the film to is punch things, explain lore, and look pretty.
These extended character moments and added dialogue scenes make up the majority of the two new hours of running time. The runtime is justified in a sense, but I think that it only proves how foolish it was for Snyder to craft a film with lore this complex without having done the proper leg-work. All six of the main characters as well as the villains have incredibly rich, but very different, mythologies and backstories around them. It was a foolish movie to try to introduce three of these characters without giving them each a film of their own, especially for The Flash and Aquaman. Cyborg is the only character whose story fits organically into the narrative of Justice League; the stories of the Flash and Aquaman only feel like setups for future films.
Another great success of Zack Snyder’s Justice League is that it finally finds a tonal balance that Snyder’s other DC efforts have not been able to capture. The film is not nearly as frighteningly self-serious as Batman v Superman was but doesn’t feel annoyingly silly like the Whedon-version. Snyder lightens up the character of Batman to make him function within the team-dynamic but doesn’t have him crack any bad “Aquaman-can-talk-to-fish” jokes. It’s epic, mythological, and serious, but not needlessly dark and edgy.
Finally, I think that the film’s last great improvement over the original cut is the final battle. The finale of the film is totally different from the original film. The chain of events is different, the fight choreography is different. This like, the Justice League fights together as a team instead of just taking isolated shots at Steppenwolf, the film’s main villain. They use combo attacks and use their powers in unique and interesting ways. When Superman finally returns with Snyder’s not-so-subtle Christ-like imagery, his appearance has dramatic weight. The way the movie ends is even different. The moment when Flash runs near the speed of light is absolutely incredible.
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| The Justice League assembled (courtesy: DC/Warner Bros.). |
Now, I certainly have my share of criticisms of the film. There are lots of annoying, dumb things scattered throughout Zack Snyder’s Justice League as well. It is far from perfect. There are a few too many instances of slow motion. There are a few too many montages set to sombre music. Amy Adams’ Lois Lane is a waste of time. I do not care about her in the slightest.
Some moments could be cleaned up to make the running time even slightly shorter. The four-hour is hardly justified and drags in a couple of spots, although the decision to divide the film into six chapters certainly helps it flow. The villain has, what feels like, the same conversation with his boss updating him on the status of the Mother Boxes, the plot’s Big Dumb Object(s), and their plot to destroy the Earth. There are a few too many scenes that only serve the purpose of setting up a sequel or a spinoff.
But on the whole, the film is an absolute success. It’s competent, entertaining, and wildly different from its peers within the superhero genre. The best part is that it renders the atrocious 2017 version obsolete. You can just watch this one instead. I’m honestly surprised that I find myself praising one of Snyder’s films, especially one in a franchise as unremarkable and disappointing as Snyder’s DCEU films have been. I expected to dislike this with a passion. I was expecting to write a review tearing this film to shreds, but I can’t do that. For the first time, I think that I would genuinely like to see a sequel and further explore the world Snyder has introduced. I want to see more of the ridiculous world of the Justice League.
“For Autumn,” reads the tribute at the end of the film. Autumn Snyder, the director’s late daughter, is the unspoken main character of Justice League. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Snyder spoke of her death saying that, “without her, this absolutely would not have happened [...] in a lot of ways [her death] has informed everything we’ve done since.” This movie is just as much the story of fantastic villains from other realms and the superhumans who rise up to meet them as it is the story of Zack and Deborah Snyder and the tragic loss of their daughter.
Whether or not Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a good movie is a question I find difficult to answer. Would someone new to this franchise find any enjoyment in this? I really can’t say. I know that I liked it, perhaps only because of my investment in the story surrounding the production and the saga of Zack Snyder. But in a way, that story is the movie and it shouldn’t be viewed absent of its context of the story of Zack Snyder.
After all, this isn’t just Justice League anymore. This is Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Score: 3.5
Zack Snyder's Justice League is now streaming on HBO Max.
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