Zack Snyder’s Justice League Movie Review

Hey guys, I'm Hannah Taylor with Filmagic. Today I'm going to be reviewing Zack Snyder's Justice League, also known as Snyder's Cut, or as I like to call it, the final nail in Joss Whedon's proverbial coffin. Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more movie content. Snyder's Justice League picks up right after Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice. This film was released about five years ago and it was also directed by Snyder. Now, Snyder's Justice League has kind of reached this mythical, legendary status in the recent years. After the 2017 version of Justice League was released, it ended up being a critical and commercial failure, so fans of the series have actually been campaigning, and when I say campaigning, I actually mean forcefully and aggressively demanding that this cut be released. Now, to start this review, I should probably begin by tackling its biggest point of contention, its length. At just over four hours long, you might need a coffee or two to get through this film, as well as the better part of your afternoon, but don't let this discourage you from watching it. Yesterday, when I finally settled in to watch it, I was a little bit nervous because of the length. Sometimes I have a hard enough time focusing for a two-hour movie, let alone one that's four hours long, but I honestly was pleasantly surprised at how I was entertained the entire way through, how the plot and the action really kind of drives the film along, but in case you do find yourself zoning out or losing focus, the film is actually broken up into seven parts, so each of these parts are actually, you know, if you do want to take a quick break, those parts are a great time to do it. Now, before the film even really begins, we start to see Snyder's artistic integrity be restored. There's a notice at the beginning that says, you know, this film is going to be presented in a new four-to-three aspect ratio to align with Snyder's original vision for the film. The film actually opens with Superman's death cry, which we saw at the end of the previous film, and this marks a departure from the 2017 version where we see this kind of cheesy montage of newspaper headlines, and I think the newer version does a really good job of, you know, reminding us of the stakes at hand and setting the more somber, darker tone that we're going to see throughout this version of the film. Now, I will say that about six minutes into watching this film, I kind of started to catch myself going, wait, who's that again? What's their deal? What's their connection to the story? So, if you're anything like me, and it's been a few years since you've seen the previous films, I really recommend brushing up before you dive in, just so you're not distracted by questions as you start to watch this movie, and you can really appreciate and focus on the subtle differences and changes that we see in Snyder's version as compared to the 2017 version. And, you know, there are lots of subtle changes and not-so-subtle changes that really reflect Snyder's original intent for this film. He had a 70 million dollar budget as he went to get this film ready for public consumption. One of the biggest changes we see is that Steppenwolf, the main villain, has actually been completely redesigned and his scenes have been reworked with VFX. In this version, he's a lot spikier. I would say that in the previous version, he kind of looks like something out of a horror film, but in this version, he definitely looks like more of your comic book villain. Now, a more subtle way that this film is different than the first version is that this film is a lot bloodier and graphic and honestly more vulgar than the previous version was. And this really aligns more with Snyder's true directing style, and I think it really raises the stakes in a way. And, you know, it's not one of those superhero movies that people kind of laugh at and say, you know, there's these big fight scenes and no one's getting hurt. I should also probably mention that people might not realize how big of a role that Snyder has played in really crafting the DC universe. He was instrumental in casting Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, and he was actually the primary proponent for casting Jason Momoa as Aquaman. You know, in the comic book series, Aquaman is this blonde, blue-eyed, kind of waspy guy, and obviously, if you've seen the film, you know that Jason Momoa is the complete opposite of that. And so I think, you know, Snyder a lot of times doesn't get enough credit for how much he has really added to the foundation of the DC universe. Right from the beginning of the film, I felt completely immersed in the world that was being created in front of me. And, you know, I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that there is just perfect synergy between the cinematography and the score. The score almost seems to push the camera along as it's showing the opening scenes. I couldn't help but think when I was watching this how amazing this would have been to see in theaters. Hated that I was having to watch it on my laptop, but, you know, what are you gonna do? That's the world we're in right now. I should also probably note here that when Snyder left the film in 2017, the original composer, Junkie XL, left too. And he came back for this film, and they both, I really think, made a triumphant return. Now, while I'm on the subject of beautiful cinematography and beautiful music, I have to mention this scene at the beginning of the film with Amy Adams as Lois Lane, which, quick aside, I think she is phenomenal in these movies as that role. And I really hope to see more of her in the future, but I digress. There's this part where she's walking through the rain, and it's a slow-mo shot. And then there's also a couple of shots where he really focuses on the raindrops in the scene. And I think that just shows great attention to detail. And it's actually one of Snyder's signatures. He's really known for, you know, not only using rain to portray mourning and sadness, but on these shots of really tiny particles and making them fill the whole screen. And it kind of adds this hyper-realism to the film. At four hours long, this film definitely verges on bloated and overstuffed at times, but I honestly really think it's the little details and the new additions of scenes that Snyder has given us in this film that really give the film its heart and its life. You know, we get new introductions for the Cyborg, the Flash, and Aquaman that we didn't get in the first film, and this really makes them more than just two-dimensional characters where we might not understand what's motivating them. In this version, we really know, like, what's driving them, what their background is, and it really brings humanity, I think, to the film. Even the villain, Steppenwolf, finally gets a reason for, you know, why he wants to take over Earth. And we didn't get that reason in the first film, and so I think that really fills in the holes of, you know, what's driving these characters. While I'm on the subject of new scenes and character introductions, I have to say that I love how we get to see the Flash and his father. I think that that really adds more depth and layer to his character, and it also does a really good job of kind of setting the stage for the Flash standalone film, which is coming in 2022. But aside from the introductions that we get for Aquaman and for the Flash, I have to say that I think Ray Fisher's Cyborg benefited immensely from Snyder's cut of this film. You know, we really get to see his trauma, his struggles, his inner battle. We see his relationship with his father, and, you know, we see this beautiful moment where, you know, he's given up on life and he hasn't found any meaning until he realizes that he has the power to do good in this world. And there's this beautiful scene where, you know, he gives back to this single mother and her child, and I think that's one of the most emotional, heartwarming scenes in the entire film. And I think it is a perfect example of how Snyder's cut just has so much more heart and humanity and passion in this film than the 2017 version did. As much as I enjoyed this film, I did have a few issues, some additions that I thought were a place. There's this one part where Aquaman takes off his sweater and this woman catches it and there's like a 10 second shot of her just snipping his sweater, and I didn't really get the point of that. And I honestly thought I was getting like weird, creepy A24 horror film vibes from that, so it felt a little out of place. There's also another part in a scene that was actually added, it's part of the Flash's new introduction. And I mentioned earlier how Snyder is known for focusing on really small particles to add to this hyper-realism of the film, and I love that, I really do. I appreciate the attention to detail, but in this one scene I think there's one shot that takes it a little bit too far. He zeroes in on this one seed of this guy's bagel or bun as it's fallen, and I thought that was a little gratuitous to be honest. But while I'm on the subject of that scene, I really did love Flash's new introduction. There's this amazing shot of him, slow-mo of course, we're talking Snyder here, where he breaks through the glass and there's a shot of his finger as it's breaking through the glass and it's just like so vivid and vibrant, and I just thought that was an amazing scene overall. So speaking of the Flash, I do have to say that in this version I thought that Barry Allen's jokes fell a little flat and they felt a little out of place. I honestly, I mean for lack of a better term, thought they were kind of cringe every now and then and I wanted to like him so bad and I really did to an extent, but I just think because Snyder's version of the film is so much darker and somber that even though, you know, Barry Allen is trying to be this comedic relief, it almost doesn't really work because it feels too out of place in the moment. One thing that I really appreciated about this version of the film is that Snyder really tries to correct the wrongs done to Diana Prince Wonder Woman that were committed to her in the 2017 version of the film. You know, even Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins has said that she kind of threw out Whedon's version of who Wonder Woman was as a character in the 2017 film and, you know, I think that's a completely valid statement. You know, in Snyder's version we really get to see she's not just this strong, beautiful, pretty woman to look at that serves as, you know, a comedic punchline every now and then. You know, we see her motivations, we see what's driving her, we really see her values as a character. I think part of the reason that we get to kind of see she's not just an instrument in Bruce Wayne's master plan, part of the reason is because Snyder pays a lot more attention to one of the beginning scenes where Steppenwolf comes to the box and he battles the Amazons and we really see the destruction of Diana Prince's homeland. We see her lose her sisters and that's kind of how we get to see that, you know, she actually has a pretty big stake in what's about to happen. You know, she's not just serving as a middleman in a man's plan. And, you know, if I'm being completely honest here, I think the alien domination plot line is probably the least interesting aspect of this entire film. You know, as I mentioned before, I think it's the little details, the human moments that really are the lifeblood and the driving force of this film. You know, back in the 2017 version it had to be two hours so, you know, Whedon was interested and, all right, let's move this along. Let's get to the next big scene. Let's move the plot along. But this film really gets to take its time and it's more interested in, you know, the characters and we get to see their internal battles, their struggles, their growth. You know, we get to see Victor as he finally comes to forgive his father for, you know, changing him into this cyborg. And, you know, I think that's such an important aspect of this film is that whereas Whedon's version was just kind of cold, to say the least, this version has so much warmth and so much passion. You know, there's been a lot of controversy, I think, in the past couple of years surrounding superhero movies, particularly with Martin Scorsese's comment that superhero movies aren't cinema. Well, if there is one scene in this film that I think proves him wrong, it is the scene where Flash runs faster than the speed of light to save the day. I mean, it is just beautiful and, of course, the whole thing is mainly done CGI VFX. But, oh my gosh, you know, I've seen pretty much every superhero movie that there is and I like them. They're entertaining enough. But, you know, this is one of the first superhero films that I've ever seen where I really felt inspired by the characters and what was going on. And I think part of that has to do with, you know, these wonderful visual effects and, you Just to wrap up, I cannot let this review go by without saying how much I love the epilogue. The beginning of the epilogue does a really good job of wrapping up kind of the emotional arcs of the characters and tying up some relationship-oriented loose ends. But then, midway through the epilogue, there's this big shift, this big twist, and without any spoilers, it basically leaves you with all these questions. Like, what's going to happen next? How did we get here? What's going on? And, honestly, I don't know how there can't be a follow-up to this. And so, I really hope that the success of Snyder's Cut will allow there to be, you know, more Snyder films in the future that continue his story of the Justice League. And, you know, I want to say that, for the epilogue alone, I would rate this film 7 out of 10. But it doesn't deserve that rating solely for the epilogue. You know, this film has heart. It has passion. You know, the action is still fast-paced and entertaining enough to keep you engaged throughout the entire film. And, overall, I'm just, I think this is such a triumphant return for Snyder, especially when you consider the tragic circumstances surrounding his daughter that he actually dedicated the film to. So, you know, I just couldn't be more happy that this film has been as well-received as it has been. And that's all I have for y'all today. I hope you enjoyed this review of Snyder's Cut or Zack Snyder's Justice League. I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments below. Bye, y'all.