Edited 3/30/21
This…. The moment that has been three+ years in the making!!
The Snyder Cut of Justice League. We finally get the chance to see Snyder’s vision on screen. The movie as before stars, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ray Fisher, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa and Ezra Miller reprising their roles as the titular team of heroes. Also reprising their roles, Jeremy Irons, Amy Adams, Joe Morton, Diane Lane and many more from connecting DCEU films.
Before I proceed I just want to let you know that there are major spoilers in this review.
So if you haven’t seen the movie, you may want to check out my semi-spoiler free Review now on YouTube.
As I mentioned in my trailer reaction on YouTube, this flick is 4 hours long!!! Yes you read that right. So if you’ve got plans to do anything when you watch this flick, you may want to postpone them and treat your day as if you’re binge watching your fav show or something.
That being said this movie is also rated R. We get much more grownup dialogue. Yep…they said fuck it… Say fuck or shit when you want!!!. There’s also gore that was originally omitted and if I wasn’t mistaken added more in post-production.
Anyways, we’re given a lot more context behind the story Zack Snyder was trying to tell. He was able to deliver on much of the hype and with little studio interference, if any. Although the plot is pretty much the same as the 2017 theatrical release, it is a completely different film in terms of cinematography, tone and pacing. The cohesiveness of this film is much better and struggles less than it’s predecessor. Although this film doesn’t feel like it’s four hours long because each scene enthralls you or connects you to the characters. However, there are some shots that I felt weren’t necessary especially if this had to be released in theaters. Such as the panned out shot of Hippolyta shooting the arrow. That scene is like a whole minute or 2. And there are plenty of scenes like that but again, they’re not bad just “extra”.
What pulls you away from lamenting the runtime or sitting through filler scenes like the aforementioned, is the characterization. This is by far the biggest difference between Whedon’s cut and Snyder’s version. The characters are more fleshed out.
The most notable difference is Victor Stone aka Cyborg.
I’m just going to put it out there. I can see why Ray Fisher was pissed at Warner Bros as well as Joss Whedon for his treatment during production. At least 75% of the footage we see in the Snyder cut is completely gone from the theatrical release. I remember making note of that and my original reviews based off the trailers alone.
When comparing and contrasting this character and both films we see that his motives his emotional well-being is completely different. In the Snyder cut, the dynamic between him and his father is more apparent. You can feel the tension between them. Not to mention he doesn’t feel like a side character in the Superman and Batman show. Cyborg is not just more physically stronger in the Snyder cut he is mentally and um, “electronically” more Superior than he shown in the 2017 version. He’s able to do more than hack simple machines, he can get into virtually anything even extraterrestrial networks. It is this that will allow him to separate the mother boxes before they completely unite. Snyder was able to give it more context than it was in the original version making him pretty much the entire plot device of this film.
Barry Allen aka The Flash is another character who’s pulled from the sidelines.
While he maintained his comedic relief in the Snyder cut, his character was more pivotal this go-round making him just as crucial as the rest. In the 2017 release, The Flash during the final battle is on the sidelines, basically saving a few people from parademons. Whereas in the Snyder cut he’s the one that actually saves the day when Cyborg is unable to pull apart the mother boxes. And here Barry shows off some of his smarts during a few intellectual conversations between he and Cyborg, who might I add was shown as being a genius long before the cybernetics were added.
Snyder Cut Barry not only taps into & uses the Speed Force but he’s able to manipulate time. We see that Barry is able to create enough of a electrical charge that he can charge the Mother boxes and help bring Supes to life or later, give Cyborg enough juice to pull them apart. When unable to reach Cyborg and prevent a cataclysmic moment, he reverses time. Not only does he travel faster than the speed of light, he is able manipulate matter around him while in the speed force. He is so fast that he rarely ever moves people completely in fear of ripping them from their skin. Even when saving Iris, he carefully crosses her arms and lays her down. I’m guessing he didn’t want her to end up like his sneakers or the glass door we see in his introductory scene. He moves much faster and despite the often clumsiness, he does so with ease than the CW version. Which makes me wonder if he’s the more Superior version in this part of the multiverse… but that’s another story for another day. I’m just glad we we’re able to see both Ezra Miller and Grant Gustin on screen at the same time. That was a gem I will forever cherish. Say what you will about the CW they know how to build characters and rule in superhero team-ups, which was something that the DCEU was seriously lacking until now.
Now there were scenes that Whedon did very little to. And there seem to be some of his scenes that made the Snyder cut. But in this newly released cut, we don’t have any plot conveniences that make the film feel like it’s lacking something. Not to mention, the film overall is way more cohesive.
There are however those subtle differences between both versions that absolutely changed to the tone. It’s weird because it felt like I was watching them for the first time. Everytime I knew what was gonna happen because I had “saw” this movie, BOOM I was surprised and had a completely different vibe.
An example of this is the moment just before Wonder Woman foils the London bank heist/terrorist scene. This led up to what was one of my favorite moments in the original movie. But we see the entire thing with a different score whilst she stand on the statue. Speaking of my favorite superheroine, Wonder Woman is displayed more as an Amazon Warrior. In the Snyder Cut, she not only kicks ass, she’s cutting heads off. In the former, she’s reduced to silent boob jokes.
All in all I am glad Zack Snyder was able to finish his film. Not just because it was a superior version of his previous film. But despite the controversy, he was able to do so after the tragedy of losing his daughter, to which this film was dedicated. This was his magnum opus.
I sincerely hope that we can see the vision that Zack Snyder fully realized with a sequel. I mean otherwise that ending with the Joker was a cruel tease. But I’m doubtful we will get to see that nightmare world where Supes is a villain. And Batman has to reverse time as mentioned by the joker or use his “contingency plan” (if you know then you know).
Anyways, my vote is that this flick was awesome!!
Until Next time kiddies,
Be Awesome, Be You, But Above All Else… Love Yourself
Shalom
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