Zack Snyder’s Justice League Review

Overview

I don’t even know where to begin, that’s me being brutally honest here. Granted, we are looking at the exact same movie as before, that’s a given, but it’s different, in so many ways. Despite the same plot as before, this definitely felt different. Even in light of the story being the same as the 2017 Joss edition, it felt different because everything was explored with so much depth.

When you watch this in comparison to the original, you realise just how much of the movie was actually cut out. There are many scenes that give you clarity on a character, and it builds them up to be so much more than just a side character. Cyborg and The Flash are the two big ones to be noted here. It’s still baffling me as to why Whedon cut out Darkseid and Martian Manhunter when those two characters were hugely influential to the story and a potential sequel.

As far as I am concerned after watching this, it tells me that Joss Whedon and WB never cared for the movie, whereas Zack did. You can hate him or love him, but his vision for this franchise and movies is impeccable. Batman vs Superman had a lot of issues, but this never. I can honestly say that even with a couple of minor issues, the movie was a masterpiece. You feel engaged from the very first minute.

For us personally, what makes the movie so special is the growth. It’s not like the original where things never made sense, or characters were just dumped into the Justice League alliance with completely no explanation whatsoever. This showcased everyone and why they were doing what they were doing. I mean, in the original they barely even explored the resurrection of Superman when it’s such a vital part of the plot? I don’t get it, and to be honest, I don’t think I ever will.

If this had been the movie that we got back in 2017, then I suspect by now the DCEU would have been on a steady path to reach the heights of the MCU, which would be an amazing aspect for fans across the world. Considering the teases from the Nightmare scenes, Darkseid and so much more, it baffles me why the original Whedon cut was even greenlit in the first place. WB are literally sitting on goldmines with how much money they could make, just from the teases of this movie.

Snyder’s version rocked an R-rating which I believe suited perfectly for the vision and tone that Zack was going for. The blood, decapitations, and the odd emphasised swear words made the movie feel more real, it was more immersive due to the rating. Whilst I understand superheroes tend to go down to PG-13, this is something DC fans prefer. The darkness, the depth, the brutality and I’m telling you now, in no way shape or form did Zack let up with this.

It does upset me that Warner Bros. seems like they’re trying to derail the movie, and it’s probably most likely we will never get a sequel, but from this 1 movie alone, they have the potential to make an absolute powerhouse of a universe that honestly could become amazing.

4 hours is a long time for any movie, that’s a given. I, myself watched this across 3 days and Phil watched it in one sitting, and either is fine. Zack Snyder understood this and split the movie into 7 parts. Parts 1-6 and the Epilogue, so because of that and the busy schedules in people’s lives, you could walk away to pick it back up later. These are just the little things that Zack has done for the fans to ensure they get the best experience possible.

As I mentioned earlier, the movie isn’t without its issues that we will explore within the dislikes. The aspect ratio I wasn’t a fan of. Granted, it didn’t bother me after a few minutes but initially, I just found it difficult to understand why. There was a wonky CGI moment with one of Wonder Woman’s opening scenes, the Barry and Iris scene was weird, and a few other things.

But, a 4-hour movie it’s expected to have its tiny niggly issues. Just like Endgame had the same, and for me personally, that is my favourite movie of all time, but these niggly issues in no way shape or form affect the experience and sheer entertainment from this.

Overall, I believe anybody who watched the 2017 movie. Whether you liked it, hated it or were just unsure, you should watch the Snyder Cut. I say that with my hand on my heart, it doesn’t matter. I genuinely believe this is a movie that everybody needs to see. DC often has a rocky record when it comes to their cinematic releases, but this proves that they have the potential. It really does.

So, I hope Zack manages to somehow turn Warner Bros. and their executives around, and they give him a sequel. I also believe that in no circumstances will there ever be a better live-action Cyborg than Ray Fisher. Why they fired him for speaking the truth is beyond me, but I am glad Zack gave him his moment to truly shine and show us why he was one of the best additions for the Justice League.

Top 7 Moments

1. Steppenwolf’s invasion of Themyscira was amazing, Fair enough some of it was old footage but what was new footage was just brutal. The design on Zack Snyder’s Steppenwolf was badass, We see him arrive to receive the Motherbox, many Amazonians try to stop but he brutally slaughters them. Steppenwolf was a tank against the Amazonians, not even flinching when being pelted with arrows. This scene was brilliant, we saw some of it in the Whedon version but updated it with many new shots. The amount of detail on the Amazons and Steppenwolf was incredible. So much was explained in this updated movie like the bow of Artemis, Why the monument was on fire for ages, Diana learning about Darkseid and the Motherboxes.

2. Diana explaining to Bruce about the last time Darkseid and his forces arrived on Earth. The Amazons, Atlantians, Humans, and people from the stars as well as gods themselves came together to defeat Darkseid. The battle with Darkseid and humanity was amazing so many details in this one scene. Darkseid is brutal, we see him slicing through many warriors, even went up against a Green Lantern who got his hand cut off and killed, we saw his ring fly off into space to find a new host. The small fight between Zeus and Darkseid was great, which left Darkseid open for an attack from Aries who injured Darkseid and made him retreat. I really love this Darkseid design it felt like it came straight from a comic page.

3. Finally, we get to see the true backstory of Victor Stone, Cyborg. I can not believe this was cut from the original movie. This backstory is needed 100%. The character was so much more in this movie. We got to see him learn, adapt, and overcome his abilities and enhancements. The movie explained how powerful Cyborg could really be, by hacking into any database and system on the Earth. The story also showcased that even though he’s mostly machine, Victor Stone still has a heart, this proves in this movie when he gave a struggling mother 100,000$ to survive. This truly proved that Cyborg is the heart of the movie, without a doubt. It also showcased just how much Cyborg and Ray Fisher was cut from the movie by Joss Whedon and WB.

4. The fight scene between the members of the League against Steppenwolf and the Parademons. This was great for everything. No forced scene with Flash and Wonder Woman, no scared Barry, just straight-up heroes saving the day. We got to see each member shine, Wonder Woman sword fighting with Steppenwolf, Batman taking a beating and yet still dishing it out with the Parademons, Cyborg and Flash both saving the prisoners. We also get an insane Flash scene where he destroys bits of the falling rubble. The arrival of Aquaman holding back tons of water so they heroes can get to safety.

5. Vic and the team decide to bring Superman back. They go to the Kryptonian ship where they get ready to bring him back but Vic ends up seeing a potential future where Diana is dead, Darkseid kills Aquaman, Superman is holding a burnt Lois, the Hall of Justice in ruins with a dead Green Lantern in it, Kilowog. Superman returns and immediately gets into a fight with Aquaman, Cyborg, Wonder Woman, and Flash, he quickly throws them about and goes after Batman, he hits him with his heat vision and Batman goes into a police car, Superman does it again and only stops when Lois arrives. We saw this scene in the Whedon cut but something about this scene just felt, different. It felt so much better and cleaner. Steppenwolf arrives to collect the third and final Motherbox, Silas tries to destroy it by heating it up with a laser but ultimately it doesn’t affect it and only kills Silas in front of Victor.

6. The entire final battle between the Justice League and Steppenwolf was incredible, felt so much better without the stupid red skies Joss Whedon added in. We get to see a different side of Barry as well in this final battle, more powerful, faster, and smarter. The fight scene between them all was great, especially when Superman showed up saving Cyborg from being hit with Steppenwolfs axe. Superman and the League work together to hold off Steppenwolf while Barry runs and hits Vic with lightning but Barry gets hit with a shot and the plan fails and causes them to die and the plan to fail. This is where we see a more powerful Barry who runs back in time and we see the world and Superman and Vic rewind back to being alive. Steppenwolf gets back up and is immediately stabbed by Aquaman, punched by Superman, and decapitated by Wonder Woman with Steppenwolfs head flying through the portal where Darkseid stands on it.

7. The Nightmare timeline seems brutally amazing. The last few remaining heroes and villains, Batman, Mera, Cyborg, Flash, Deathstroke, and The Joker. There was a brilliant scene for what it was, so many teases and dialogue which you need to pay attention too. We have the reason why Mera is there, Superman killed Aquaman, Joker mentions the boy wonder sent to do a mans job, Harley Quinn begging Batman to kill The Joker. The world has gone like this because Lois died, although this was a dream, it’s a possibility. We get to see Martian Manhunter come and speak to Bruce about Darkseid returning at some point and that this is his home now so Martian Manhunter is joining the fight.

Dislikes

First off, the aspect ratio of the film, a square is not enough, let people change it if they want, it took 18 minutes for me to not notice it throughout the rest of the movie. Another dislike was in the Barry and Iris scene when her car gets hit by a truck, there was a weird cut which could have been sped up by NowTV or Sky Cinema. The movie can be slow at some points but that’s expected in a 4-hour movie. I would have loved to see more scenes in the nightmare timeline, felt like a couple of present-day scenes could have been shorter to make way for more nightmare timeline scenes.

Standout Characters

Batman: Batman’s remorse and determination to keep the promise he made Clark solidifies him as a solid leader and knows when he messes up. Ben Affleck truly is the perfect Batman.

Wonder Woman: Diana has been incredible over the last few movies she’s been in. Gal has always delivered a great performance, in this version of the Justice League she was 10x better.

Cyborg: Throughout the Snyder Cut you can just tell how much he was the heart and soul in Zack’s vision. I can’t believe just how much was cut off him and Ray Fisher.

Aquaman: Aquaman throughout this movie is just the typical pre-Aquaman movie version of the character, the “I don’t want anything to do with Atlantis” Arthur Curry.

Flash: I’m so glad Barry was fixed in this version. He was that scared “I’ve never actually hit” anyone type Flash we previously saw. No forced scenes either which is a huge plus.

Superman: Superman was badass. When he returned it truly felt like Zack had brought the graphic novel alive. The Black Suit is probably my favourite Superman suit.

Steppenwolf: Steppenwolf in this movie was far more badass, far much brutal, and relentless. At one point this creature sliced an Atlantian in half.

Darkseid: Throughout the movie, Darkseid appeared, but the battle at the beginning truly showed how badass he was as he went up against Zeus and Aries and even killed a Green Lantern with ease.

Miscellaneous: Ryan Choi appears throughout the star Labs scenes and is even teased to be the head of nanotech studies at the end. Could we see him again? possibly. Silas doesn’t need much praise, he’s ripped straight from the source material. Mera actually had a badass scene where she began pulling out the blood in Steppenwolf. The scene with Martha giving an emotional speech to Lois was great and the reveal that it was actually Martian Manhunter was great. Loved the design of the Martian Manhunter. The reunion between Clark and his mother was special. The scenes with the Joker and Batman were intense, especially speaking about the Boy Wonder. The Batman vs Deathstroke tease for what could have been was great too.

Was It Worth The Hype?

Phil: Absolutely yes! 1,000%. This is Justice League, This was Zack’s vision and he absolutely deserved to deliver it and he delivered more. You can truly tell just how much Joss Whedon and Warner Bros. actually cut from the movie back in 2017.

Daniel: Oh hands down. I’m still over the moon we got it, it was definitely worth the wait after all the talk and hype that surrounded the movie for just so long. This was definitely worth every part of the hype.

---

Rating 10/10

---