Review: Justice League: Snyder Cut

I have a boss who’d always say ‘you can’t get what you get in theatres sitting at home, no matter how many bowls of popcorn you have or cans of soda you pop.’ Well, not that I’m an unbeliever but, in my head I’m always like ‘he should go tell the guys at Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max that.’

It’s 2021 and streaming services are killing theatres and it’s not just because of the pandemic, it’s been coming. The quality of the content on TV now is outrageous and that has hugely reflected in this year’s Oscar Awards nominations.

That aside, Zack Snyder’s Justice League brought me here. 10 days ago, the internet was thrown into a frenzy with the release of the overly anticipated director, Zack Snyder’s version of American superhero film, Justice League on HBO Max. The film is the fifth film in the DC Extended Universe (DECU), and a follow up to the events that happened in Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (BvS). It’s weird to acknowledge there was originally a Justice League movie after seeing Snyder Cut. Yes, Joss Whedon’s 2017 version of the movie is the theatrical version of Justice League and divided opinions among many moviegoers.

I must admit that I enjoyed BvS and Whedon’s JL save for the CGI and sometimes in-cohesive dialogue, something I think has stuck with the Warner Brothers and Zack respectively. I’m not a huge fan of DC but, I’ve been following Zack Snyder since Man of Steel (2013). Zack is really a master of motion pictures and concept and Snyder Cut epitomises that.

So how did my 4 hours with Snyder Cut go?

Firstly, Snyder Cut was already challenged with outdoing Whedon’s JL (2017), which I didn’t think was much of a challenge because people had cancelled JL (2017) in their heads already. Don’t get it twisted, Whedon’s cut is not as bad as most people say, and Joss is a brilliant director. He remains the only one to have directed major Marvel and DC movies till date. But I totally understand why many people feel like this. Secondly, with all the anticipation, it was obvious that both fans and critics of Zack Snyder were not going to settle for anything less. Anyways, no matter the narrative you decide to follow or the perspective through which you see the Snyder Cut, it was a success.  

That said, Snyder Cut is an anomaly. I think the only 4-hour movie I’ve seen is Lord of the Rings: Return of The King, which you wouldn’t exactly call a smooth ride with Frodo and Sam’s journey to Mordor to destroy the ring somewhat annoying. Believe me, this did not feel like 4hours; it felt like the regular 1hr 30mins movies we see, and I’m not capping. I always wondered why Zack was so confident the idea of putting out a 4-hour-long superhero movie was going to work. For all the rave about Avengers: Endgame (3hrs 2mins) among moviegoers and MCU fanboys, I would never go to the movies to see it again and I’m not being brutal.

What I loved most about Zack’s JL was the opportunity he allowed for each character to develop and bond with the audience without that lukewarm feeling you get when there’s too much talking. For long, people have complained about feeling disconnected with majority of the DCEU characters and Snyder Cut fixed that. Cyborg for instance, and Batman’s humorous banters with Princess Diana (Wonder Woman) that felt more organic this time. The fights between the Justice League and Steppenwolf was a steady bang, save for when Diana and Aquaman were messing around in wait for Clark to come steal the show.

However, with every good thing comes a caveat. While I’m impressed with the new, semi-overall-villain worthy Steppenwolf, I’m not impressed with that of the almighty Darkseid who is of course, the Justice League’s arch enemy. I mean, for all the havoc and terror we know Darkseid to wreck, it was Aires, the same Aires that Diana beat in Wonder Woman (2017) that almost killed him had he aimed for the head (F*****g defenders of Earth that never aim for the head). Parademons had to come fetch their master like a spoilt prince who’s been wounded in battle. Again, how many years of research do Warner Bros need to get their CGI act right? It’s becoming exhausting. Wanna fix it, Warner? Fix it!

In summary, Snyder Cut was hugely impressive, and it has set tone for movies on streaming service. On a 10-point scale, it’s easily an 8.5 for me and that’s about the best I’ve done. I tried as much as I could to keep the spoiling minimal, but I guess you cannot give an honest take about a movie without mentioning spoilers.

Thanks for taking time to read my mind.

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