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The time has come.
Years after 2017’s Justice League disappointed fans in theaters, Zack Snyder has brought his official director’s cut to HBO Max. The original film was plagued with behind the scenes issues, from competing visions to personal matters leading Mr. Snyder to step away from the project. How could the extremely anticipated team-up of DC’s biggest heroes be such a flop? That’s when the fan campaigns started. Tens of thousands of #ReleaseTheSnyderCuts later, we finally have “Zack Snyder’s Justice League.”
The film takes place almost directly after the climactic events of Batman vs. Superman with Superman killed by Doomsday and Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) communicating with the villainous Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds). Superman’s death cry is heard around the globe, signaling all to the death of a hero. With Earth’s most powerful defender now six feet underground, the planet draws the attention of the infamous Darkseid. Known for conquering entire worlds, the intimidating enemy tasks his lackey Steppenwolf with acquiring three “Mother Boxes” from Earth and fusing them together. Completing such a task will enable Darkseid to overtake the planet and turn it into his own personal hellscape to rule over. Each of the highly-sought after motherboxes are protected in various regions of the world. The Atlantians and Amazons each guard one while Ray Fisher’s Cyborg is in ownership of the last.
Enter Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck). Realizing the grand threat at hand, the caped crusader sets out on assembling a team of super-powered meta-humans. The “Justice League” consists of the brutish Aquaman (Jason Momoa), empowering Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), comedic Flash (Ezra Miller), complex Cyborg (Ray Fisher), and eventually Superman (Henry Cavill). The expanded 4-hour runtime of Snyder’s cut enables all of these characters to truly breathe and explore their inner-complexities in several intimate moments.
Chris Terrio pens a satisfying and engaging ensemble narrative where each character not only faces off against an outer conflict, but an inner one as well. Aquaman refuses to acknowledge his true Atlantean calling, Barry Allen struggles with defining who he wants to be, and Cyborg must learn to embrace his new condition. The chapter-style framing of the film emphasizes these characters in their most intimate moments, so that when the high-stakes battles occur audiences will understand the weight behind their actions. Barry Allen’s prison-visits to his father are crushing and a constant weight on his personal journey. Cyborg’s initial frustration with his cybernetic body results in an extremely rewarding journey as he comes to terms with his new form. The uniting of all of these heroes enables them to grow as characters all while protecting the world from a life-threatening event.
Ezra Miller’s Flash truly serves as a vessel for the audience with his comedic quips. The jokes are never overdone, and always arrive at the perfect time. He constantly comments on the absurdity of the situation the heroes find themselves in, feeling like a wink at the audience. The Flash is such a likeable character this time around which should hopefully excite fans for his upcoming solo film from IT director Andy Muschietti.
Wonder Woman is as fierce and dangerous as ever. One standout sequence in the beginning of the film showcases her incredulous abilities during an unsettling robbery. The combat scenes with Diana Prince are an absolute blast to watch. Seeing her take a gigantic sword up against the animalistic Steppenwolf is such an exciting moment of comic-book blockbuster action.
Ray Fisher truly shines in his full performance as Cyborg. His facial expressions convey the deep pain and uncertainty the character feels in his new cybernetic body. Despite the heavy CGI attached to his character, Cyborg feels surprisingly human. Fisher delivers dialogue with grace and emotion, elevating key beats and storyline exposition.
Jason Momoa brings his signature charm to his portrayal of Aquaman, offering great one liners and brutal action. Ben Affleck fits right at home in the role of Bruce Wayne, tired by over 20 years of being the Bat yet still determined to unite and fight against unspeakable evil. Jeremy Irons plays wonderfully off of Affleck as Bruce’s trusty butler Alfred. Henry Cavill is back as Superman, thankfully this time without a CGI lip. He truly embodies the character, from his physical characteristics to his intimidating performance. He’s a force to be reckoned with, and Cavill certainly sells it. Lois Lane (Amy Adams) returns, bringing her gentle and caring personality to restore Superman’s humanity.
After getting the greenlight for the release of his cut, Snyder took the chance to add an additional scene featuring returning fan-favorite characters. In this mysterious sequence, Jared Leto’s Joker finally shares an exchange with Ben Affleck’s Batman. The back and forth quips between arguably two of the most famous comic-book characters ever will surely make fans giddy with delight. Leto brings back his unique take on the character yet it plays exceptionally better when working off of Affleck’s grizzled and serious performance. The dialogue exchange is pretty heavy-hitting, letting Leto finally showcase his acting chops in a complete conversation as the iconic character (something that was unfortunately butchered in 2016’s Suicide Squad). Joe Manganiello’s Deathstroke gets a return here as well, showcasing the assassin in all his badass glory.
The effects work in the film feels straight out of a comic-book. As I watched action-sequence after action-sequence I couldn’t help but wonder how exciting it would’ve been to see it in theaters on a gigantic IMAX screen. The 4 hour-runtime is refreshingly broken up by several of these well-choreographed sequences. Standouts include an intense battle between the Amazonians and Parademons and all of Barry Allen’s mystical experiences in the speedforce. The climax of the film is extremely rewarding and quite frankly had me cheering out loud with every punch.
Junkie XL has whipped up a fitting score for Snyder’s DC epic. The slow piano ballad that plays as Flash enters the Speedforce is beautiful. The aggressive guitar riffs that accompany Batman in brutal action moments are perfection. Jared Leto’s Joker even has his own twisted little melody. With such a great score it’s a bit frustrating that the film has so many moments accompanied by licensed songs. While many of these sequences do work well, some feel unnecessary in conjunction with the visuals of the scene and status of the plot.
For all the horror fans, Justice League has its fair share of creepy elements. Big bad Steppenwolf looks right out of a creature feature, covered in abnormal spikes and sporting horns. Steppenwolf’s brutality is showcased in several gore-filled moments where heroes are dismembered and slashed at, thanks to the film’s “R” rating. The minions of Darkseid, called Parademons, are creepy demonic soldiers sporting gross fly-esque wings. Superman’s resurrection involves a dark-humor infested scene where the Justice League hand in their capes for shovels and become grave-robbers for a night. Jared Leto’s Joker looks like a doctor who just finished a shift at Silent Hill, complete with blood dribbling from his crimson-smeared lips. Darkseid, while loosely in the film, is an appropriately ominous presence that mainly hints at the potential for future Justice League stories. The frequent premonitions of his eventual reign over Earth showcase a grim reality unlike anything we’ve ever seen in live-action DC stories.
“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” does have a few rough patches. There are scenes with VFX that definitely look a bit unfinished, thus taking viewers out of the film momentarily. Luckily the well-done moments outweigh the bad. Some of the editing choices are a bit jarring, often making introductions into new scenes distracting. One faulty editing moment features a wide-shot being used during a heavily emotional moment that would have greatly benefited from an intimate close-up. These issues are most likely attributed to the fact that Snyder’s cut has sat unfinalized for years, and the smoothing over of his complete film required heavy reliance on post production polishing using mainly only the old footage. The new scene that Snyder shot last October is very clearly shot during COVID, using body doubles and clever cuts to create a false physical space with all of the actors. Additionally, on some occasions Batman’s suit looks a bit wonky, and almost too stiff for the character. The style of Affleck’s Batman works much better amongst night and rapid action sequences.
At the end of the day, “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” is about the underdogs, the misunderstood, and the broken persevering against unspeakable evil. It’s an uphill battle for DC’s most iconic heroes, humanizing them with their own personal journeys and shortcomings. The ultimate climax of the DC superhero epic is one for the books, involving an electrifying turn of events executed by the film’s wise-cracking speedster and emotionally-driven Cyborg. It’s a fitting grand finale to a trilogy curated by Snyder, one that truly should’ve led to so much more. While Snyder has repeatedly assured that this is probably his last foray in the DC world, the presented loose threads of Ray Porter’s malicious Darkseid, Jesse Eisenberg’s intelligent Lex Luthor, and even Leto’s maniacal Joker will surely make fans hungry for even more.
And if there’s one thing DC fans are known for, it’s making their voice heard.
Snyder’s Justice League will be available on HBO Max on March 18th.
