Opinions on director Zack Snyder vary dramatically. There are filmgoers who consider him one of the best things to happen to movies this century and an authority on adapting comic books. Others see him as a filmmaker who is more interested in making his movies look cool with slow motion, someone who doesn’t understand the characters he’s putting on screen. These opposing views are especially apparent with Snyder’s Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I’m in a weird gray area. I originally loved Man of Steel but later saw its flaws when friends pointed them out. I wasn’t that interested in Batman v Superman when I saw it in theaters but found it more interesting as time went on—perhaps because of the controversial takes on the title characters.
Fast-forward to Justice League, which was completed by Joss Whedon when Snyder left before filming was finished because of the death of his daughter. A lot of people hated it, so much so that there was the demand for a Snyder Cut of the film. Personally, I was fine with the theatrical version of Justice League. In fact, I generally enjoyed it. But like Man of Steel, I liked it less as time went on. And now having seen Zack Snyder’s Justice League, I’ve grown even colder on the theatrical version, though I still don’t hate it.
Beyond the allegations of Whedon’s on-set behavior, the biggest problem with the Snyder-Whedon hybrid is it doesn’t jibe with the tone of Snyder’s previous movies. That’s not to say Snyder’s films are completely cohesive. Man of Steel feels much more grounded and standalone than BvS and Justice League—possibly because Christopher Nolan contributed to the story. But tonally, Snyder’s films are pretty consistent, so the Snyder Cut feels like a truer version of Justice League.
Notice that I said truer instead of true. That’s because I doubt Zack Snyder originally envisioned Justice League as a four-hour movie back in 2017. WB only agreed to its length (and completion, for that matter) because it’s on HBO Max. Snyder might have fought for an R-rated, three-hour version–considering BvS Ultimate Edition was both–and gotten a super-limited theatrical release. For the standard release, Snyder maybe would’ve had to settle for a PG-13 version around two and a half hours, had the studio not been set on two hours. The four-hour Snyder Cut benefits from being split into chapters and being on HBO Max. Theatrically, it would need an intermission; it’s longer than Lawrence of Arabia.
Parts of the Zack Snyder’s Justice League definitely drag. It takes Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) an inordinate amount of time to assemble all three Mother Boxes and scenes like the Amazons lighting their bonfire to warn Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) just add to the runtime. Remember, the theatrical cut told mostly the same story in two hours. I didn’t really get interested until the Justice League resurrected Superman (Henry Cavill), about three-fifths through the movie. While I bounced back between amused and annoyed, the Flash (Ezra Miller) is the only steady source of lighthearted fun. He doesn’t feel like a Zack Snyder character, but Snyder said he wouldn’t use any Whedon footage. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn the studio mandated the Flash as comic relief when the script was written.
As it comes to other characters, Cyborg (Ray Fisher) benefits the most from the additional footage. He has an arc in the hybrid version, but it’s more defined and emotional here. Batman (Ben Affleck) no longer feels like a Joss Whedon character, Steppenwolf is fleshed out more (though still not enough), Superman’s face is no longer a computer-generated monstrosity, and the film no longer tries to justify a transition into the classic Superman that feels unearned. Darkseid (Ray Porter) is in this cut, though he fails to live up to the hype — particularly with how weak he looks fighting Earth’s ancient defenders in a flashback.
One thing you will notice when watching Zack Snyder’s Justice League is the picture is in the 4:3 aspect ratio because Snyder wanted to show the movie on IMAX screens but decided not to shoot with IMAX film. This is an odd decision, seeing as it’s not the same picture quality, but I see the logic; IMAX film cameras are very loud, making shooting completely in the format impractical. Full IMAX is slightly wider than 4:3, ranging from 1.90:1 to 1.43:1 depending on the theater. This film’s shots look like they’re meant to be cropped as well as be viewed at normal screen width and the aspect ratio will affect your viewing experience depending how you watch it. With my iPad held horizontally, it filled up the whole screen. But I imagine it hurting the viewing experience if you have a smaller TV. It would have been nice if HBO Max provided a 16:9 version as well, though 4:3 actually fills up more screen than anamorphic widescreen on a 16:9 monitor.
At the end of the day, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is the better version. It tells the story that Zack Snyder and screenwriter Chris Terrio wanted to tell, though it frustratingly sets up a sequel that’ll probably never happen while dropping the tease in the other cut that got me excited: the Legion of Doom. The hybrid theatrical cut is narratively more basic, stripping away parts to tell the tale in a timely fashion. But the bigger difference is the hybrid’s more comedic tone. If you like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you might prefer the theatrical Justice League, if you can get past it being a knock-off version of the first Avengers. Ironically, it remains the canon version when looked at as the setup for the DC movies that followed.
Snyder and his fans went through a lot to make this project a reality, and they did some good along way, like donating to charity. If I never rewatch Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the one thing that will stick with me is how he dedicated the film to his daughter and played a rendition of her favorite song, “Hallelujah,” over the closing credits.
Love or hate him, let Zack Snyder have this moment. He’s earned it.
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