The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
‘ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE’
Bigger and slightly better version of 2018 superhero epic
All the events and emotions surrounding “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” are more interesting than the film itself. ¶ That isn’t to say there’s nothing to talk about when it comes to this flick. It is, after all, a four-hour, built-for-streaming and R-rated reworking and expansion of 2018’s PG13-rated “Justice League,” a DC Expanded Universe effort that brought together Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman the Flash and others to save the world. ¶ For starters, there’s that runtime.
There’s also the choice to put this update out in what essentially is a 4-by-3 ratio, which means black bars on the sides of your widescreen TV. It’s a bizarre decision, but the annoying change from today’s norm may not bother many folks.
And, hey, anytime you get to see a new edit of a
film, it’s fascinating to discover what a filmmaker kept, axed or added. Has the tone changed? Does the movie flow better?
To cut to the chase, Snyder added, axed and kept quite a bit — all these things being possible when you’re working with a four-hour canvas.
And even with the movie taking one-sixth of a day to watch, it does flow better. Yes, all the silly elements are retained from the original cuts — we get at least one major new one — but the plot is easier to follow. That beefy runtime allows for a telling of this superhero tale that is less convoluted if, obviously, a bit bloated, as well.
But how we got here? THAT’S interesting.
If you need a refresher, here goes:
“Justice League” was to have been polarizing director Snyder’s third DCEU entry, following 2013’s “Man of Steel” and its sequel, 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” And he filmed quite a bit of footage — apparently four hours’ worth — but, sadly and understandably, the death of his daughter led him to leave the project.
The studio behind the DCEU, Warner Bros. Pictures, brought in director Joss Whedon for reshoots and to shepherd the production through post-production. This is an understandable choice considering Whedon had directed two superhero-team-up hits for Disney-owned Marvel Studios: “The Avengers” (2012) and its first sequel, “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015).
Ultimately, Snyder got the directing credit, with Whedon and Chris Terrio (“Argo”) sharing screenplay credits.
The original cut of “Justice League” is lighter in look and tone — and more entertaining — than the two Snyder films that preceded it. It’s also pretty messy, and many fans hated it.
And so began the whispers of a “Snyder cut” of the movie existing, and a fervent campaign with the social media hashtag of #ReleaseTheSnyderCut.
Man, it was a whole thing.
Last year, HBO Max announced it would release a wholly Snyder-controlled version, giving the director of “300” millions of new dollars for work that was said to include a few reshoots.
“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” credits Terrio — who went on to co-write 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” — as the lone screenwriter, and Whedon’s name appears nowhere
in the new movie’s production notes. (That decision by HBO Max, Warner Bros Pictures and DC may have been made easier with Whedon recently having been accused of past abusive behavior and misconduct, with “Justice League” cast member Ray Fisher among those levying accusations.)
Aside from the aforementioned aspect ratio, this “Justice League” looks and feels very Snydery. While he has retained much of the humor of the original version — some of the funny little bits involving Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen/Flash are gone but others are added — this film is darker in both tone and appearance.
We first are greeted by a vision of Superman (Henry Cavill), who died at the end of “Dawn of Justice,” screaming in pain.
And then, as with the original, we get Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne/Batman setting about creating a super team to combat a coming powerful threat from another universe. The subsequent introductions and backstories of the Flash, Fisher’s Victor Stone/Cyborg and Jason
Momoa’s Arthur Curry/ Aquaman are much more fleshed out here, which really helps. (We still don’t need that kind of treatment for Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, as the character had her own stand-alone adventure by then with 2017’s “Wonder Woman.”)
Something powerfully wicked this way does come in the form of a drastically and digitally redesigned Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) and his army of winged Parademons.
Steppenwolf is determined to bring together the powerful three mother boxes residing on earth — split among the Amazons, Atlanteans and humans — to create a world-destroying “unity.” This will put him back in the good graces of what was to have been the big bad of a “Justice League” trilogy, Darkseid. This time, we get a little taste of Darkseid (Ray Porter), although he’s mainly teased for adventure now unlikely to happen.
The powers that be considered making “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” a sixpart limited series, but instead the film consists of six parts and epilogue, which
makes it pretty easy for a viewer to chop this thing up in various-sized portions.
Know that the epilogue is significant. Lasting several minutes — this is not the typical mid-credit scene we get in a modern superhero flick — it puts its back into setting up a continuation of this story that, again, isn’t planned.
(Should Snyder have included it? Well, that’s the kind of thing fans will argue over on the internet for months to come.)
Before that, the climactic, action-packed sixth part, “Something Darker,” hints not only at the danger to come but also a look for a reincarnated Superman many had hoped to see the first time around. It’s pretty cool.
Is the new version a better film? Yes.
A much better film? No. If we had to watch one again, would we maybe choose the shorter, funnier and messier one? Maybe.
At the end of the day, “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” is most for the fans who’ve wanted it to happen years. For everyone else, it’s a super-sized offering that’s there if you want to swallow it whole or pick away at it.