Finally, it’s here!!!! The long-awaited “Snyder Cut” of the 2017 blockbuster superhero movie Justice League has been released and is currently available to stream on HBO Max. Officially titled Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the project has been anticipated by fervent fans and defenders of director Zack Snyder.
The movie has been sectioned into 6 parts along with an epilogue. Somewhere or the other, the story follows the plot of the theatrical cut, but with some deviations and a lot expanded upon. The maximum part of the action is based around antagonist Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) coming to Earth to find Mother Boxes, powerful objects that could grant him world domination. As the world grieves Superman’s sacrificial death as depicted at the end of Batman v. Superman, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) seeks out new superheroes to help save the world. As Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash all eventually join him, Steppenwolf devastates Wonder Woman’s home of Themyscira and Aquaman’s ancestral home of Atlantis, gathering more Mother Boxes and power. The team planned that their best hope against Steppenwolf is to resurrect Superman through the power of the one Mother Box they have in their possession. When Superman does return, he’s not immediately the hero he used to be, as he tries to fight his former friends and allies. Eventually, it’s up to the newly assembled Justice League to go all-in for a final, climactic battle at an abandoned nuclear site in Russia, where Steppenwolf hopes to perform the final ritual to take over the world.
Zack Snyder's delivered with his version of Justice League, shaping it into a character-driven epic of mythic heroes among us. When originally released in 2017, the product of studio interference and director shuffling amidst a family's deeply personal tragedy, that theatrical release was uneven in tone, riddled with plot holes, and missing a great deal of character development that would have provided the bricks, mortar, and foundation to what had become a tenuous ramshackle lean-to of a movie. The characters each get an appropriate time of necessary development throughout. The overall encompassing storyline, however, is not stunted by this. Everything is in a great place throughout the 4 hours. The characters each have a noble driving cause. There is great character growth for everyone and it sets the next storylines of other DC movies up where it once didn’t flow.
Nightmares and flashbacks portray so much depth. And they also prime you for what will happen in future Snyder movies. The cast all knew that Snyder’s version was way better. There was a good amount of humor. Mostly subtle and always appropriate. Humor never stopped a serious moment dead. DC yet again makes another heart-warming story regarding family. Family is always a driving force for good in DC movies and this is no exception.
Awe-inspiring action! To say the least, it's an exciting experience. The action in this film was phenomenal, and it was all expertly filmed by Zack Snyder. The cinematography and graphics are just stunning! This is a truly beautiful film with outstanding CGI. Snyder did an amazing job of making every shot in this film looks incredible. Tom Holkenborg undertook the monumental task of writing nearly four hours of music for this film, and he did not go unnoticed. The rest of the supporting cast are brilliant: Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J. K Simmons, Amber Heard, Joe Morton were all fantastic in their roles as well.
The villain was much better as well because Steppenwolf feels like an ominous and intimidating threat and you understand his motivation much more. Ciaran Hinds also does a great job providing Steppenwolf with a deep and sinister voice. All of the cameo appearances from Harry Lennix, Billy Crudup, Ray Porter, Jared Leto, and Joe Manganiello were all awesome.
The story Zack Snyder creates with this movie is brilliant! He perfectly manages to introduce characters, build upon existing characters, interweaving storylines and give pure fan service with the best pacing possible over the 4 hour spectacle that is Zack Snyder's Justice League. This is not the same movie as the theatrical cut. One of the most significant differences and among the most important components of ZSJL’s greatness is the fact Cyborg is the main character. We see Victor Stone’s life before, during, and after the horrible accident.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is brilliant and brave, smart and complicated, hopeful and inspiring. Snyder is a great filmmaker and a wonderful storyteller, and he should be immensely proud to have created another masterpiece in the superhero genre.
Overall the film deserves a rating of 9/10, simply because it greatly improved from its last emphasis in absolutely all ways. Yes, it might not be the perfect film, but it is definitely perfect as a superhero film, as it delivers on all cylinders, and gives all the passionate and optimistic DC fans what they truly want; a Justice League movie, which fits the dark, tough, and rebellious style presented by Zack Snyder and the actual DC comics, along with a beautifully constructed plot, a compelling and effective emotional depth in each and every character, and most importantly, a gorgeously thought out mythology and lore of how a handful of heroes from the DC Universe unite and become one.
