‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ Review: Was It Worth the Investment?

After years of demands from fans, “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” has finally arrived. Rarely would a director’s cut of a critically panned movie be one of the most hyped films of the year but this situation is very unique. Everybody is familiar with the backstory of Joss Whedon taking over the production while Snyder had to take care of a family emergency. Whedon ended up doing extensive rewrites and reshoots and what we got was a jumbled mess.

Warner Bros. invested heavily in the “Snyder Cut” and we’re happy to say that it was a great decision. Simply put, it’s just a much better film than the Whedon cut. Much has been made about the four-hour runtime but when you’re sitting at home, it’s very easy to digest as the film is paced well enough. We’re going to get into the nitty-gritty of what we liked and didn’t. There will be SPOILERS so perhaps don’t continue if you haven’t had a chance to watch yet.

Liked: Cyborg & More Story in General

The obvious biggest improvement is just the fact that there’s more story. In Whedon’s cut, you meet a lot of new characters and have minimal time to actually learn their backstories. That’s not necessarily Whedon’s fault as he didn’t four hours of runtime to play with. Regardless, the added story isn’t just there to be there. It genuinely makes for a better film.

The character who is helped the most out by the extra time is Cyborg. He’s mostly a nothing character in Whedon’s cut. In Snyder’s cut, he might have the most to do out all the characters. You also get more stuff with Flash and throwing in the Martian Manhunter cameo was pretty damn awesome if you’re a fan of the “Justice League” animated series from the early-2000s.

Didn’t Like: Score

I’m a big fan of Junkie XL because of his brilliant score for “Mad Max: Fury Road.” I still contend that he should’ve won an Academy Award for that score. Unfortunately, his score for Justice League is really bad. Like shockingly bad. For those who don’t remember, Danny Elfman did the music for Whedon’s cut. While that score wasn’t memorable, it was not outright annoying like Junkie XL’s is.

The theme song for Wonder Woman is one of the worst pieces of movie music I’ve ever hear. Not talking about the awesome guitar-heavy one. We’re talking about the weird, haunting singing that comes up every time she does something cool. That’s not the only bad part of the score. Pretty much everything outside of the use of Superman’s theme written by Hans Zimmer is bad.

Liked: Villains

Another massive improvement is the villains. Steppenwolf is a way more compelling villain. He has clear motivations and the design just looks cooler and more menacing. However, Darkseid’s presence in this movie looms much larger.

First of all, we get to see plenty of the iconic villain and it’s pretty awesome. The whole flashback battle scene is so much better in Snyder’s cut. I didn’t know that I needed to see Zeus and Aries fight Darkseid but it was highly entertaining. In this version, it’s clear that Steppenwolf is setting up a big Darkseid movie. In Whedon’s version, that’s not really that important.

Didn’t Like: Joker Scene

Okay, there’s one scene that is just so cringy we can’t ignore it. Snyder thought it was a good idea to throw Jared Leto’s Joker in the movie after he got the go-ahead to release his cut. It was not. Leto’s performance is shockingly bad. It felt like watching some random student film actor on YouTube trying to overact a scene as the Joker. Tommy Wiseau would’ve been better in the role.

Apparently, Leto and Ben Affleck never shot together in person and it definitely feels that way. The whole scene is strangely shot, written and performed. It certainly Snyder’s worst decision with the movie. Luckily, it’s just tacked on at the end and doesn’t really change anything considering we’re probably not going to get a sequel.

Summary

There was so much going on in this movie so I’m just going to drop some quick bullet points.

• The action scenes are much improved. Say what you want about Snyder but he’s a much better action director than anybody else making DC movies these days.
• The decision to present the film in a 4:3 aspect ratio was disappointing. I’m personally not a fan.
• I’m a massive Superman fan and loved “Man of Steel” but didn’t like putting him in the black suit. Also, Whedon may have had a better interpretation of Superman than Snyder does (ducks for cover).
• The scene where Flash/Barry Allen meets Iris West is so laughably bad and goes on forever. That said, Ezra Miller is an entertaining performer.
• Why is Amber Heard British?
• Granny Goodness! Please, let there be a sequel to this movie!
• Lois Lane being pregnant would be stupid. If there’s a sequel, please drop that storyline, Zack.
• Some of the CGI looks really bad.
• Larry Fong is the perfect cinematographer for Snyder and it’s a bummer he didn’t shoot Justice League.

There are a million things to talk about but overall, I was a big man of the Snyder Cut and it’s a genuinely solid comic book movie.

Verdict: Witness