A Major Improvement: Early Reviews for ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ Are In
With 136 reviews counted, “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” is sitting at a tidy 77% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While this is likely to fluctuate over the next few days as more reviews hit the site, this bodes well for the beleaguered film as it presents a strong improvement over the nigh-unwatchable theatrical release of “Justice League’s” paltry 40%. The average rating for the film sits at 6.8 compared to 5.3 for the theatrical release, suggesting that while more critics have a positive impression of the movie, the improvement is not as massive as some fans might have hoped. Amongst “Top Critics”, i.e. critics who write for major publications or are more prominent, the aggregate score comes out to a less favorable 63%, however this is common across all movies, for the more prominent critics tend to give harsher reviews in general.
At 4 hours, many critics have stated that the film is overlong and does not merit its full length, however some of that extra time is used well. The consensus seems to be that the film is narratively and tonally more coherent, although that is an easy improvement to make considering the theatrical cut was an absolute mess. One of the highlights seems to be the character development, with each of the league’s members getting more screen time and Ray Fisher‘s Cyborg emerging as something of a breakout star. Critics seem to agree that Steppenwolf is still a weak villain, however he is a little more interesting and understandable this time around.
Snyder’s more thorough involvement in this version seems to have allowed the film to have a more clear vision to it. It is far from a comedy, but critics are saying it is not nearly as dour and self-serious as Snyder’s worst movies, with a good dose of humor to keep things afloat. While some of Snyder’s bad habits are still present, many have said that the revamped action scenes are a highlight, which should come as no surprise to Snyder’s fans considering that action has always been one of his strong suits.
It remains to be seen what the fan reaction will be. The Snyder Cut is a project that never would have happened if not for the rabid attention given to it by Snyder and DC fans. Whether or not studios continue to allow fan reaction to push creative decision making will depend on how fans receive this release. As for us at Under the Wheels, stay tuned for our reviews, hot takes, and analysis on one of the most talked about releases of 2021.
