ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE Review

In this era of blockbuster superhero films, the release of JUSTICE LEAGUE in 2017 came and went with more or less a critical and cultural shrug. A film that would be DC’s answer to Marvel’s THE AVENGERS, Zack Snyder’s third entry in his superhero universe was always wading into uncertain waters against a rapid approaching wave of already loaded up criticism. After all, while MAN OF STEEL was generally appreciated for a new, much more somber and mythic approach to the symbol of peace, the general shift of the character into darker territory was nevertheless a sticking point from certain die-hard fans and critics alike while BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE only gathered more criticism for seemingly losing itself among its grandiose ambitions (even as a louder minority began to rise and hark its brilliance). Simply put, JUSTICE LEAGUE had to be the winner for DC and Warner Brothers and what resulted was an even more diluted entry in Snyder’s universe as the film ran into production and personal woes alike. Tragically, Snyder had to deal with a personal and unthinkable family event and as a result stepped away from directorial duties ironically leading to the quick hire of AVENGERS director Joss Whedon, who managed to get the film completed but to disastrous results. In its final form, 2017’s JUSTICE LEAGUE was stuck awkwardly between Snyder’s serious grappling with superpowered beings and traumatized and brutal vigilantes and Whedon’s penchant for snarky quips and assembly line blockbuster efficiency. For this writer, JUSTICE LEAGUE wasn’t a complete failure, it simply was just there waiting to be consumed and forgotten.

And it was. At least for me. But fandom can be a funny thing, a force so unquestionably aloof and persistent that I guess it was only a matter of time before a film like ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE arrived, boosted by the fury of angry fans looking to support a creator muted by tragedy and studio meddling. A whole other article can (and has, and will) be written by dozens of other writers on this wide web but we’re here to see if all the complaints, all the uproar, all the alleged backdoor machinations from a frazzled studio and harried hired gun director resulted in the release of a film with such mystique that one would be mistaken to doubt that the “Snyder Cut” would show all the doubters and haters that its creator really was ahead of the curve. To note, SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE is indeed a Snyder film in all that the name entails and as an aspiring filmmaker myself, I found myself rooting for this film to become the magnum opus so many wanted and expected it to be but alas, as with other Snyder films, JUSTICE LEAGUE is an overly dreary exercise in moody crime-fighting and world-saving. The four hours do not help.

Despite the additional 2-and-a-half hours added on, this version of JUSTICE LEAGUE more or less is the same story as the 2017 version. That being the fact that Snyder and writer Chris Terrio immediately follow BATMAN V. SUPERMAN with the death of the latter (played by Henry Cavill) at the hands of the late Doomsday, leaving the world and Superman’s pals like Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), and his girlfriend Lois Lane (Amy Adams) alone and aimless without the buff personification of good (and possibly Jesus?) walking around punching bad guys. This of course leads to the emergence of other bad guys, particularly the tag team extraterrestrial world dominating duo of Darkseid (Ray Porter) and Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds), who set their sights on a new planet ready for the taking. Of course, this being a film called JUSTICE LEAGUE, it’s not long (actually, it is, remember this is 4 hours long) before Batman and Wonder Woman draft their own team that gathers the likes of Cyborg (Ray Fisher), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) to fight off these grey, jacked aliens. Other characters from various other DC films (both realized and unrealized) also show up in Snyder form but even with additional time allotted to them, they still manage to feel extraneous.

With the same basic frame of the story being utilized, one wonders where the extra hours of Snyder’s film comes into play and the answer is everything. Ever wondered about the muted backstory of Cyborg in 2017’s JUSTICE LEAGUE? Zack heard you, so here’s an additional 30 minutes or so that (effectively) gives much needed humanity to the half-man, half-machine. Ever wondered just what Steppenwolf’s whole deal was? Zack’s got that too and the answer is uhh, well, he’s kind of just a dude hired to conquer Earth or else face the wrath of Darkseid’s assistant belittlement. To be fair, Steppenwolf does gets a bit more characterization that adds a bit of lowkey comedic “sad-sack” energy to Hinds’ solid voice performance (with assistance from some CGI that consistently fluctuates between good and “oh yeah, they definitely spruced this up in 10 minutes”). And of course, outside of a few too many mini-endings in the film’s home stretch which once and for all puts me in the Anti-Jared Leto-As The Joker group, there’s a shit ton of slow-mo shots that show off Snyder’s heroes in all their violent and super serious glory. Honestly cut back on the slow-mo and this thing is already back to 3 hours but if there’s one thing Zack Snyder is gonna do in his films, its get real serious and make carnage that characters feel sorry about causing look awesome.

So yes, if you didn’t like MAN OF STEEL (still to this day the closest Snyder has gotten to truly hitting at those darker more human implications of DC’s heroes) or BATMAN V. SUPERMAN, SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE will probably feel like an overdose of Snyder sensibilities and that’s because it more or less is. While this film never earns its grandiose runtime and unsubtle metaphors and allusions, Snyder still manages to get some interesting moments in this film, mainly in Cyborg’s newly enhanced role which allows Fisher to overcome the comically somber and depressed writing of his character and deliver an engaging and genuinely tragic performance, all while being 80% covered up with CGI. Additionally, with full reign over the director’s chair, this version of JUSTICE LEAGUE further cements Snyder as a more than capable conductor of visually interesting action set-pieces — occasionally rough CGI notwithstanding. Of course, as the film moves on Snyder and co. only ratchet up the darkness and weariness with really only Miller’s chatty and zippy Flash livening things up. Nonetheless, when you have the likes of Affleck, Adams, Diane Lane, Miller, and Billy Crudup(!) delivering your barrage of unironic somber dialogue, your film can only go so low in quality. Even so, SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE doesn’t work because the idea itself — the situation of Batman and friends finally forming their league of do-gooders — isn’t earned due to the lacking narrative and character build up in previous films combined with the general lack of cohesive pacing in this film resulting in a team up that should feel epic but instead feels slapdash and unearned. While I can appreciate his attempts at granting the blockbuster superhero film an air of elevated meaning, Snyder may just not be cut out to deliver that sort of metaphoric aura to a film that still pivots back to hedonistic slow-mo sequences of hot people swinging swords and fists at one another and/or aliens.

As a film, ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE is far from historic quality but that still doesn’t deter my feelings towards the much more involving and interesting story behind this film’s conception. Even though I’m sure I’d eventually regret saying it, in a perfect world I would love to see most, if not all, filmmakers’ true vision for their films released to the public but even by saying that one still must be aware of the consequences of unchecked egos in filmmaking. In that way, this film is a perfect example of that. On the other end, however, seeing the boisterous outcries of fans in collaboration with a new world of cinema now marooned in people’s living rooms and a fleeting studio looking to get whatever they can out of a ship that’s already sailed result in a director getting his own personal “justice” in the shape of an extravagantly morose superhero film is almost too fantastical compared to a 4-hour film of moping superheroes saving the world.

2.5/5