Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) was willed into existence by the pleading of fans across the globe. Director Zack Snyder had to leave the original project due to a family tragedy, and Warner Brothers drastically changed the film. Fans wanted to know what his vision would have been like and now we know. The question is was it worth the wait? Buckle up because this review is a little longer than usual. The first section is non-spoilers.
NON-SPOILER SECTION
➡ INTERESTING NOTES: The movie's runtime is 4 hours and 2 minutes long compared to the theatrically released runtime of 2 hours. That's literally twice as long. Some moments from the theatrical cut aren't even in this version, so it's really even lengthier. We found out through promos that a famous villain named Darkseid would be introduced in this version. Think of him as DC's Thanos for all you MCU fans. This character was completely cut in the Warner Bros. version. Half of the Justice League starting 6 were introduced in the 2017 cut including Aquaman, Flash, and Cyborg. This film is rated R whereas the theatrical cut is PG-13.
➡ THE GOOD: The film had plenty of appealing visuals which a four-hour movie better have some. It's not necessarily award-worthy, but I'm a sucker for snow-themed shots and interesting lighting.
The casting is quality. ***Henry Cavill is the best Superman on screen to date. This may be debatable, but I've made my decision. It's unfortunate that they've announced a Superman reboot (for who knows why) that will continue without Cavill. Gal Gadot is a fantastic Wonder Woman and also the best put to screen. She's not too hard on the eyes either. Ezra Miller is a point of debate for many because of the TV show on CW featuring Grant Gustin. Mainly because I've seen a few seasons of the show is why I'd choose Gustin, BUT I'm interested in the upcoming Flash movie with Miller. My allegiance could change. Jason Momoa is exceptional as Aquaman then there is Ray Fisher as Cyborg.
I think the Titanic Effect happened to me with Fisher. [The Titanic Effect is seeing a quality item, but it's considered one of the best and you personally don't think so. It causes you to be mum or even dislike something that is good.] He was championed by fans as giving an otherworldly acting performance in this film, so I expected a lot. What I saw was interesting but moot at times. We weren't emotionally invested in his character since he was just introduced.
I didn't mind the more violent fight scenes. It helps the viewer understand the graveness of the situation the heroes find themselves in. The final big fight was pretty well done for the most part.
Other good moments with spoilers will be mentioned later.
➡ THE BAD: I watched this movie with six other people. While we varied in our opinions, one thing was unanimous. There are a lot of problems.
One of the seven enjoyed the setup, so this may be more of an opinion, but I didn't. There are six chapters, and the first three drag. You can skip multiple scenes without missing meaningful contributions to the story. One of the reasons is the use of slow-motion cameras. Slow-motion has its place and can be used pointedly. However, it felt like (and possibly literally) every scene in the first two chapters and many other times later had unnecessary slow-motion. Some of the slow moments were super cheesy and actually made us laugh which was not the purpose. Also, there were too many Egyptian vocals in scenes that didn't make sense. Think of the movie 300 which is another Snyder film.
Zack Snyder had a vision, but he failed to see the long-game. He wanted a Justice League movie. He didn't provide the necessary buildup for us to care about these major characters. Aquaman, Flash, and Cyborg did not get a movie. When Cyborg is really mad at his father and says some snarky mean comments to him, you end up siding with the father and not Cyborg. He says other lines about hating the world, but you can't connect with him because not enough was done for us to connect. Flash is funny at times, and we see a little of his story. However, it's hard to connect when you don't know much about him. The same is true for Aquaman. We get he's the rightful heir, but there's no investment. I'm trying to not make comparisons to The Avengers, but I have to. Marvel built up these characters so that you cared about each of them through other films. DCEU did not.
I'll never be able to accurately judge Ben Affleck's Batman. He never got his OWN movie even though Batman has the greatest hero universe of villains, friends, and stories. From what I have to see in this franchise, I'd never know. He's supposed to be the best martial artist, and it's hard to tell. He's supposed to be the world's greatest detective, and it's hard to tell. I guess he did locate the other Justice League members, but his plans to attack the enemy was to "Leroy Jenkins" it (hope some people get that reference).
Again, I'm comparing the Marvel Cinematic Universe with DC. <Infinity Stones vs. Mother Boxes> The stones are better every day of the week. They're the ultimate weapon when together. The difference is... boxes... versus the gemstones that are augmented over several films. One is much cooler than the other.
Other bad moments will be discussed in the spoilers section.
➡ RATING: If you take this movie as a standalone, the theatrical cut is more cohesive. If you're talking about in terms of an extended universe, the Snyder cut is better. As usual with any movie, you need to see it for yourself. You may come away loving this film. I truly hope the fans that pleaded for this film for so long are satisfied, but don't be surprised if you aren't. My film rating is a D.
SPOILER SECTION
➡ THE GOOD: The black suit Superman is pretty epic. I didn't know beforehand, and I'm glad I didn't. The classic suit is classic, but there's something about the black suit.
The Synder cut dramatically improves how Superman is brought back to life. Instead of Batman forcing the others to agree and goading Wonder Woman, they all agree in this version even if reluctantly. Cyborg is able to explain how the mother boxes work making the crazy idea seem plausible, and it works. That's a huge improvement.
The CGI Henry Cavill face in his resurrection fight scene is infamously bad from the 2017 version. <The reason is he was filming another movie, Mission Impossible: Fallout, where he had a mustache, and that's an incredible movie.> They fixed this in the 2021 version. Speaking of this scene, Superman looking at the Flash while Flash is at full speed is chillingly cool.
The Injustice storyline dream that Bruce Wayne has is interesting although it wouldn't work as an actual movie in this particular universe.
➡ THE BAD: They teased us. All seven of us watching the film that night thought Darkseid would have some sort of fight scene with the Justice League. It didn't happen. It's worse knowing we probably never will see it because this film is not going to be cannon in the DCEU according to Zack Snyder.
Jared Leto as the Joker is still terrible no matter how many times he's in a new movie. The same goes for Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor.
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