Review: ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’
Zack Snyder returns to finish and extend his version of Justice League, to great success. It’s definitely Snyder’s most-accessible DC film so far, in that it feels like a culmination of his prior attempts. Snyder manages to succeed in not only pleasing his hardcore fanbase, but also in constructing a coherent, well-made film that is an endless romp from start to finish.
The extended runtime, 4-hours to be exact, allows for a tremendous amount of extra absorption that the original film lacked. Avoiding the quickly-paced team build-up seen in the 2017 film, the extra scenes welcome you further into the depths of the Justice League. Characters that especially benefited were The Flash and Cyborg, who in this version turned out to be absolutely pivotal for the story’s progression. Ray Fisher is a stand-out, and Cyborg’s story in connection to his father has been expanded and is one of the best parts of the film.
Inspired by Superman’s sacrifice, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) begins to build a rag-tag team of newly scouted-out meta-humans to fight the impending dark forces of Apokolips. Aided by Diana (Gal Gadot), they recruit Aquaman (Jason Mamoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and the Flash (Ezra Miller). Together, they face off against Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) and his army of Parademons. However, he isn’t the only threat, as Steppenwolf’s master looms across the galaxy, waiting for all three Mother Box’s to unite. The end of the world is nigh, and the Justice League are Earth’s last hope as they fight the forces of Apokolips.
Said battle reminds Diana of the Old Gods’ battle thousands of years before and is one of the best scenes of the entire film. It’s incredible what some extra care and not removing half of what built up to the battle can do. It’s a truly harrowing battle that exemplifies the feeling of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. It’s truly epic in scale, not just in terms of the fight scenes, but by taking its time to build up its stakes. This is where the 4-hour runtime comes in handy, it allows Snyder to explain the full motivations of the characters and mechanics of the story, rounding it out to make an epic, coherent film. It doesn’t feel like a 4-hour film, I found myself wanting to watch it again, right away.
Beautifully shot by cinematographer Fabian Wagner with excellent framing, gorgeous colours and striking images galore. By shifting to a 4:3 aspect ratio, it allows for a better scope of the original IMAX images, something that the original version lacked. One can’t help but be constantly in awe of the jaw-dropping, wondrous shots that scatter the 4-hour film. This is just one of the many alterations that Snyder’s cut of the film succeeds in, it almost feels like an entirely different film. It takes what worked from the original, removes the choppy bits and introduces spectators into the full scope of what was intended. Namely, Steppenwolf and Darkseid’s story which was completely botched, but now one can’t help but be thoroughly enticed by their relationship and what comes out of that.
The way we perceived certain characters has almost entirely switched, with characters like The Flash moving from one of the worst parts of the 2017 film to being one of the best in this new version. It’s shocking to think that they chopped out huge chunks, but one can be glad that this new cut exists. I enjoyed every minute of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and I can say I will be shocked if there is no sequel to follow. – Ben Rolph
Rating: 4.5/5
Zack Snyder’s Justice League will be released on HBO Max in the US and on SkyCinema in the UK on Thursday, March 18.