Zo's Reviews: Zack Snyder's Justice League

 

Well...I'm back! Did you miss me? I know I missed me. It's been a long and difficult year and a bit for me, but I'm ready to get back into the thick of things! And what better way to get back into it than to review one of my (already) favorite films of 2021?

Zack Snyder's Justice League was directed by Zack Snyder and stars Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Ryan Zheng, Ciaran Hinds, J.K Simmons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, Amy Adams, Joe Morton, Joe Manganiello, Jared Leto...and a ton of other people (like this cast is MASSIVE!) and comes on the heels of Superman's (Cavill) death during Batman V Superman (also directed by Zack Snyder) where we see a world that is coping with the loss of the greatest hero mankind had ever known. But there is a war coming...and Batman (Affleck) sees this threat as something very real. Inspired by the hope that Superman stood for, he assembles a team of metahumans to aid in defending the Earth against this threat.

Let me start by saying that I'm biased, I am a massive DC Universe fan. I love the comics, the books, the games, the movies, the TV shows (except for Batwoman but that's due to some pretty horrid plot points and writing) and I want everyone to understand that when I say that the original Justice League that was mostly directed and reshot by Joss Whedon was a friggin' insult to everyone who worked on this film originally...I mean it. The Whedon version was disgustingly bad. It was so bad, halfway through it I wanted to walk out of the theater...and these are the characters I grew up loving to death...on-screen...my favorite superhero team...and Whedon and Warner Bros. basically butchered the original cut of the film. Now I won't pretend to know what was happening behind the scenes because I wasn't there, but I imagine after the loss of his daughter, Zack Snyder needed some time away. WB was chasing the MCU at the time, so I guess they brought in Whedon to cut it up and rush the movie out the door. Also there's the whole thing that went down with Ray Fisher...and that was something truly disgusting. So, now that I've got all that out of the way...

There's nothing I disliked about this movie. Everything about it was a comic book fan's dream. It had everything the previous Snyder-verse films for DC had and more. The cast was excellent, the writing was superb, the plot made WAY more sense than before...the stakes were even GREATER than the theatrical cut of the film. The cinematography had this gritty comic book look to it, almost pulpy (if you've seen 300 or Sucker Punch you know what I'm talking about) but also had these bright, brilliant shots that had my jaw dropped. The Junkie XL score was damn perfect, everything about the music set up every scene and, at times, even had my emotions going wild...I admit, I had feels. Gone was the choppy, poor editing of the theatrical version. Every scene organically fit together and the flow and pacing of this film made me forget that I was sitting there for 4+ hours.

The one thing I want to really talk about the most in this review though, is the cast. Sure, everyone in this movie is at the top of their game but the real centerpieces of this film have to be Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, and Ray Fisher. You can tell Zack Snyder has love for these actors and for their characters. Hell, even Amber Heard has her moment! But back on Miller, Momoa, and Fisher. Each of their characters (Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg) had their moments to shine. Now, we're all used to seeing Jason Momoa's Aquaman (and his solo adventure was awesome by the way) but seeing Ezra Miller's Flash in action (even proving the MULTIVERSE EXISTS) was a treat. The real standout of this movie, however, is Ray Fisher. A relative unknown to me, I was never really sure how it would play out seeing him on screen. I knew it would need to be heavily CGI'd because I mean, he's not really a cyborg. What I got, especially in Zack Snyder's proper version of the film, is a character filled with emotion, filled with heart, filled with a desire to do what's right...and Ray Fisher did an incredible job playing this character. I hope to God that DC and WB do what's right and give him more opportunities to perform as Cyborg because man, he worked his butt off and he deserves all the praise in the world for his performance.

A lot of the reviews I've been seeing out there say that the Snyder Cut is in no way different than the Whedon Cut...and I'm here to tell you that is a lie. These reviewers either didn't watch the movie, or didn't care enough to give you an honest review. The two films are very different, they have pros and cons that are also very different. Some things in Whedon's cut I did like, some things I didn't. But I think fans of the DCEU and I can all agree, this version is superior. It has heart, it has artistic vision, it's a straight up launching pad for the DC Multiverse and the rest of the heroes and villains that are bound to make it to the big screen eventually (including a rumored Superman film starring Michael B. Jordan which I am so down for). The fact is, Zack Snyder was creating a world that brings the comics to life...and he did his best to be as close to the source material as he could. Was this studio interference that tried to derail that in favor of a quick buck? I'm not sure. What I do know for certain though, is that we need more of the Snyder-verse and that I absolutely loved this movie.

You can see Zack Snyder's Justice League right now on HBO Max.

FINAL SCORE: A+