Film Review: ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE

 

 

Zack Snyder is one of those directors they like to call "visionary" because he has undoubtedly a style pretty much his own. A style that he established early on in his career with a slew of ambitious comic book adaptations.

 

His first feature tackled something sacred; a 2004 remake of the beloved George Romero zombie epic DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978).  While it didn't reach the artistic highs of the original, the film was in no way a bad effort, and even managed many moments of genuine tension and emotionally gripping scenes. A more than worthwhile effort for something that didn't yell out to be remade.

 

But it's with his next two features that he solidified his stylistic touch, some may call it mannerisms, of muted palette, outlandish action, a liberal use of the sped-up and slow-motion shots, and a genuine love for artificial looking, yet aesthetic visuals. The stunning adaptations of Frank Miller's 300 (2006) and of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' WATCHMEN (2009) proved this was a guy with a definite sense of style, and a unique mastery of story-telling.

 

His obvious affection for comic books, and the impressive box office of his previous efforts, of course, made it no wonder he was given the keys to DC's kingdom. He jumped at the chance of steering Superman's modern cinematic fate all the way to resounding box office (over 668 millions), but somewhat  lackluster reviews. While he has a knack for stunning visuals and iconic imagery, some plot choices have caused fans to be particularly irate at his MAN OF STEEL (2013).(the death of Jonathan Kent, and the conclusion to the fight with General Zod). But in my opinion, the film more than deserves a second look.

 

The sequel, BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (2016), made an even bigger take at the box office, but even worse reviews, and even more discontent within the fan base, disappointed by the darker aspects of the film, the broad single-mindedness of the heroes' conflict, and the awkward attempts at integrating elements of legendary comic book story lines like Miller's THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN and an introduction to the heroes of the upcoming JUSTICE LEAGUE. The main attraction of the film is the character who spawned what is undoubtedly the best of the modern DC films; WONDER WOMAN (2017), who steals the show from the big boys. By this point, there is no denying that Snyder takes his heroes very seriously, and treat them with a reverence that is usually reserved to religious icons. A move that I find fascinating, and gives way to wonderful imagery, but can make the characters seem a bit distant and unrelatable.

The stunning visuals from BATMAN V SUPERMAN helps push forward Snyder's vision of superheroes as Gods among men.

A year later came JUSTICE LEAGUE, that would not only join together Batman with the Flash, Cyborg, Wonder Woman and Aquaman, but bring back Superman from the dead and introduce to filmgoers concepts created by the prolific artistic genius Jack Kirby from his Fourth World series. The film benefited from one of the largest budget in the history of cinema (over $300 millions) yet only made $657 millions, which means that, considering the "break even" point needed to make a profit was $750 millions, the film was considered a flop by the studio.

 

Now, while the film is maligned by critics, I have some affection for parts of it. The film felt like a promise never reaching its potential. Something that should have been great, but never really took off. Of course, a lot of the blame was put on AVENGERS director Joss Whedon (whose luster has been tarnished dramatically in recent years, with stories of on-set abuse and dubious conduct) who replaced Zack Snyder after he had to leave production following his daughter's suicide. For months the studio had pleaded him to lighten the mood of his script so it would avoid the grim pitfalls of its predecessors that had so angered fans and kept new viewers to come forth. After this family tragedy, he felt he had no strength left to fight for his vision, so he ended up quitting, to be replaced by Whedon, who complied heartily with the studios demands. While some of Joss' added scenes were genuinely amusing (like Aquaman spouting out unwanted truths while being inadvertently tied by Wonder Woman's lasso), the end result was somewhat schizophrenic, a half light-hearted, half decidedly austere mess of a film that failed to find a clear narrative path.

 

Rumours started then that a "Snyder cut" existed, and fans became obsessed by a version of the film that respected Snyder's vision, even though they still mocked the infamous "Martha" scene from BATMAN V SUPERMAN or complaining about Jonathan Kent's death in MAN OF STEEL.  Try to understand fans.

 

Lo and behold, during the pandemic, Warner Brothers started looking around feverishly for exclusive content for their newly created streaming platform HBO MAX. All of a sudden, a "Snyder cut" started to be a possibility, and the term started trending more and more on social media. The keys to the kingdom were handed back to Zack Snyder, and he started re-editing, shooting new material, and redoing special effects, to the sweet tune of an extra $70 millions. (which, granted, could have made dozens of small budget films instead.)

 

So here it is at last.

 

Is it an unexpected masterpiece? Nope.

 

Is it terrible? Nope.

 

Does it redeem the heavily flawed 2017 version? definitely.

 

The film begins with a scene from the previous installment, namely the death of Superman (As seen in BATMAN V SUPERMAN) but this time with the repercussions from this event, as the sound waves from his last anguished death rattle sends a message across the world, and triggers the three "Mother Boxes" that are hidden on Earth . In this way, the film reflects how BVS started, with the unintended destructive consequences of the ravaging battle at the end of MAN OF STEE, causing the world to stand up and notice, including a grieving Bruce Wayne. This sense of continuity gives the impression of attempting a continuous sprawling saga, which judging from the extended epilogue, would have gone on for a few sequels at least. More on that later.

 

Superman's death rattle, opening ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE.

 

 

The previously mentioned "mother Boxes" are more or less sentient computers, key to knowledge and life in a distant world called Apokolips, inhabited by a race of power-hungry scavengers, led by the tyrannical Darkseid, who desire to assemble the three Mother Boxes to obtain access to Earth, and conquer it (of course), with the help of his disgraced lieutenant, Steppenwolf.(who has better motivations this time around, and a better design, vaguely inspired by the "Destroyer"'s shifting armor in Kenneth Branagh's THOR.)

 

Of course, only a group of heroes lead by a repentant Batman can stop this horrifying fate from happening.

 

The basic plot of both films remains pretty much the same, as about an hour of Snyder's footage made it in the 2017 version (which, other than an hour's worth of Joss Whedon's reshoots, also had a different score by Danny Elfman, and a decidedly different color scheme).

 

Thedefinitely different color palette from Whedon's version (on the left) and Zack Snyder's version (on the right). Note also the IMAX image ratio of the new version. Maybe Snyder hopes the film is successful enough to end up in theaters again...

 

 

So to the uninitiated (or non-nerds), the film will seem like it's the same, as some key scenes remain almost untouched, and others will feel still rather familiar, even though major elements have been changed. One such scene is the battle for the Mother Boxes flashback, where Atlanteans, Amazons, Ancient Gods, Humans and Green Lanterns fight in a skirmish reminiscent of the CGI-laden grand scale assaults in Peter Jackson's LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. In the Whedon version, the opponents were led by Steppenwolf. But in the new version, as was originally intended, the big bad is Darkseid himself, who looms large in the Snyder cut, as the feared lord of the evil New Gods. A role not unlike Thanos in the MCU, as a hulking dark deity destined to fight one-on-one with our heroes in future installments. (For the record, Jim Starlin's Thanos was inspired by Jack Kirby's Darkseid in the comics, who predates the Mad Titan's creation by two years.)

 

Darkseid blocking a blast from Ares (Yes, the bad guy from Patty Jenkins' WONDER WOMAN) in the epic flashback battle sequence.

 

 

Readers of this blog will know I am a huge Kirby fan, so to see Darkseid in a live-action film is actually a thrill for me, and I am more than happy to be finally able to see what was only hinted at in the 2017 version. Just the scene where Diana Prince discovers a cave painting ominously depicting him sent chills up my spine. Unveiling these elements of Jack Kirby's Fourth World  saga, and opening the doors for a potential NEW GODS movie (With director Ava DuVernay still apparently attached), fills me with hope for something cool. Whether it will follow the baseline established by Snyder, or create a whole separate movie reality (à la Matt Reeves' upcoming THE BATMAN, which is not connected in any ways to previous DC films) still remains to be seen.

 

Snyder gives a decidedly operatic tone to the film, lingering on gorgeous slow-motion shots, often supported by songs (many by Nick Cave) or even some Icelandic chanting by a group of villagers seemingly worshiping Aquaman, or Celtic lamentations every time Wonder Woman enters the fray. The film takes it time to not only present its heroes, but literally putting them on pedestals. These are very much Gods among men, and Zack won't make us forget he is presenting us with a modern-day mythological tale. Whether this will entrance or irritate the viewer depends on his ability to leave cynicism at the door.

 

The deliberate pacing, leading to a roughly 4 hours long running time will terrify many. However, one has to remember that the film follows many characters that didn't have the luxury of a solo movie before being put together in a feature (The AQUAMAN and WONDER WOMAN films both were released after JUSTICE LEAGUE), like most of the heroes in THE AVENGERS, which this film clearly wants to emulate, were lucky enough to have. Here, time is spent developing a bit better the characters not only of Gal Gadot's WONDER WOMAN , Jason Mamoa's AQUAMAN, but also Ray Fisher's CYBORG and Ezra Miller's FLASH. These last two actually are greatly enriched by the new version, delving deeper in their psyche, and making them more than mere supporting characters. Both Miller and Fisher get their chance to shine, and it is satisfying to see the Flash become more than a bumbling comedy relief. It is still his purpose in the film to lighten things up, but he doesn't feel like a clown anymore.

 

Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) meets Iris West (Kiersey Clemons) in a new scene from ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE

 

The film isn't without its weaknesses, of course. The resurrection of Superman sub-plot still feels absurd and forced. And the black suit he adopts upon his return seems a bit pointless (Yes, I know that in the comic, it served a purpose, but not a peep about it in the film). In a way, the colorful version he sports in the 2017 version seemed more appropriate.

 

The R-rating gives way to moments were characters curse, and I'm not sure I dig Batman saying the "F" word. Feels a bit gratuitous and out of place. Maybe I'm just not used to superheroes cursing. The occasional bloody violence during fights also feel a bit extreme. It's not terrible, but feels definitely somewhat jarring. Some, of course, will welcome this new harder edge of course, so I may be in the minority here.

 

And then there are all those moments hinting at sequels that will never happen. The introduction of the Martian Manhunter, which leads nowhere, except but hint at his inclusion in a future film. Darkseid threatening to go back to Earth with an armada, and of course the two extended epilogues. One that was already shown in the 2017 version, where Luthor meets with Deathstroke on a yacht, either teasing the then proposed Ben Affleck solo Batman film, or a future instalment of the Justice League.

 

Batman (Ben Affleck surveying the bleak world of tomorrow in the extended epilogue.

 

And then there is the most elaborate scene, showing Batman, Mera, Flash, Cyborg, Deathstroke and the Joker (played again by Jared Leto, but with a distinctly different look that he sported in SUICIDE SQUAD (2016).  Set on a post-apocalyptic world decimated by Darkseid's  armies, as a follow-up to Bruce Wayne's nightmare in BATMAN V SUPERMAN, it is meant to tease for a potentially tragically dark sequel that, need I remind you, will never happen. It's almost frustrating to watch.

 

In the end, ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE vastly improves on its heavily flawed precursor. Its grandiose operatic tone walks a fine line between being either hypnotic or pretentious. Its action scenes are thrilling, although rely probably too much on very pervasive CGI. (The opening fight with Wonder Woman for instance, is more exciting than ANYTHING in WONDER WOMAN 1984 (2020)). The film shows more heart than the previous version, yet somewhat manages to be cold in its hermetic aesthetics. The Snyder Cut is pretty much like a fire pit in the middle of a ice Hotel. Gorgeous, cold and warm at the same time, and threatening to collapse under its own weight at any time, but somehow staying together.

 

 

EPILOGUE: A note to underline the tribute to Zack Snyder's daughter Autumn, who died by suicide before the end of the shoot in 2017, at the start of the credits. This simple mention; "For Autumn" is all the more poignant when considering that creating this version is a touching way to pay homage to his daughter, and finally find some closure. (for more info on that personal tragedy, read here: https://screenrant.com/justice-league-for-autumn-snyder-tribute-explained/)

 

If you have suicidal thoughts, please consult your local chapter of suicide prevention hotlines.

in Canada: 833-456-4566

 

https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/talk-to-someone-now/