If you’re even slightly dorky, then you know the Snyder Cut of Justice League (officially titled Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but I’m going to keep referring to it as the Snyder Cut) is finally here. Of course I had to check it out, and it inspired me to write a bit about Snyder’s career regarding director’s cuts and my thoughts on the film and DC in general.
This is not a serious comparison between Ridley Scott and Zack Snyder aside from their famous, and better, director’s cuts. They both make epic films, but their styles are certainly different. They definitely both prefer to be left alone by the studio. Ridley Scott, however, has a more precise idea of what he wants out of a story when he gets to release a director’s cut (see Kingdom of Heaven and how his cut of that film completely redeemed and repaired the weak plot of the theatrical cut). Whereas Snyder has a kitchen sink approach (see Watchmen and one of his cuts of that film that includes an entire animated short film interspersed within an already three hour long movie). I only compare Snyder to Scott because of their unfortunate relationship with theatrical cuts of their films. Before I get into all the director’s cuts, I want to acknowledge the film that brought all this to mind in the first place.
Reaction to Zack Snyder’s Justice League
(SPOILERS ahead, especially near the end.)
First off, I did not realize that so much of the theatrical cut was Whedon’s doing (at the behest of the studio, I’m sure). I didn’t pay a lot of attention to the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut stuff aside from being aware of its existence. Even when the film was announced, I still didn’t look up much about it. I just thought, “Cool. I’ll check that out.” It was only when I found out it was four hours long that I realized this was going to be a much different movie.
That got me excited for a couple reasons. First, I tend to prefer Snyder’s extended, director’s, ultimate, etc. cuts. So I figured I would like this version more. Second, I realized that Joss Whedon changed a lot more than I first thought, and, in fact, they probably should have taken Snyder’s name off the 2017 release. So this isn’t exactly a director’s cut for Snyder; it’s the first time we’re seeing his version of Justice League at all.
Of course, this means that if you were not digging what Snyder had been doing with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman (Ultimate Edition, of course), then you’re not likely going to enjoy this, either. I’m down with what Snyder was doing with DC, but I know he’s a polarizing director. I’ve read some negative stuff about the movie, and I get it, but his style for the DCEU works for me, plain and simple. That said, if you were confused by the plot of the theatrical cut and wondered what Steppenwolf’s motivation was or what the fuck Mother Boxes were, then you’ll get more answers here. But, again, this is still a Zack Snyder movie.
With all that out of the way, I kind of fucking loved this movie. I’m a sucker for a director getting free rein to do whatever he/she wants, and the Snyder Cut is the ultimate example of this. Warner Brothers said, “Fuck it, man, just do whatever; here’s some more money to even add extra shit.” Because of this, Snyder is able to spend so much more time with the characters that were short-changed in the theatrical cut.
Cyborg is the best example of this. I remember first watching Justice League and feeling like Cyborg was just there because he had to be. Here, he’s arguably the main character, and I completely understand why he’s integral to the League and the film in general this time around.
The extra runtime allows for so many things to be improved and/or cleared up. Steppenwolf (who both looks and sounds more imposing now) is a much better villain this time around and his whole plan with the Mother Boxes makes much more sense. I didn’t know what the fuck a Mother Box was when I first watched Justice League, and I still didn’t at the end other than they were powerful. Here, they’re explained more clearly. And it helps that Steppenwolf (a villain I had never heard of before the 2017 film [I’m a dork, but my knowledge of the DC universe ends with the main heroes and villains]) has an arc in this film beyond just being evil because the story needs him to be evil. He’s trying to redeem himself with Darkseid, a much more imposing big bad.
Speaking of Darkseid, he’s in this movie whereas he’s not even mentioned in the original film. My main issue with the theatrical cut was that Steppenwolf was just there almost randomly, and he must be stopped. I can actually accept that, but I prefer this more fleshed out version. Most of it is still hardcore dorky nonsense dialogue about Boxes and parademons and anti-life equations, etc. But I’ll take that over nothing any day.
Justice League was always going to be a story that needed more than two hours to adequately explain things and establish the new characters. Even in the original cut, I liked all the characters and the actors portraying them. I liked the action. I was just left underwhelmed. I wanted so much more, and that’s what the Snyder Cut is. This is a cohesive and complete version of Justice League. It is not perfect, though.
The typical Zack Snyder complaints apply here. There’s too much slow motion (Lois getting coffee in slow motion is rightfully catching a lot of shit with many reactions online), the music is a bit much at times (using the same music every single time Wonder Woman shows up, the Icelandic song, etc.). But there are also some unique issues I have with the film because of its unorthodox path to the screen. Mainly, all the Aquaman continuity issues are distracting. Since Aquaman is out now, it is weird to see how some things are handled here: the characters can only talk in bubbles underwater, Vulko looks very different, and Mera has a British accent. If I had seen these things first (to be fair, the bubble talk was in the 2017 film, and they just dropped it for Aquaman), then when I watched Aquaman, I would have been taken out of it. Instead, I’ve already seen Aquaman, so now I’m wondering why things are different in Justice League. Again, a unique issue, but an issue nonetheless.
The biggest issue is the running time. Four hours is too long, but I love Snyder getting to add damn near whatever he wanted to this. This film is a perfect example of why it’s good and bad that studios don’t typically give a director complete control. Sure, we’re getting an overlong version of the director’s vision (that dorks like me will love), but it’s also a four hour long film filled with references that a general audience won’t notice or care about, especially since many won’t even start watching a four hour movie in the first place. If you take out some of the slow motion and music sequences, then this film could easily be trimmed down to three and a half hours. That’s still long as fuck, but a half hour less is a big deal when you’re trimming down a four hour movie.
Overall, the Snyder Cut left me torn. On the one hand, I now love a movie that I was previously completely indifferent towards. This is the brutal, epic film I wanted. But it bums me out that this is most likely the end of Snyder’s DC work. This cut was already incredibly unlikely to ever be released, so all the set up for future films that will never happen is a bit infuriating, especially since my favorite aspect of Snyder’s DC films is the Knightmare future, which was apparently supposed to really happen for an entire movie. If that film could somehow be made, I could see it becoming my favorite comic book movie of all time. Instead, I just get that extra tease that Snyder added to the end of this film. I love it, but I kind of wish I had never seen it, so I wouldn’t know what I was missing. But if the dorks of the internet can pressure a studio to make the Snyder Cut happen, maybe it can happen again, and we can get Snyder’s full trilogy.
At the very least, I have Snyder’s complete vision for the first Justice League film to revisit, and that’s pretty amazing. I’ll gladly spend four hours with this film any time I get bummed out about what might have been with the DC movies.
Snyder Makes Big Screen Movies that Require Small Screen Director’s Cuts
I tend to really enjoy Zack Snyder’s movies and I usually watch them in the theater, even though I know a different, better version of the film will one day be released. Snyder makes more director’s cuts than Ridley Scott, which sucks because his films are much more enjoyable on the biggest screen possible. So I wanted to look through Snyder’s director’s cut history leading up to his most high profile director’s cut.
In an interview, Snyder acknowledges (mistakenly) that the only two films he’s made that don’t have director’s cuts are Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole and Man of Steel (he also mentions a cut of Sucker Punch that exists but has never been released, which I would love to know more about). He didn’t mention 300, and I can’t find any evidence of a director’s cut for that film, so I’m chalking that up to him forgetting about it. So that means Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen, Sucker Punch, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League all needed director’s cuts. And looking back at all of them, the director's cut are all either essential or at least slight improvements upon their theatrical counterparts.
- Dawn of the Dead isn’t all that different. There are more character beats for Michael Kelly and more gore (to keep the R rating). More Michael Kelly and more gore are both great, so I dig the director’s cut, but this is the rare example that I don’t mind which cut I watch.
- The theatrical cut of Watchmen would’ve been the director’s cut, but Snyder claims he had to keep the runtime down because IMAX reels can only hold so much film. I’m sure the studio was happy with a shorter runtime, too. Watchmen is important for Snyder because it’s a good example of how devoted he is to the source material. He basically shot everything that was in the comic (aside from some changes made, the biggest being the change to the ending). The director’s cut simply includes all the stuff that had to go. It’s a better movie, but it’s not night and day different from the theatrical cut. Then there’s the ultimate cut, which also includes the animated Tale of the Black Freighter. That cut was basically made for completionists, and Snyder has said that the director’s cut is his preferred version. I’ve watched the Ultimate Cut a few times, but I’m with Snyder, the director’s cut is the best. The animated stuff just takes me out of the movie in the ultimate cut.
- Sucker Punch has an extended cut, but the director’s cut has yet to be released, due to some rights stuff. Until then, the extended cut will have to do, and it is certainly closer to his intended vision than the theatrical cut is, if for no other reason than it’s rated R compared to the PG-13 rating of the theatrical cut. More importantly, the final scene with the High Roller solidifies the overall theme of the film regarding empowerment and freedom, even if it’s only within your mind.
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the film that most benefits from its ultimate cut. I only think of that film as the ultimate cut, and from what I’ve come across from folks on the internet, they view the ultimate cut as a much better movie, for many of the same reasons that a lot of fans like the Snyder Cut. At three hours, Snyder is able to flesh out the story and some motivations a bit more. The buildup to both Batman hating Superman and Superman hating Batman is much more clear and satisfying this time around rather than just having them fight because the title says so. And it’s rated R, which is something I actually really dig with these movies.I still have issues with it: Lex’s plan is still confusing as fuck, and the Martha reveal is silly, but overall I dug the movie, mainly because I liked Ben Affleck’s brutal Batman, and I fucking loved the Knightmare sequence. Seriously, that sequence might be my favorite Batman scene ever. And I like seeing Batman fight Superman. Simple as that.
So Snyder was already on the Ridley Scott path when he stated Justice League. If Snyder had been able to finish the film originally, I think we would have gotten a typical Snyder situation. There would’ve been a serviceable PG-13 version of the film that got close to three hour territory. Then there would be some “cut” released on home video that was rated R and closer to four hours (some stuff wouldn’t make it because Snyder wouldn’t be given the total freedom he got in this situation). The end result would be disappointment at the box office and with critics while dudes like me would tell people to give the director’s cut a chance. Now, everyone is focusing on the director’s cut in a way that word of mouth could never achieve. In a weird way, it’s the best thing that could’ve happened for people appreciating Snyder’s vision. But it appears to be too late, as future versions of these characters are either changing or ignoring what happened in the Snyder Cut of Justice League. (And the Snyder Cut is not considered canon, though why Warner Brothers is even pretending canon matters at this point is beyond me.)
If we get the director’s cut eventually, then I should be happy, but with the Snyder Cut, two issues bum me out. First, there’s the aforementioned abandonment of Snyder’s future Justice League films. Second, and most importantly, big films like Justice League benefit from a viewing on the big screen. I hate that I have to watch the inferior film in theaters and wait to watch the better version at home on TV. And this has nothing to do with the pandemic. Even without the pandemic, this would have been a home video release. It would be awesome if they released this in IMAX (especially because the aspect ratio is meant for it) in the future, but that would be a long shot.
Zack Snyder makes movies meant to be seen on the biggest screen possible, and studio interference and reluctance has made the small screen the home of his best work.
Oh, well, there’s always the black and white cut to look forward to...
DCEU vs. MCU
I’ve aged out of taking part in pop culture rivalries. I don’t see a point in hating Marvel and loving DC or having to pick between Star Wars and Star Trek. I’m just a normal dork who likes most dorky shit out there. So this isn’t about me picking one cinematic universe over the other; it’s about the differences between the two and why I like what Snyder was doing with the DCEU.
After watching literally every DC and Marvel movie over the past twenty years, I think the biggest difference between the two is that Marvel developed a plan. There were very few missteps and changes within the MCU during this process. Sure, some films were more popular than others, but nothing derailed their overall plan.
Because of the Nolan Dark Knight films, Warner Brothers seemed content with keeping their DC properties relatively separate. It was like they were waiting to see just how profitable the MCU could be before they inevitably followed suit.
By enlisting Zack Snyder to build their cinematic universe, Warner Brothers was sending a message that their films would be darker and more adult than the more family-friendly Marvel films. But when the critics destroyed BvS, they got nervous (despite that film making nearly a billion dollars worldwide). For some reason, it didn’t occur to them that the polarizing Snyder was going to take their characters down a path that many critics and fans didn’t like. It would still be profitable, but it would never be as popular as Marvel.
This is why I love Snyder’s films and a lot of the DC stuff lately (I was a big fan of Aquaman and Wonder Woman, and Birds of Prey was interesting) despite some missteps (I thought Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman 1984 were pretty weak). These movies are geared more towards adults, and they are not as light-hearted as most of the Marvel stuff.
I get if people think Snyder’s movies go too far with the characters and are too convoluted, but at least they’re different. They are already way too many similarities among the characters between the two properties; it’s nice to have clearly different movies. If that means Marvel’s movies are consistent and DC’s vary wildly from film to film, then so be it.
The main reason I love the DC films is the more mature nature, especially in Snyder’s films. The guy made two R-rated versions of movies with Superman and Batman in them! That’s insane, and I love it. I can see why others would find an R-rated Superman movie to be unnecessary and even against his character. But I love seeing dark and violent shit in these movies if for no other reason than Marvel movies tend to feel too safe at times when it comes to the violence because they know kids are watching. Once again, Warner Brothers should have known this was going to be polarizing. At first, they seemed to be onboard with what Snyder was doing, but the negative reviews of BvS scared them, and when tragedy gave them a chance to change the direction of the universe, they took it and literally brought in a Marvel guy, Joss Whedon, to make Justice League more like a Marvel movie. And it failed miserably.
By trying to change the tone of the series right in the middle of setting it up, they lost their fanbase. Almost all of the plans for future movies fell apart, and subsequent movies seemed to be allowed to pick and choose what they wanted to keep as canon from Snyder’s films. That’s not to say all the movies after Justice League are bad. I loved Aquaman, but that film felt oddly apart from Justice League. If Warner Brothers wanted to copy Marvel, then they should have paid attention to Marvel’s commitment to an overall plan, not to the humorous tone of their films.
I like that Snyder tried to bring some darkness to the world of the big comic book movies. Let Marvel have the bright, fun movies. When I want the dark, brooding shit, I’ll put in a DC movie. That’s what Warner Brothers failed to realize. Snyder was never going to be able to give them something as beloved as the MCU. He was going to make something divisive because it would be different. Snyder’s films aren’t perfect, but if Warner Brothers would have stuck with him* and let him plan out the DCEU as he saw fit, then maybe they would have gained in popularity. Instead, now it seems like every DC movie is set in a completely different universe, and people are most excited about a new cut of a 2017 movie.
*I realize that Snyder walked away from Justice League because of a family tragedy, so Warner Brothers can’t be completely blamed here. That said, they could have simply delayed the film until Snyder could return. Or they could have hired a journeyman director to simply complete what Snyder had already begun. Instead, they hired Whedon and handed him a list of shit they wanted that included making the film funnier (AKA more like a Marvel movie) and shorter. I get why they went that route, but it sucks that Snyder’s DCEU had to be destroyed for them to learn from their mistake.
The apparent success of the Snyder Cut (the comic book-centric websites and YouTube channels are all in for it, and it crashed some HBO servers on the first day of release) only makes things even more uncertain for the DCEU. Officially, the Snyder Cut is NOT considered canon. We’re just supposed to watch it (and all the setups it contains for future movies) and be happy for its existence. That’s a bit ridiculous. I’m glad we have the Snyder Cut, but now when I watch whatever they try to do with the Justice League, I’m just going to (most likely unfavorably) compare it to Snyder’s original plans. And I won’t be alone.
In attempting to satisfy a loud, but potentially small, portion of the fanbase, they’ve only created more division. Now it won’t be DC vs. MCU fans. It will be Snyder fans vs. Warner Brothers fans. I go to the DCEU to get a break from Marvel and watch something different. This mess they’ve created now is not what I had in mind.
Why Do I Own This?
I don’t. I can’t. There is no physical release of this film at the moment. Depending on the special features, I might buy it if it ever gets released. Until then, I plan on subscribing to HBO Max for the foreseeable future, so I’ll have this film available to see whenever I want for a while.
Random Thoughts
I’m not doing the thing where I make notes throughout the entire movie for this one because that would just be too exhausting. This is mainly because of how I normally do it: I watch the movie and as thoughts occur to me, I pause the movie to type them up. This is fucking four hours long. I’m not watching it again and pausing it every few minutes to take notes. I love this movie, but I’m not that dorky. So these will just be more general random things I wanted to mention that didn’t fit in the main article.
To be fair, if Joss Whedon had been given four hours, I think he would have made a pretty great movie, too. It would’ve been very different tonally, and I would still most likely prefer Snyder’s version since he had made the previous movies, but I think he would have made something interesting if given the time. There was no way to turn what was meant to be at least a three hour film into a two film without making it feel incoherent and rushed.
And credit to Snyder for making a very watchable four hour movie. As I said before, it would be easy to cut down the runtime to make the movie more palatable for general audiences, but for a Snyder fan like me, the four hours never felt like a slog.
I dig the Knightmare sequence and even like Leto as the Joker here (I wasn’t a fan of him in Sucide Squad, but I also didn’t hate him in that). So I’m cool with that added bit, but the Martian Manhunter stuff and Deathstroke’s scene with Lex made less sense to me. With Deathstroke, that scene is there solely to set up the solo Batfleck movie which is the least likely thing to happen at this point, so why keep it? I guess it’s just there for the sake of introducing him before we see him again in the Knightmare sequence, but it still feels unnecessary. Speaking of unnecessary, Martian Manhunter feels very tacked on, and I flat out dislike the scene in which he impersonates Martha. So this super powerful alien knows shit’s going down, and his only contribution is to nudge Lois into leaving her apartment more often? It just led to more questions about Manhunter being Swanwick the whole time, like “What the fuck is this dude waiting for?”
Apparently, Snyder wanted to introduce Green Lantern, but Warner Brothers told him he couldn’t, so he changed it to Manhunter. Introducing Green Lantern wouldn’t have made much sense to me, either, unless Swanwick just recently acquired the ring. I don’t know. I just think a lot of stuff at the end was Snyder just dumping whatever he could in there because it was likely the last time he was going to be able to use any of these characters.
Completely forgot J. K. Simmons was Gordon.
Jeremy Irons is an awesome Alfred. His extra moments were nice.
Cool to see more of the ancient Green Lantern in this version, but he went out like kind of a bitch.
I wish they had explained why Darkseid didn’t remember where Earth was. I know Wonder Woman says Earth was just one planet “anonymous among a trillion worlds,” but he’s been there before. Just one parademon couldn’t have made a note or something?
The flashback scene with a young Darkseid (or Uxas at this point) is so fucking good here. This is an R-rated superhero Lord of the Rings.
Man, the Amazons that pulled a hammer shift at the Mother Box temple on the day Steppenwolf showed up are unlucky. Thousands of years of nothing, then he fucking shows up? I imagine one of them was covering for someone kind of like Dante in Clerks, and they yell “I’m not even supposed to be here today!” as the temple collapses.
Man, the janitor that pulled the night shift at the DOD lab the night the parademon showed up is unlucky. I imagine he was covering for his bud, and he yelled “I’m not even supposed to be here today!” as the parademon flew off with him.
Man, the Atlanteans that pulled a Mother Box shift the day Steppenwolf showed up...okay, I’ll stop.
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