Tonight I finished watching the long awaited and, quite frankly, didn't think it would ever come to fruition Zack Snyder cut of his vision of Justice League. The fans screamed, petitioned, demanded, etc. that we see his complete version of the movie, and finally, he completed it and here it is. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely!!!! Snyder's version of the film is miles better than the uneven Frankenstein mess we got in 2017 that was recut and re-shot by Joss Whedon.
At it's core its still the same film as far as the story goes. Steppenwolf is still on a mission to collect the 3 motherboxes and bring chaos to the planet Earth. What we get different, however, is so much. For starters, this one clocks in at a little over 4 hours. Warner Brothers had demanded that the film be cut down to a 2 hour time slot, and after Snyder had to step down due to family tragedy, they brought in Joss Whedon to add dialogue, reshoot some scenes, complete and "polish" it. The result was an embarrassment that tainted the DCEU's already unstable reputation. In their effort to try to mimic the Marvel formula, then ended up with one stinking pile of shit. Thankfully, this version erases pretty much everything that made the Whedon cut so awful.
The story, this time around, is much more coherent. Plot points are explained better and flow more smoothly. The extra time allows for more character development, especially for Cyborg. His backstory is better fleshed out, making him a much more important and integral part of the team. We see flashbacks of his accident, why and how he got turned into a cyborg, his internal struggles with trauma, adjusting to his new life and his complicated feelings for his father, and a better understanding of his abilities and how they work. In addition, the others get additional time to have their stories and motives expanded as well . One of my biggest pet peeves of the theatrical cut was that everyone was basically useless until Superman shows up. The Snyder Cut corrects this; Wonder Woman is more of a badass, Aquaman is less of a dumb bro, Batman contributes more other than shooting and running, and The Flash, while still a dorky nerd, also contributes significantly more as opposed to just "pushing people and running away". His abilities and powers are just as important as Cyborg's in order to achieve their mission of stopping Steppenwolf.
And speaking of Steppenwolf, he's significantly better in this version, more of a threat and less of a one-note forgettable villain. His motivations are clearer and he oozes more menace and gravitas. Even more significant is the inclusion of Darkseid to the story; he plays a bigger role in this (or should I say he simply plays a role, as the 2017 version pretty much omitted his involvement). When either of them showed up on screen, you actually felt tension.
The action scenes are greatly improved, more violent, brutal and intense. The sequence where Wonder Woman thwarts the goons at the bank is enhanced by added footage. When she explodes through the doors, this time she's not messing around and seriously fucks them up. Steppenwolf taking the motherbox from the Amazons, the flashback to the big battle in the past, the rescuing of the hostages from Steppenwolf and his parademons, and the final battle are all epic. They flow better, are more exciting and leave you satisfied yet wanting more. And finally, this version is more serious and cuts most of the lame jokes. The bits of humor that are present fit well and aren't jarring, nor take you out of the film.
Zack Snyder's Cut of Justice League is a shining example of how sometimes studios need to back off and allow the filmmakers to do their thing. Studio interference fucked up the theatrical release, as well as Suicide Squad. Due to Warner Brothers' attempts to make the DCEU a carbon copy of Marvel, they've created an uneven, inconsistent series of films that vary wildly from one to the next. This new version of JL is not a perfect film by any means, but it's a significant improvement that smooths out and undoes the damage done to the 2017 version. What the Snyder Cut means for the future of the DCEU is anyone's guess, but i'm glad we got to see it. It's a much better movie.
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