Zack Snyder's Justice League - New Release Review

This could legitimately be one of the most important movies in film history, as there may never be another movie that reflects the general pop-culture of its time. The power of the internet’s voice, the waste of disposable money on fixing doomed projects, the appeal of auteur works in our modern day, and how a meme and hashtag can turn into something that not even a pandemic can stop.

All that is superfluous of the film’s quality, and I wanted to get that right out of the way. The main question is “Is it good?”. And the answer is…surprisingly good. I was actually kind of shocked at how good this movie was.

I really didn’t like the original cut of Justice League. Even at a shorter runtime, it felt like it was packed with filler, plot holes and meaningless crap. But I wasn’t excited for this version of Justice League, either, as I thought the central movie was so bad that nothing could totally fix it. Additionally, the similar “Ultimate Edition” of Batman vs. Superman, also by Zack Snyder, added nothing to the final product but extended some scenes. I was expecting another 2 hours (because yes, this is a 232-minute long movie edited out of a 120-minute long one) of random filler and extension of shots that added nothing. I was wrong.

Somehow, the 4-hour version of this film has less filler and is more focused overall than the 2-hour version. Each additional scene is with the intent of world-building and character development, giving each member of the cast a stronger sense of humanity and depth. It’s still suffering from pacing issues in the first part (because this is a movie divided into 6 parts and an epilogue), but mostly it feels more focused and more impactful as a result.

Part of that runtime is also devoted to exposition and actually explaining for the audience these really convoluted concepts very well, unlike the original version where things just happened for no reason. Some of it’s heavy-handed, but the movie somehow feels more adult and more coherent for the addition of these scenes. There’s a better sense of scale generated in this movie and it makes it feel suitably more epic.

Now, of course, the next question to answer is “Does this demonstrate that Zack Snyder’s vision was compromised from the original version?”. The answer is mostly yes – the vast majority of scenes from the original cut are re-edited in some way, or the CGI/design has changed, or there’s an entirely new scene explaining background information. There are some scenes which are shot-for-shot from the original cut, like the scene where Superman goes rogue, but mostly it feels like a very different movie.

And Zack Snyder’s direction of visuals in this movie is brilliant. The original cut was ugly and visually bland in most scenes, but Snyder flexes his visual and artistic intuition to his full extent for this film. Shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio to give an almost arthouse look, the movie is full of striking action sequences with great use of colour juxtaposed with the dark backgrounds to make it more distinct. Many of the visual effects and even the sound effects have been touched up, allowing Snyder to fully realise his unique vision for a world of superheroes. It’s indulgent to a fault, but still way better than the theatrical version.

Additionally, the score for this movie by Junkie XL is awesome. It sounds similar to his work on Mad Max: Fury Road, but it’s still original and feels way better than the theatrical version’s unmemorable score. Just wanted to give a quick shoutout there.

In regard to those heroes, the original cut didn’t feel like it had solid development for any of them, but this version ensures that every single one gets a well-developed character arc. In particular, Ray Fisher as Cyborg has an excellent story of pain and acceptance which is supported very well by his performance, and Superman now feels like more than the convoluted McGuffin that he was in the original cut. All characters get a decent injection of humour and humanity as well, with Ezra Miller actually being funny in this version and Jeremy Irons as Alfred still a perfect casting choice.

And the villains are now suitably imposing and an actual challenge. Steppenwolf (no longer looking like a Billy Goat) now has a backstory and desires that make him more compelling, and his henchmen now look visually so much better. Additionally, Steppenwolf’s masters aren’t shoehorned into the movie for sequel-bait – they feel necessary too, considering the original cut didn’t show them and Steppenwolf just came off like an angry guy.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League still has problems though. Easily the most obvious is the compositing of CGI (a problem caused by remote VFX work in the pandemic) which is laughably bad. I was actually hooting a few times at the early scenes, and it continued throughout the whole movie. Some of it’s good, some of it’s awful.

As I already mentioned, the early parts also suffer from odd pacing and exposition issues, and the movie as a whole has some truly hilarious product placement for Hyundai (I was also laughing at that a few times).

But the pros far outweigh the cons here. This version of Justice League is infinitely better than the main cut, actually moving and epic in scale and truly indicative of a director in total control of his vision. It surprised me so much how good this was, and while I may not agree that it should exist from a standpoint of “giving in to internet trolls”, I still think that this a really good superhero film.

I’m giving this version of Justice League a B+.

I will note though, that scene with Joker where he says “We live in a society” that became a meme from the trailer…He doesn’t actually say that line in the film. Which makes me wonder if Warner Bros put it in the trailer to create an internet meme to garner more interest around the film, which is a demented kind of genius.

Anyway, you can watch this movie in Australia on Binge. I downloaded a free trial for it and immediately cancelled it after watching this, so that was pretty easy. Just make sure you have 4 hours of free time (or learn the time-stamps of the film’s multiple intermissions) if you want to watch it.

What did you think of this review? Leave your answers in the comments below.