Zack Snyder's Justice League may not change anyone's mind about Snyder's DCEU but it's much more refined and cohesive than the film's theatrical cut.
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The story behind Zack Snyder's Justice League is a saga unto itself. Shot in 2016, the filmmaker's early cut of the movie was heavily retooled by Joss Whedon, who took over post-production after Snyder left in the wake of the death of his daughter, Autumn (to whom Snyder's cut is dedicated). Whedon's Justice League was then branded a clunky mashup of two artistic styles, leading to a successful fan campaign to restore Snyder's intended vision. And while the latter's Justice League may not change anyone's minds about his approach to the so-called DC Extended Universe, it's much more refined and cohesive than Whedon's film.
At its core, Zack Snyder's Justice League has the same plot as the theatrical release: Batman (Ben Affleck), his faith in humanity restored by Superman's (Henry Cavill) sacrifice, sets out to assemble a team of super-powered individuals to deal with the impending threat Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) warned him of in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. What separates Snyder and Whedon's movies, beyond their respective four- and two-hour runtimes, is tone, craftsmanship and depth of storytelling. Snyder's Justice League is also dense with setup for what were then planned future DCEU projects, including Aquaman, Affleck's abandoned The Batman and the original version of The Flash/Flashpoint. In some cases, the added world-building serves the movie's standalone narrative and character arcs. Other times, however, these elements are more or less extraneous to what Justice League is about.
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That said, from a purely technical perspective, there's no question Zack Snyder's Justice League is the better version of the film. Gone are the choppy edits, rushed visual effects and ungainly tonal shifts from the movie's theatrical cut. Danny Elfman's score from Whedon's Justice League has also been replaced by Tom Holkenborg's orchestrations, which revisit musical themes from Snyder's earlier DCEU movies in ways that enhance the story while at the same time giving the Justice League heroes their own rockin' leitmotif. The sweeping cinematography by Director of Photography Fabian Wagner similarly carries over the grittier, bleaker visuals of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman while allowing room for lighter shades. In doing so, the film's imagery enhances its themes about finding hope in times of darkness through reaching out and building trust with others.
The idea that heroes are people who overcome their personal demons to do good resonates strongly in Zack Snyder's Justice League, and nowhere is that more apparent than in Cyborg's storyline. Whereas Whedon's skipped over showing how Victor Stone (Ray Fisher) became Cyborg and flattened his emotional arc, Snyder's covers the full extent of his hero's journey, to much more powerful effect. That is largely achieved through the way the movie parallels Cyborg's story and relationship with his father, Silas (Joe Morton), with that of Superman and his two fathers, both narratively and aesthetically. Snyder's Justice League digs equally deep into the human sides of Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and The Flash (Ezra Miller), adding more weightiness to their actions than they had in the theatrical cut. Thankfully, that character drama takes the place of all the juvenile comedy Whedon wedged into his iteration, with the young, excitable Flash serving up plenty of organic humor on his own.
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However, for many the major sticking point with Zack Snyder's Justice League will be its continuation of the filmmaker's deconstructive reading of DC's most famous superheroes. For example, the film's harsher take on Diana and the Amazons fits with Snyder's vision from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, yet will probably rub those who preferred Diana's relatively humane fighting techniques in Wonder Woman 1984 the wrong way. The same goes for the portrayal of the Justice League (even the optimistic Flash) as tortured individuals willing to resort to bloodshed in combat and curse under pressure, allowing the film to earn its R rating. There's also the matter of Snyder's tendency to utilize slow-motion and dramatic-shot compositions to bring a sense of gravity that would otherwise be lacking in certain moments, based on the quality of his films' scripts. He's guilty of doing that at times here, particularly during a sequence involving Jared Leto's Joker -- one of only two new scenes Snyder added to his initial cut.
As with so many of the surface-level differences between Snyder and Whedon's versions, like Steppenwolf's far less human-like appearance in the former, viewers' take on Zack Snyder's Justice League will depend on what they expect to get out of it. Because the movie feels like a true sequel to Man of Steel and Batman v Superman in ways Whedon's version did not, it ought to satisfy those wanted to see the next chapter in Snyder's DCEU saga in its purest form, rather than one that's been turned into a patchwork of directorial styles. Even those who disagree with Snyder's interpretation of DC's finest on a fundamental level may appreciate the smaller improvements here, like the absence of the infamous shot from Whedon's film where the camera ogles Diana. It might even change their minds a little about Snyder's work after all.
Zack Snyder's Justice League stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Ray Porter as Darkseid, Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. The film arrives March 18 on HBO Max.
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