In 2017 we had the cinematic release of DCs Justice League, featuring an ensemble cast of super heroes that was supposed to really get the so called DCU rolling. Unfortunately it was plagued by problems, with original director Zack Snyder leaving the project and being replaced by Joss Whedon, resulting in endless re-shoots and who knows what else. Predictably the film wasn’t great and was panned by critics and fans alike and while I admit I do kind of enjoy it when I watch it, I often found myself wondering about what could have been.
The call for the Snyder cut to be released began almost immediately, it had its own hashtag and had support from Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot and the rest of the cast. I genuinely didn’t think it would happen, why would Warner Bros and DC put time, money and effort into finishing and releasing something that undermines what was released and was canon to films released before and after it?
But #releasethesnydercut gathered momentum and in February 2020 Warner Bros decided they would go ahead with it, with initial reports of it being a mini series giving way to confirmation from Snyder himself that it would be an eye watering 4 hour film to be released March 2021.
So. Was it worth the wait? The time? The hype? For me, no. Not really. The run time is daunting, but not really a problem as the film is nicely broken down into easier to digest chapters. As for the story? It’s really not that different to what was released in 2017, yes some scenes are different, more detailed, arguably better, but the end product is the same and the areas that did need work and improvement, like the CGI (cartoonish at best) weren’t touched. There also seems to be a lot of sequences in this film that just don’t matter, the one that springs to mind is a sequence where Barry Allen (the Flash) saves Iris West from a car crash. It’s visually stunning, it really is, but it has no impact on the story whatsoever and isn’t mentioned or alluded to again once it’s done. My other main problem with this version is the slow motion sequences, I genuinely think that if they were all played at real speed then this film would be under 2 hours.
For me the biggest highlight of this version was Cyborg, played by the amazing Ray Fisher. I admit I don’t know much about the character and didn’t learn that much about him in the 2017 version, but here his story is beautifully told and creates a character that is the heart of the Justice League. After seeing this it was much easier to see why Fisher felt so aggrieved by Warner Bros after the 2017 release.
Speaking of characters I don’t know, I found it really interesting to get to see Darkseid, he really is impressive, sadly for him and this film we meet him post Infinity War/End Game and he just comes across as a knock off version of Thanos. I liked seeing more story behind Steppenwolf, who cuts quite a tragic and desperate character in this version as well as being an absolute beast. I don’t know what it is with Steppenwolf, but I don’t get what I want from villains from him and I can’t not see him as a low-key Loki from Avengers Assemble.
Despite the epic runtime, this version feels no more finished that what we saw in 2017 and I’d argue it feels even less finished. This is probably down to the original plan for this story was for a trilogy, or at the very least 2 films, which possibly explains some of the scenes in this that don’t go anywhere. There is a “nightmare” scene at the end of this film which suggests Snyder had/has big plans and for me it’s the best part of this film. Unfortunately it’s followed by a scene featuring the Martian Manhunter which feels so clunky I can actually feel my teeth grinding at the thought of it!!
#restorethesnyderverse is already trending and while this didn’t exactly blow my mind, there was enough there to keep me interested. I even watched it in one sitting! (Go me!). The worry is that I don’t think Warner Bros could get this cast together again. Cavill is annoyingly quiet on his future as Superman. Ben Affleck is almost certainly finished as Batman. I can’t see Ray Fisher returning as Cyborg. Ezra Miller has his stand alone Flash movie and I’m sure there will be future Wonder Woman and Aquaman films, so Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa are likely to be secure. But a Justice League movie with no Superman or Batman?? Not for me I’m afraid.
I guess only time will tell…..
Dead Mans Chest 