Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021 Film) Review

Due to an intense fan campaign and the arrival of HBO Max, Zack Snyder has completed and released his vision of "Justice League."

In broad strokes, the story of "Zack Snyder's Justice League" resembles that of the 2017 cut: Following the death of Superman, Bruce Wayne/Batman is prompted to unite with Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Arthur Curry/Aquaman, Barry Allen/The Flash, and Victor Stone/Cyborg to prevent alien invaders, led by Steppenwolf, from destroying the world through the use of three Mother Boxes.

Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, and Henry Cavill all reprise their respective characters. Other cast members from previous DCEU projects return to play their characters in this film, including Amy Adams' Lois Lane, Willem Dafoe's Nuidis Vulko, Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor, Jared Leto's Joker, Diane Lane's Martha Kent, Connie Nielsen's Hippolyta, and J. K. Simmons' James Gordon. Ciarán Hinds returns to voice Steppenwolf while Ray Porter and Peter Guinness voice Darkseid and DeSaad, respectively.

Zack Snyder directed this new cut of "Justice League." Chris Terrio wrote the screenplay while Deborah Snyder and Charles Roven co-produced the film. Tom Holkenborg, also known as Junkie XL, composed the musical score. HBO Max distributed "Zack Snyder's Justice League." The film's runtime is 242 minutes and has been Rated R - "for violence and some language."

Overall Thoughts

It's an age-old debate among film enthusiasts and filmmakers over who should have final say in a film: the director or the studio financially invested in the project. As it truly is a case-by-case basis, there have been occasions where the studio was right to interfere and other occasions where the director was already on the right track.

The topic is, as many things are about the arts, completely subjective as consumers have different tastes and visions for what should be done in a film. How appropriate then that a major test of creative carte blanche comes from a filmmaker who has consistently divided his audience throughout his career, including yours truly. I am as mixed on Zack Snyder's filmography as many others are, but what got me excited for "Zack Snyder's Justice League" is the prospect of seeing the director get to make his own version of a film, and not just any film: a big-budget, franchise-centric superhero film. As someone who is actively studying filmmaking in college, this idea sparked great interest from me.

"Zack Snyder's Justice League" is double the length of the previous cut of "Justice League" from 2017. Snyder's films have pushed long runtimes in the past, but nothing like what this film has done. Lo and behold, while his "Justice League" does feel its four-hour length, it never once felt like a chore to watch. I believe that's because this film, first and foremost, emanates the passion that a filmmaker should have for their project. There have been films that have not been able to maintain that and have much shorter runtimes. Snyder has complete ownership over it and infuses this film with a strong sense of passion and dedication, which rings true throughout this film.

What this new cut of "Justice League" excels at is how it's able to give proper development to each of the main characters, some of whom had no stake in the previous cut. And, being a Zack Snyder film, it is mostly done visually. The early Victor Stone sequences impressed me most because it takes a character who I had little interest in and gives him the full weight he requires to be a compelling character. On top of the ideas, unlike some of his previous films, he visualizes it in a way that fully takes advantage of the concepts. When you think of what a character like Stone is capable of, you immediately wonder how something like that could be depicted in a film. It's how it’s shown that Stone is distinct as both an individual and an artist’s interpretation of a character.

Directors Patty Jenkins and James Wan reportedly worked with Snyder to make sure his treatment of Diana Prince and Arthur Curry lined up with the continuity of their stand-alone films, so this new cut is able to give the two character arcs that directly lead up to or carry over from their separate adventures. For Diana, her demigod status is on full display, fixing the issue that her character seemed to be more advanced abilities-wise in her stand alone films than in this team-up film. Arthur is an even more interesting case as this film remains his introduction in the DCEU, but Snyder gives him a more sympathetic and humanizing arc that works on its own merits while serving as a perfect lead into his 2018 film. Barry Allen and his comedy choices serve an actual purpose and have better comedic timing. Allen is also portrayed as more further along with his powers, which leads to hard-hitting character and action moments. Ezra Miller is engaging because there is a genuine understanding of who he is, what he's like, and why he would join the league.

Ben Affleck is back to his old, distinguished self in this cut. Mr. "Something is definitely bleeding" has his dignity restored to him this time around and successfully conveys the emotional transition from recluse to leader of the Justice League. There is reason behind why the rest of the league would follow Bruce Wayne, even though he's the only non-powered member of the team. Affleck has heart and humor that is well-placed and works for the character, not against him. Henry Cavill returns without a CG upper lip this time, but his role in this story remains the same. It's all about execution with him as Snyder completes the arc he has built for Clark Kent/Superman across the three films. His character arc about finding where he belongs in this world is finally complete and the moment in which he truly becomes Superman is deeply satisfying.

Ciarán Hinds' Steppenwolf is given a complete renovation, both visually and narratively. There is more substance to this character, even though he is not among the great comic book film villains. Making him the lackey to Ray Porter's Darkseid was a sensible choice, even if both Darkseid and DeSaad, voiced by Peter Guinness, are left hanging for a sequel that is unlikely to happen. Because of this, "Zack Snyder's Justice League" opts to leave everything on the table and that is ultimately why this version of the film as it exists now would have never made it to theaters, regardless of if Snyder had been allowed to see his film through all those years ago. The film throws in everything it possibly can, which renders certain elements like the surprise appearance of another hero and the extended epilogue feeling very tacked on. They're welcome additions, to be sure, since we may never see anything continued from this storyline and they're well-executed under the circumstance, but they do feel like elements that might have been left on the editing room floor had Snyder been allowed to finish the film initially and release it to theaters.

This version of "Justice League" is not rated PG-13 like its predecessor. Instead, it has received an R certification. Despite the fact that it is no different from PG-13 films both past and present, the additions lends more weight to stakes, with characters being pummeled left and right by attacking forces. Diana Prince and Clark Kent benefit most from this as their true power is revealed to us at last, distinguishing themselves among the other league members. Snyder has always excelled at framing and shooting action and what he does here is he always remembers to keep the camera focused on the characters. The choice to maintain close-up shots on the actors’ faces keeps us with them, enabling us to feel their joy or their intensity, depending on the situation. The camera will then pan out to reveal the grand scale on which they operate on, revealing these characters to be the larger-than-life icons they are.

Presented in the 4:3 aspect ratio, "Zack Snyder's Justice League" is a superhero epic with well-drawn characters, a broad and mostly cohesive story, a bombastic musical score, dazzling special effects, and a few loving tributes to the director's late daughter. As I was watching the film, certain key sequences gave me the feeling as though Zack Snyder was embodying his characters in finishing this project. Much like how Victor Stone, in an early sequence, struggles yet succeeds in scoring a touchdown for his football team and making his family proud in the process, Snyder has succeeded in bringing his vision for "Justice League" to full fruition. All, as the last title card says, for his daughter.

Rating: ★★★½

Conclusion

This has been my review of "Zack Snyder's Justice League." Have you seen the film? If you have, share your thoughts in the comments below. I'm Dallin, your resident film fanatic, and I'll return soon with another review. Thank you for reading.