Before I review Zack Snyder’s Justice League, let me do a quick overview of the previous DCEU movies leading up to that film; starting from Man of Steel to Joss Whedon’s Justice League.
Man of Steel
I did not like this movie when I first saw it, but watching it again has made me warm up to it a bit. While the movie has plenty of issues (i.e. Jesus symbolism is not subtle, I do not prefer the lack of colors especially with Superman supposed to be a optimistic and cheerful hero, writing has plenty of problems like how Johnathan Kent raises Clark Kent, and I know you have heard of comic book fans not liking this depiction of Superman), I appreciate the good things that it has: Superman’s coming in terms of his powers and heritage, General Zod is a pretty cool antagonist, and the fighting is awesome despite the endless destruction that will eventually carry to the next movie…poorly. Looking it as a film person and not a DC fan, this is not a bad movie that needs some work here and there.
6/10
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice – Ultimate Edition
Despite adding some new scenes and clearing up some plot holes from the original version, this movie is still a mess. The not-so-subtle Jesus allegory is so shoved right into your face that you might as well put Superman at the cross on a movie poster, the third act is a tremendous mess not helped with huge leaps in logic like how and why Batman and Superman are fighting each other (may I remind you of the “Save Martha!” moment), poor and forced foreshadowing for upcoming DC heroes in the Justice League movie, overuse of CG (which was an issue in the last movie, but this is worse), hypocrisy from both Batman and Superman, and so many changes from the original source materials that comic book fans had once again told you that they do not like (i.e. as a Batman fan, I hate that Batman kills now). Few things made up the movie here and there (i.e. the warehouse action scene is cool without context), but not enough to make up for this mess of a movie even you are looking without the lens of a DC fan.
3/10
Also, if you want to see a film that did the death of Superman better, watch the DCA film: The Death of Superman.
Suicide Squad – Extended Cut
There was a line in this movie, “What if Superman had decided to fly down, rip off the roof of the White House, and grab the President of the United States right out of the Oval Office? Who would have stopped him?” If that is supposed to be the premise of the Suicide Squad or Task Force X, I fail to see how they would take on Superman unless if they have magic or kryptonite. Even then, this movie is a bigger mess than I remember. None of these characters are interesting or have an arc (debatably El Diablo may have, but not delivered well), the writing is boring and messy, the tone is inconsistent, and there are plenty of setup with little to no payoff. The extended version does little to remedy the situation: this movie just sucks.
3/10
Wonder Woman
The only good DCEU film (besides Aquaman, Shazam!, and Man of Steel to a certain extent), Wonder Woman actually has some great elements compared to her predecessors: Wonder Woman has a good arc from being naïve to becoming wise, the lesson on seeing the best of humanity despite their complications, and some pretty cool action scenes. However, Gal Gadot’s acting, the third act, and some pacing issues hold this film back for me. This is what the DCEU should be: not only good film, but also an uplifting one for a hopeful hero.
7/10
Justice League (2017)
Considering this the movie that is supposed to bring a group of superheroes together to stop a big evil, it is just OK…and that is not a good thing. The new heroes that are introduced here are barely fleshed out making it hard to care for them; Steppenwolf is the worst DCEU villain with all his talking about his mother, and Superman can defeat him by himself; and the tone’s constant change from serious to comedic can really interfere with the story as a whole (especially since many of the reshoots by Joss Whedon puts in his popular gags into a film universe that is usually serious). It is an improvement over some of the DCEU movies (some callbacks to some of the old DC movies via music were nice), but not enough to be considered as good as any of the Avengers films.
5/10
With all of those movies out of the way, let’s finally review Zack Snyder’s vision of his Justice League film.
Pros:
1.) There are so many things that have been fixed from the original, so let’s start with the characters. Given that this is a four-hour film, the characters are fleshed out more than ever, especially the newcomers. While Batman and Wonder Woman have better reasons to take action against Steppenwolf (more on that character later), the other three members: Aquaman, Flash, and Cyborg have greater motivations that are shown throughout the film. The best out of all of the Justice League members is Cyborg who has a great in-depth arc from his relationship with his father to recovering from his death to his connection to the Mother Boxes. While the original Justice League made their characterizations vague, unclear, or poorly fleshed out; this version did them justice (pun completely intended).
2.) Steppenwolf was the least interesting villain in the DCEU in the original, but the Zack Snyder version is actually intimidating and has some depth to him. While he may not be the most interesting villain you may ever see, I will take him over his original counterpart who talks first, attacks later while constantly sputtering about his mother. His motivations make more sense with his service and his fear to Darkseid being obvious as he finds the Mother Boxes. Steppenwolf also kills plenty of people ruthlessly and does not play around nor wastes time. Also, I like his new design more than his previous one. Good job on making a villain who was pathetic in the original into a challenging force for the Justice League in this version.
3.) The original Justice League was all over the place in terms of tone and writing. It wanted to be serious and funny as well as introducing new characters alongside older ones, but that movie became an inconsistent action fluff that did not know what it wants to be. The Zack Snyder version knows what it is: a serious film (with little to no comedy that still fit into the narrative) that introduces and spends time with these new characters that have their own reasons on why they would join Batman and Wonder Woman to fight against Steppenwolf. There are so many plot and character points that has improved that I will list a few here: Batman is no longer an idiot, Superman’s resurrection has better weight and thought in the plot, the final battle is actually tense and worrying, etc. I am amazed that Joss Whedon thought his version is much better than Zack Snyder’s, because this is superior than the original.
Cons:
1.) There is one character that appears in this film that I will not spoil who it is, but he is such a huge tease that I think he should have been saved later in a film or have him placed in the after credits scene like Marvel does with their films when they foreshadow something (I know there is an Epilogue Chapter, but it seems more fitting to be in the after credits instead). He makes one appearance in the middle of the film and another one at the end, and I just wonder, “Why isn’t he participating with the Justice League?” I know it is foreshadowing the upcoming DCEU films, but I will explain why I have a problem with that in the last con. I do not see why he should not have been involved unless there is something that is not explained in this film, so I think he has little to no reason being there.
2.) If I have to pick one character that has the weakest arc, that would be Aquaman. While his reason for joining was decently fleshed out, after that, he just tags along while interacting with the other Justice League members. Especially what happens with the Flash and Cyborg later into the film, Aquaman does not seem to be that spectacular in terms of character arcs. There could have been more done with him like say he continues to interact with Wonder Woman considering that Atlanteans and Amazonians had been at war with each other once (he is half-Atlantean and does not care about his race at that point, but more could have been done here). My best guess to why the film does not do much with him is because literally after the Justice League film is the Aquaman film. It would have been better if it did more to him character-wise.
3.) I am not a fan of the foreshadowing that the film is making here. While one foreshadowing of Cyborg seeing a possible future is good, the epilogue’s foreshadowing I am not a fan. It seems forced when after all the events of the film is done, the last half of the epilogue spends plenty of time of what is going to happen next when it should have been an after-credits scene. That is the only scene I really dislike since it feels like the pacing kind of slowed down (I know it is on the end, but it still feels rough). On a bright note, I hope to see what happens in the next Justice League…hopefully.
Overall:
Sorry it took so long for me to review this film; I wanted to watch the DCEU movies preceding this film to prepare and remind myself what happened before the events of Justice League. Anyways, the original Justice League directed by Joss Whedon was only OK, but it should have been so much better considering this is a big superhero crossover film. With demands by fans to make a Zack Snyder cut version of the Justice League, that cut is finally made after four years since the original was released…and it was well worth the wait. While not a masterpiece, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is leagues better than the original (pun intended once again). All the characters are fleshed out (especially Cyborg), the writing and direction are done well, and it makes audiences excited for more DCEU films (good ones, not the bad ones). While I am still not a fan of some of the direction and choices like the monotone colors and Snyder’s depiction of Batman, this is what Justice League should have been. For those who have been waiting for a good Justice League film or have been wanting the Zack Snyder cut just like Marvel fans who have been wanting an Avengers film in the past, this film is well worth the wait.
8/10
benzeyeview 