Zack Snyder’s Justice League Review

 

Certificate: 15

Running time: 242 minutes 

Starring: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Ray Fisher, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa

Directed by: Zack Snyder 

The story: Director Zack Snyder’s cut of his 2017 film Justice League. 

The verdict: It all started with a hashtag, #releasethesnydercut, after 2017’s Justice League was released to a lacklustre reception. Zack Snyder had been forced to abandon the film during post production after a family tragedy which led to the studio recruiting Joss Whedon to finish the film. The result was a film that no one was particularly happy with and fans became convinced that there was a much better version of the film, if only Snyder had been allowed to release his version and vision.

Fast forward to 2021 and finally the world gets to see the infamous Snyder cut, but is this version better? The answer to that is a categorical yes. 

Every change that has been made is for the better, every sequence which differs from the Whedon cut is for the better - in short, this cut is far superior to the 2017 film in every way. 

The characters are more interesting and given more backstory, in particular it was great to see Cyborg’s character more fleshed out. And the removal of certain dialogue and action also only serves to enhance the characters. For example, in the Whedon cut, there is a moment where Barry lands on top of Diana as well as several scenes where Diana is reduced to awkward flirtation with Bruce. This is removed in the Snyder cut and Diana is allowed to be the noble warrior she is. The villains and their motivations are also so much more intriguing and added characters add moments of exciting recognition for comic book fans.

Visually, I loved the Snyder cut. Snyder uses chiaroscuro to great effect and throughout I just kept thinking how awesome it would have been to have been able to watch this film on the big screen. 

When I first heard that the Snyder cut was going to have a four hour running time, I was worried that the film would prove a massive slog to get through, I couldn’t have been more wrong as the time flew by and actually I could’ve watched more! 

After watching Whedon’s cut in 2017, I wouldn’t have minded seeing a Justice League sequel. Having now seen Snyder’s cut - I WANT to see a Justice League sequel. Snyder’s Justice League is a 242 minute geeky phenomenon.

The rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️