When they announced the Snyder Cut of Justice League, I did not think it was the best idea. Despite my misgivings, I promise you I went into the Snyder Cut with an open mind. Even when some early reviews said it was overly long and devoid of humor, I was determined to make up my mind for myself. How often do I agree with professional reviewers, anyway?
Well, the Snyder cut is overly long, and it really doesn't have enough humor. But honestly? It is the better version of the film. It's more coherent, it's fixes some plot holes, and overall, it just feels more complete.
So I was wrong, I'll cop to that.
That said, I still can't say I love it. Zack Snyder really Snyders his hardest here, and if I was a Snyder fan, I would be in heaven. But Snyder is simply the wrong fit for this property. It takes itself way too seriously. I'm not saying comic book movies shouldn't be serious, but Snyder is going for a "Lord of the Rings" level of epic here, and it's more than I ever needed out of a comic book.
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| I won't lie, I laughed way too hard at this. |
Watching Snyder try and squeeze profoundness out of such goofy characters is like watching a Spongebob Squarepants movie directed by Stanley Kubrick. He overuses slow motion - I mean, like, seriously overuses it. It's justified when it's the Flash, showing his perception of the world while he runs around. But it's used for dramatic reasons way too often. An early scene has Lois Lane buying coffee in slow motion, which is a bit much. I have to wonder how much shorter this movie would be if it took out even half of the slow motion.
And I really can't stand how much Snyder hates color. He uses a sepia-esque style similar to what he did in 300. It's supposed to be artsy, but everything just looks washed out. And guess what, he's also releasing a black & white version. People who hate color shouldn't be making comic book movies.
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| Left: Aquaman. Right: Snyder Cut |
Side note: I'm probably one of the few original generation Star Wars fans who actually prefers the Special Editions. They have their flaws, but I do like the new content. But it is obvious that George Lucas was "fixing" things that bothered him, not things that bothered fans. For example, making the ewoks blink in the Blu-Ray release. I don't think I'd ever heard a SW fan complain that the ewoks didn't blink, but apparently it bothered Lucas.
An even better example is in the Empire Strikes Back. It always bothered Lucas that in one scene we see Vader in Cloud City, and shortly thereafter we see him back on the Star Destroyer. I doubt any viewer ever said, "How did he get back there so quickly?" But it bothered Lucas, who saw it as a plot hole. So in the Special Edition, he went full overkill, showing way too many shots of Vader's shuttle trip back to the Star Destroyer.
Well, Snyder does the same thing here. Why were Batman's gauntlets able to block Parademon blasts? Nobody ever wondered that, ever, because we all know Batman's a master of gadgets. But Snyder felt the need to explain it, with a scene of Batman and Alfred constructing the gauntlets. Anyway, while some of it was unnecessary, a lot of the additions really do make the story work better.
Bottom line? It's a solid movie. Objectively, it's much better than the theatrical version. However, I would happily watch the theatrical version again and again. It's not perfect, but it's kind of fun. I do not intend to watch the Snyder Cut ever again. It's an endurance test, and it's not why I watch superhero movies.
I think Snyder's style works when he has the right subject. I liked Watchmen. But I grew up with these characters, and all I want is a decent Justice League movie made in the same spirit as the MCU. Bright, colorful, optimistic, and most of all, fun.
Still, I do hope that the Snyder fans now have the movie they want. This movie may not be for me, and I'm sad that it will probably be decades before another reboot gives us a Justice League movie that does the team justice.
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