After years of fan petitions and campaigns, Zack Snyder has finally been able to deliver his vision of Justice League, properly titled Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and it’s now streaming exclusively on HBO Max.
Determined to ensure Superman’s ultimate sacrifice was not in vain, Bruce Wayne aligns forces with Diana Prince with plans to recruit a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions. The task proves more difficult than Bruce imagined, as each of the recruits must face the demons of their own pasts to transcend that which has held them back, allowing them to come together, finally forming an unprecedented league of heroes. Now united, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg, and The Flash may be too late to save the planet from Steppenwolf, DeSaad, and Darkseid and their dreadful intentions.
Now, I didn’t completely hate the theatrical release of Justice League, but I was super excited to see what Snyder’s original vision for the film was. With a runtime of 4 hours and 2 minutes, this is by far one of the longest films I have ever watched since Avengers: Endgame. I managed to watch the movie consistently with no breaks and the film actually went by pretty quickly and there was not a single moment that bored me. The state-of-the-art visual effects were stunning and intensified the outstanding, and sometimes gory, action sequences.
I was mostly curious how the director’s cut was going to be told within 4 hours without being stretched or dragged out and luckily that didn’t happen. It felt for like an experience than a feature-length film. The film is unquestionably a lot better than what was released in 2017, and while some of the scenes from the original film are still used, the amount of originality and excitement Snyder brings to the table deserves applause. His chemistry and trust in the cast are reflected beautifully in their performances. And the new redesigned Steppenwolf feels deadlier and spectacular compared to the original film. And hearing Wonder Woman’s theme song during a few of her scenes was next level.
Making the decision to tell this story in different parts allowed Snyder to develop his story and the characters properly. A lot of the characters are given more of a backstory makes the story much better. For films this long, they tend to move at a slower and dramatic pace, and while there were some slow moments Snyder adds enough action to it that you really don’t even notice the slow parts. Plus, the visuals are just so stunning that I would classify the Snyder Cut as a visual masterpiece.
Plus, the epilogue gives you some exciting surprises and wraps up the film nicely that should leave viewers satisfied but definitely wanting more. Having spent 4 hours with the film without feeling bored or dissatisfied, the wait for this director’s cut was totally worth it. I just hope Zack Snyder gets the opportunity to do the sequels he had planned after this film.
