Over last weekend I, along with the rest of the world, watched Zack Snyders cut of The Justice League. I cannot begin to describe how much more I enjoyed this cut as opposed to Joss’s. When I watched the Joss cut I was overwhelmingly disappointed and confused. It didn’t feel like a coherent plotline, and none of the characters seemed entirely right either. I remember at the time watching it with my family and remarking “It’s supposed to be the justice league. Why is it the superman show!” Which honestly, it sort of remained that way toward the end of Snyders cut, but this version felt so much more like a team.
They struggled, but ultimately came together, and it wasn’t just because superman walked on screen.
(Just a side nerd comment though, the idea that Superman could so easily beat Diana is ludicrous. In the comic books she beats Superman and Batman multiple times on multiple occasions. He may have special powers from another planet but she is literally the daughter of Zeus. Don’t make characters canonically godkillers if they’re never allowed to actually have that power. Ok rant over.)
There are incredibly beautiful shots, and yes most of them made it into Joss’s cut but they still deserve a mention! I genuinely lost my mind when Wonder Woman came in on a shot of the statue of lady justice. Absolutely inspired. The shot where Aquaman walks to he edge of the dock and is swallowed by waves? Such an incredible moment I could watch it on repeat.
And speaking of great shots, the beginning of the movie showing how Superman’s death echoed throughout the world? A brilliant idea, and brilliantly executed. My only critique is the same any critic will have. It very easily could have cut some parts, and sped up some other parts while keeping the same feeling and point. Nonetheless I enjoyed it greatly.
There was also an overwhelmingly noticeable difference in how Diana was treated in this version. Not only did she feel more engaged in the story, she was also far less objectified which was refreshing to see. It was completely unnecessary for Joss to have reshot scenes JUST so they could get more shots of her ass. I loved seeing her emotions about the amazons, and her interactions with both Bruce and Arthur. Seeing her and Arthur come together and discuss Amazon and Atlantean relationships was honestly entertaining to me. It added a very nice bit of world building.
Speaking of characters having justice done to them. Cyborg had such a larger and intrinsic part of the story I am genuinely enraged it was cut previously. You cannot argue it was for time. Watching the movie myself I saw a thousand ways you could cut the story and still keep in most of these major story themes. Victor was for lack of a better phrasing- done extremely dirty in the Joss cut. He was integral to the story. He is the very reason it progresses, having found one of the blocks, and eventually helping to shut it down, not to mention his visions of a world with Superman gone rogue. He deserved and needed every second of screen time he got.
As for Barry, oh I was so happy with this version of Barry. In Joss’s cut he came across as a bumbling idiot. I remember being enraged about this too. Barry is supposed to be a genius. He’s awkward, but he’s not stupid. He should at least have something there other than his bumbling. In Snyders cut he DOES. You see his desire to go into criminal justice to help his father, you see how incredible his abilities really are, and you see just how much he needs to help people. This is the Barry Allen I know and love.
And it’s not just the heroes who were done better, but the villain as well. In the original Steppenwolf felt like more of the big bad, but I didn’t really feel like he was. I didn’t understand why he was so powerful or what he wanted. Finding out he was a pawn of Darkseid made so much more sense. And yes I’m sure most comic fans caught that, but I did not originally. Overall Zack simply made this character actually feel like he worked though. I still believe Superman being able to take him apart in two seconds when Diana couldn’t is a bit ridiculous, but ultimately he felt like a formidable foe for the team.
As for the final scene, Bruce’s dream? Well that could be a post on it’s own. I’m not going to discuss it here except to say ( SPOILER ALERT) it was a chilling and amazing way of foreshadowing the next part of the story. I genuinely hope we get to see what would actually bring the Joker and Bruce to work together.
Ultimately I believe Snyder’s cut is the best possible cut of The Justice League. It answered so many questions, and raised even more GOOD questions. A film should leave you asking questions for a sequel. Not asking questions about what you just watched in the first place. I am very impressed, and not only will I be keeping an eye out for Zack Snyder films, despite the 4 hour length, I think I want to go ahead and watch it all over again. Joss’s cut made me not want to watch another justice league. Zack Snyder’s makes me never want to stop watching.
What do you all think? Did you enjoy Snyder’s cut? Or do you prefer Joss’s? Do you think I missed anything? Let me know with a comment!
Stay super friends, this is Rev, signing off.
The Analyzer 