Snyder Cut Justice League — Thoughts
Alright. Like so many Snyder fans and Justice League fans, I managed to watch this movie just now. God! It was a really long movie. I had to take multiple breaks, pausing and resuming constantly. It is definitely an epic experience.
I wrote before [read — Watching SnyderCut Justice League in India — BookMyShow Stream] that I was one of those guys who thoroughly enjoyed the 2017 Justice League. Watching it multiple times in IMAX. The movie was some kind of an odd mashup between Snyder’s vision and Josh Whedon’s craft, and it showed. I was particularly upset with the weird CGI mouth of Henry Cavill.
Otherwise, I liked 2017 Justice League. Just seeing all my DC heroes together on screen…its an awesome feeling. Even if, it wasn’t that good.
More Time More Story
I was always going to be one of those DC fans who is easily pleased. So, this movie was definitely what I expected in terms of how improved it will be. Probably because, Snyder already did this before, two times.
- First Time — Watchmen extended cut.
- Second Time — Batman v Superman extended cut.
- Now, Third Time. — Justice League extended Snyder cut.
It’s like Snyder cannot help himself from making his movies long. He wont give up on that. He will dig really deep into the source material. He will make the plot complicated with too many moving parts. He will also have these elaborately designed action set pieces, which are also very long.
Then, he goes to Warner Bros with these 3 to 4 hour or 6 hour cuts. Then, the executives have no choice but to order him to cut it down. He is already 50 plus years old. He’s not going to change now. I am not trying to side with the studios but it must be a pain working with Snyder.
He makes these amazing movies, but they are simply too long. Watchmen suffered from it. Batman v Superman suffered from it. Justice League obviously suffered from it. Each time, the extended cut is better. It has to be. The guy loves making really long movies, which are primarily designed for home video watching. Warner Bros is probably used to this by now.
So, what happens in this one?
It’s the same story we already saw. Bruce Wayne is riddled with guilt and is putting together a team to fight off dark forces. Diana is already in. Barry Allen is more than happy to join. Arthur and Victor do the usual ‘reluctant to answer the call’ thing before joining forces.
Superman comes back from dead, without his fake CGI mouth, and totally kicks ass. It’s the same outline. The additional 2 hours is all about fleshing out character scenes.
Victor Stone and Barry Allen get a lot of extra screen time to showcase what is going on in their lives. You really feel for Cyborg. That dude has gone through a lot. He really is the key character for this entire movie. Flash, finally looks cool. He is funny but at least, he does not have to deal with some lame family scenes like in that 2017 version. Thank god, that’s gone.
More importantly, the bad guys in this movie are really scary. Steppenwolf is really bad ass and looks terrific. DarkSeid, whoa, he is terrifying. Both of these folks get a lot of backstory, dialogues and motivation. There is none of that mother stuff that Steppenwolf was going on and on in the 2017 version.
Here, he is trying to get back into the good books of his boss. That is something which is easy to relate. He is like this guy, who has lost his reputation. His old team members no longer trust him. He is trying to restore his place. That makes a lot of sense, and he is very well acted. He’s all CGI like before, but he seems more real.
The Awful Stuff and Final Note
The key word is “relatively better”. I am a big time Snyder fan. Visually, the movie is amazing. As usual, in all of his extended cuts, including this one, the story is better told and the plot is 100 % coherent.
Then again, there are endless slow motion sequences. He cannot seem to stop himself from doing that. Also, Batfleck is no where as jacked up as he was when he was making the movies in 2017. The scene at the end where he meets a new super hero, he is so “normal size”, he cannot be Batman. Less than 24 hours ago, in movie time, he was this jacked up dude. Now, he is this very thin, guy. That was jarring to see.
Still though, like all of his extended cuts, this was another job well done. I fully expect to watch this edition again and again. Having said that, I will continue to watch the 2017 version also. I like them both. I really do.
I work as a full time freelance software developer and coding tutor. Hire me at UpWork or Fiverr. My personal website is here. I also have a Podcast. Thanks for reading.
