ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE review: The staggering superhero epic was worth the wait

Four years after a mangled version of Justice League limped onto screens, leading to the most vocal (and often toxic) fan movement in the history of pop-culture, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is finally here. It’s almost impossible to assess the quality of the movie on its own given its long and tragic backstory, but there is no denying that in all respects, this blows the 2017 version out of the water. It’s a grandiose, overblown epic that has more in common with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings than say, James Wan’s Aquaman. In this case, the fans were right.

When Zack Snyder left filming Justice League amidst creative differences with the studio to focus on his family, Joss Whedon stepped in to finish up the picture, which should have been a perfect fit for this massive superhero team-up. Whedon had already pulled off a similar feat with 2012’s The Avengers for Marvel Studios, interweaving a number of characters with rousing action set-pieces and plenty of memorable one-liners. Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. The two filmmakers have very different filmmaking styles and even contracting visions of what a superhero movie should be, and Justice League came off as an odd miss-match, a Frankensteined version of a movie with a nearly incoherent storyline that seemed to please no one. (Recent reports have also emerged of Whedon’s abuse behavior on-set, especially with actor Ray Fisher.)

Zack Snyder’s Justice League mostly sticks to the structural bones of the 2017 film but is a vast improvement in every possible way. With its massive 4-hour running time, Snyder is able to offer more time to each of the film’s heroes (Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg), and show how they eventually come together to battle Steppenwolf, a horn-rimmed creature from the planet Apokolips. Steppenwolf is in search of the ultimate McGuffin – in service to his lord Darkseid (the Jack Kirby creation finally makes it to the screen!), he is sent to track down the three mother boxes — ancient sources of power that are capable of unimaginable power when brought together (almost like a series of stones set on an oversized gauntlet).

The newly-expanded running length also spends more time developing an arc for Lois Lane (Amy Adams), in mourning for the loss of Clark Kent/Superman in Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and introduces a number of new supporting characters that each provide a deeper context for the gang of superheroes.

Broken up into six chapters and an epilogue (more on that later), the new super-sized version of Justice League moves along at a steady clip and actually feels shorter than many traditional 2-hour superhero films. Despite juggling a half-dozen main characters and their backstories, Snyder’s over-the-top editing and non-stop action sequences create a sort of welcoming bludgeoning effect on the viewer – so much is happening that the staggering running time never feels like too much of a burden.

That said, this version of Justice League won’t be for everyone. Viewers that have become accustomed to the wholesome MCU films and more recent DC films like Wonder Woman and Aquaman may be surprised at just how gritty Snyder’s Justice League is. Sure, we had a whole violent Batman trilogy from Christopher Nolan, but there’s something inherently ickier about Snyder’s violence in his superhero films.

A self-proclaimed provocateur, Snyder is always eager and willing to push the viewer’s buttons, for better or worse. Personally, I jumped ship on Man of Steel when Snyder felt the need to have Superman kill. That sort of violence wasn’t what I was looking for in a superhero that was always seen as a beacon of hope and justice, but all the more power to those viewers who finally got the gritty version of Superman they were waiting for. Snyder pulls the same sort of trick here, having Wonder Woman blasting someone (albeit, a ruthless terrorist) to bits when she could just as easily lasso him up for the police. It adds nothing to the story or to her character and seems to exist just so Snyder can show how different and “edgy” his take on these classic characters is.

While he may have a skewed understanding of who these characters are at their core, Snyder is a master of scale – many of the shots and action sequences here are outstanding, and reflect Snyder’s impression of these heroes as truly god-like. From his unexpected camera angles to his patented (and often overbearing) use of slow-motion, there are moments in Justice League that really feel like comic book panels come to life.

Presented in a full-frame 4:3 ratio as opposed to the traditional widescreen format, Justice League looks much different than any other superhero movie. The cropped frame (yes, the black bars on both sides of your screen are normal) allows Snyder to get up close with the character’s expressive faces while focusing the audience’s attention on the action during the major battles. It actually works surprisingly well – it may have been intended for IMAX screens (this film must look incredible on an IMAX screen), but it still makes for a unique viewing experience from your couch.

While Snyder’s filmmaking prowess and ability to craft CGI-heavy scenes into memorable action pieces are never in doubt, Justice League is a needlessly dour experience for much of its extended run-time. Apart from the loss of Superman for most of the picture, even seemingly fun character introductions are handled with the somberness and formality of a funeral, filled with excessive slow-motion scenes set to piano-heavy ballads (at least the “Hallelujah” cover was saved for the credits). Part of that dourness comes from Snyder’s handling of the superheroes — they are titanic, almost elemental presences, so it fits that they wouldn’t be cracking self-deprecating jokes for four hours (except for The Flash – he does do that).

Perhaps the biggest news that came out of this new version of Justice League (apart from the fact that the film was actually being released at all) was Snyder’s decision to incorporate Jared Leto as the Joker into the film (Leto played the role in 2016’s Suicide Squad). Without getting into any detailed spoilers, his presence in the film’s epilogue adds nothing to the narrative thrust of the film in any way, and will likely cause more confusion and head-scratching than anything else. It made for loads of fun speculative headlines but comes off as a needless bit of confounding nerd-appeasement that almost derails the mostly coherent movie that we’ve just spent nearly four hours sitting with.

That Zack Snyder’s Justice League exists at all is nearly a miracle. After years of persuasive and exhausting fan pressure, Snyder was able to get a sizable budget to go back and finish a film that he left under terrible circumstances years prior. Justice League is an overwhelming experience in every way. It’s often needlessly dour but offers moments of pure comic book escapism that will remind fans why they fell in love with these iconic characters in the first place. Zack Snyder may be done with the DC universe, but the saga of this strange and ultimately triumphant film will continue to resonate in pop-culture spheres for many years to come.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League arrives on HBO Max on March 18.