WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, now streaming on HBO Max.
It’s no surprise that with a vast portion of fans who demanded Zack Snyder’s Justice League be released pleased, they’d then lobby for Warner Bros. to #RestoreTheSnyderVerse. After all, this version is confirmation that the studio and Joss Whedon worked together to sabotage what Snyder laid down before the project. However, after soaking in every bit of this four-hour-long “epic,” this film is proof Snyder’s vision shouldn’t be continued.
Sure, there are some redeeming moments in the movie, most of which are centered around Cyborg’s family and his eventual robotic turn and Diana’s Amazons getting a fuller arc tied to Darkseid’s invasion. But other than that, there’s not much here that will put the DC Extended Universe anywhere near Marvel Studios, which is nailing everything it puts out.
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The DCEU can’t replicate this, but it has to go forward. And sadly, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a major step backward, mostly because it doesn’t have a cohesive story. In truth, being better than the disjointed theatrical effort isn’t anything to boast about, especially not when there are several plot holes, such as Lois and Batman outing Clark as Superman to cops and Cyborg not being able to hack heat-seeking satellites on the fly. In addition, the film’s dialogue’s rough, there’s an overuse of slow motion and there are a few shoehorned cameos that just feel entirely out of place.
With his cut, Snyder’s just pandered to people who enjoy his vision, which is made evident by the Knightmare scene that comes off like an incoherent fan film. Warner Bros. knows better than to stick to this, especially because the rate of return will stay low if any movies release in theaters with an R rating. A major aspect of these movies involves selling characters like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman to kids and new viewers. There’s no way the studio would course correct Shazam!, Aquaman and Wonder Woman, which all feature lightheartedness, humor and warmth, to something dark and gritty younger audiences can’t partake in.
Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice was a clear indicator of that, which is why the studio pushed the panic button. The DCEU can’t make the same mistake twice, especially for a movie that just applies bandages to previous flaws. Ultimately, the barometer for success shouldn’t be hashtags, mentions, retweets and marketing metrics being hit, and if Warner Bros. wants to come close to its competition, inspirational and uplifting content is the way to go.
In truth, Snyder’s vision just doesn’t feel like it can be a critical or financial hit in the future. If social media hype was the thing that broke office records, this would be a different conversation, but the DCEU needs to learn from past mistakes and push forward with a brighter universe.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League stars Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Ray Porter as Darkseid, Ciarán Hinds as Steppenwolf, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon. The film is currently available on HBO Max.
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