Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
Doing the League Justice…
Zack Snyder’s uncompromised vision for the film teaming up DC Comics’ biggest icons is as surprising as it is solid.
Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa and Ezra Miller
Released by Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO Max
Written by Chris Terrio (screenplay), Zack Snyder and Will Beall (story)
Directed by Zack Snyder
Zack Snyder’s best DC Comics-based film is his version of Justice League, and he should’ve had the chance to fully realize that eventuality by maintaining control over the film from beginning to end.
As someone who is – and remains – critical of his previous work in adapting these characters, particularly as it pertains to his second outing with them, I am immensely relieved to say that his version of Justice League does a solid and respectable job of forwarding and resolving many of the narrative threads that were set up by the previous film.
While I still stand by the assertions I have previously made about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as it pertains to that films’ characterizations of its two primary heroes, thankfully Justice League as presented in this director’s cut does show that in the cases of both Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent, they have learned from – and grown beyond – what they each went through in a way that makes both heroes far more recognizable to longstanding characterizations than, arguably, either of Snyder’s previous films.
That notwithstanding though, on its own merits Zack Snyder’s Justice League is nothing short of a tour-de-force for anyone who has been devoted to the core characters and cosmic concepts of DC Comics, introduced by creators like Gardner Fox and especially Jack Kirby. While parts of this film do needlessly descend into sequences of overwrought melodrama in places, Zack Snyder’s Justice League clearly stands as the clearest, most well-executed justification of what it means to lean into the stoic iconography of DC’s biggest characters.
Some time soon after the events of Dawn of Justice, an ancient advanced technology awakens following the death of Superman (Henry Cavill) and sends a signal to a warrior from the planet Apokolips, Steppenwolf (played by Ciarán Hinds), who is seeking to ingratiate himself once more to the planet’s ruler, the New God despot Darkseid (played by Ray Porter). Detecting that Earth – which long ago had defied Darkseid’s attempt to conquer it through the efforts of humans, Atlanteans, Amazonians and the Old Gods led by Zeus and Ares – is now without proper defenders, Steppenwolf seeks to reclaim the awoken power buried in the Earth to do what Darkseid had failed to do thousands of years earlier.
Meanwhile, fueled by a renewed faith granted by witnessing the sacrifice of Superman, Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck) and Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) seek to unite with three other powerful beings to repel an alien evil that they will all come to know is represented by Steppenwolf and Apokolips. When Steppenwolf arrives and begins his efforts to claim the ancient power in the form of three advanced machines called “Mother Boxes,” he discovers an even greater prize sought by Darkseid that will bring the full wrath of Apokolips to Earth very soon, threatening to overwhelm the planet and the fledgling alliance of new heroes facilitated by Batman and Wonder Woman.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League features a more truthful, determined presentation of Batman (played by Ben Affleck), as well as a far more tonally consistent performance owing to the complete use of original footage.
The World’s Finest
Stoic iconography as we also saw in Man of Steel and Dawn of Justice does strike a better chord in this film. Where this effort really succeeds in comparison to Snyder's previous DC-based films, though, is that it feels like it’s more rooted in human concerns and the necessity that Bruce Wayne/Batman understands is needed to combat the forces of evil that have placed Earth in their crosshairs: the world needs a team of powerful, exceptional people to face the threats that are coming, and the only way to do that effectively is through trust in others and faith in a larger, shared goal: two primary things that Batman lost in his 20-year career as a crimefighter as we learned during the events of Dawn of Justice.
Batman’s character arc in this version of the film is not only more tonally consistent, but emphasizes his heroism in a way that was virtually absent in Snyder’s prior film. Not only is Batman’s presence here additionally consistent in terms of his characterization, but it goes without saying that the performance is similarly enhanced by using originally-shot footage, as well as new material that has been created by the original director and creative team. The Batman of Zack Snyder’s Justice League has come through a period of darkness to take new responsibility to arrive in a better place psychologically and emotionally, and it’s great to see.
In terms of Affleck’s performance, he brings the trademark belief and intensity (albeit in a less toxic and self-destructive way) to this Batman, and the film and the team it revolves around is all the better for it.
Superman (Henry Cavill) has resolved much of his loneliness and isolation to embrace his humanity in a way that feels satisfying when juxtaposed with the lows experienced in Snyder’s previous film, which makes for a Man of Steel who feels more truthful to the beacon of heroism only previously glimpsed in the director’s work.
One of the things that enchanted me about the 2017 cut of Justice League released in theaters isn’t necessarily the film itself. As I said in my original review, that movie is very clearly a “sloppy, patched together and haphazard” mess. What won me over about it, though, was that the film’s characterization of Superman was something I had sorely wanted to see from a modern film. Even taking all of the quality trade-offs that are now even more obvious than they were then, the vision of Superman as presented in the theatrical cut is the guy I wanted to see more of.
When watching Zack Snyder’s Justice League, not only did the director bring his trademark world-class visual flair to the proceeding along with far more weight to the action, but I was rather surprised to find that this vision of the film – which is likely, still, a bit different than what we might’ve received had Snyder remained a participant through to its original completion – is actually not as far removed from what was originally presented for Superman as I had feared.
Instead, what we see in this new version of the film is a Superman who finally does understand the strength that his humanity provides him, and I’m exceedingly pleased to be able to say that after the unnecessarily dour Man of Steel we glimpsed in Snyder’s second film. Now taken on its own, I can watch Dawn of Justice with a greater appreciation for the high that I know will come, although, I would’ve personally preferred that the black costume remain on the cutting room floor. It’s a minor gripe, but nonetheless a present one.
The longer runtime clearly benefits the characterizations of Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and the Flash (Ezra Miller), but the real winner of a longer burn with additional footage is Cyborg (Ray Fisher), and the film is better for it.
Cyborg, Flash and Aquaman
In terms of the rest of the ensemble, everyone is given a bigger, better chance to show what they bring to the table. I will readily admit that when I heard the runtime for this film would come in at over four hours, I was hesitant to sit through it fearing that it would be a longer, darker slog akin to at least Dawn of Justice. However, the benefit of a film that is 100% longer than the theatrical version is that everything is given additional time to breathe, and that includes the characterizations and motivations of every member of the team.
Clearly, the biggest winner here is Victor Stone/Cyborg (played by Ray Fisher). Fisher’s performance is incredibly solid, and he puts his Shakespearian chops from his stage days to the test by tapping into the emotional weight of what it must be like to go through such an immense transformation, which has already occurred on top of a devastating personal loss. While some of the character exposition in places can strike a bit bluntly, nine times out of 10 it is appropriately and even elegantly anchored by the emotional truth and turmoil that Fisher places at the center of his performance.
Although most people who watched the theatrical version pegged Barry Allen/the Flash (Ezra Miller) as a stand-out initially, there actually isn’t very much that is tonally different from what was present in the film’s original version. The major difference here, though, is that there is both more of him, and additional substance granted by more time spent with Barry when he’s not sharing time with other members of the League. It does the film a service and only emphasizes that the Flash is absolutely ready for his own film, something he should’ve gotten a long time ago.
Perhaps the character most shaped by the personality of his performer, though, is Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa). Watching Momoa’s performance here is strange because we were originally meant to see this version of the team-up film prior to director James Wan’s solo Aquaman film, but instead the portions dedicated to both Aquaman and Atlantis seem to indicate the most canonical incongruity with what we would eventually see in the 2018 solo film. Still, what we get here may now come off as a little bit of a remix of information we would learn in the 2018 film, but some of the work that James Wan ended up having to do may have been mitigated had Snyder had the reins of the team-up film through its completion and release.
However, we also do get a cool alternate look at portions of the Atlantean side of the DC Extended Universe (or DCEU) that feel well in-line with other parts of Snyder’s films, while also managing to avoid losing much of the grandeur they maintained in Aquaman. On top of that, Momoa himself feels more fully realized here than in the theatrical version of Justice League, and what occurs in this film still manages not to step too much on what would end up coming in the solo film.
Everything having to do with Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) – including depictions of her home on Themyscira and the Amazon culture – benefits from more time and coverage present in this version of the film.
The Amazon Warrior
And that brings us to, arguably, the standard-bearer of DC Films in Princess Diana/Wonder Woman. I was actually a bit surprised to see that the scene taking place in London where she stops a group of self-described “reactionary terrorists” was a part of the original vision and not simply a scene shot by the replacement director. The theatrical cut does keep a surprisingly high level of footage we’d seen before, although presentation and tone do differ in some key places, and the scene in general is longer and meatier in this version.
This scene actually does serve as a good barometer for what’s changed between the two versions, because while the broad strokes of it are largely identical, some very specific choices in coverage, music, color timing and pacing shows a fundamental difference in the approaches of Snyder and his replacement in terms of how scenes are composed. Snyder’s chops for presenting weighty action are superior in my eyes, and he excels in presenting Wonder Woman through her iconography, and an added scene of comforting a young girl is a very welcome addition to the scene’s conclusion.
Tonal consistency, and evolution
Perhaps more importantly, though, Zack Snyder’s Justice League feels like a more thorough follow-up to Patty Jenkins’ original Wonder Woman film through the way it showcases the history, strength and culture of the Amazons. The way in which Themyscira and the Amazons are portrayed feels far more mythic in tone and in composition than the theatrical cut, even though virtually all of the footage seen here made it into the original release. Again, more of it and different choices in coverage, color and scale bring these scenes more in-line with what was presented in the first solo film.
This also extends to the supporting roles. While I appreciate some of the planning present in the theatrical cut in regards to the entrance of Lois Lane (Amy Adams) into the story, a closer look at her grief and her desire to return to the world more than make up for it. Harry Lennix turning up as the heart and soul of the Justice League – the Martian Manhunter – is a welcome addition that may feel a bit tacked on, but like the tacking-on of Spider-Man into Captain America: Civil War, it’s one hell of a tack.
Jeremy Irons as Alfred also gets to show more of what makes him a force for good in his own right, and more scenes with him is another welcome addition.
Seeing the cinematic realization of one of DC Comics’ most iconic villains and one of Jack Kirby’s most definitive contributions to the superhero genre is terrific, and Darkseid (Ray Porter) does not disappoint at any moment he’s on screen.
“For Darkseid”
And that brings me to the villainous contingent. At the risk of saying too little, it nonetheless feels warranted: Steppenwolf is ridiculously more well-realized, and the threat presented by the forces of Apokolips at-large – with DeSaad (Peter Guinness), Granny Goodness, more fearsome Parademons and of course Darkseid himself – help to add up to a definitive debut in comics-based cinema.
Since the film has the time and track to fully explain why Apokolips even cares about a backwater planet like ours and more adequately explains the threat and power of the Mother Boxes, it feels both more fully-realized and more dangerous. The Fourth World is one of Jack “King” Kirby’s greatest contributions to the comic book medium and the superhero genre, and Snyder’s ability to represent Apokolips as a threat worthy of the combined forces of good should not be understated: he pulls it off exceptionally well, and a large part of that is undoubtedly due to the writing of screenwriter Chris Terrio and the brutality present in the Apokoliptian sequences.
The ensemble assembled for Zack Snyder’s Justice League all gets far more of a chance to shine in a film double the length of the original release, and much of that added runtime benefits both character and plot.
Final thoughts
As someone who was kind of dreading the watching experience of Zack Snyder’s Justice League mostly for reasons that have very little to do with the film itself – but which still remain problems adjacent to it – it’s a relieving thing to say that the work itself should prove vindicating. There are better DC Comics films, but for what this tries to be – the story of an epic struggle against an otherworldly foe, and the uniting of a disparate team to face it – Zack Snyder’s Justice League succeeds.
It’s clearly a better film than the comparative hatchet job that was released in theaters, resolves conflicts to showcase more generally truthful visions of the characters (both good and evil), and will stand as a great example of what can make stories with DC Comics’ icons bigger and different from other comics-based films. It is certainly a long film and does have some issues regarding pacing and dialogue-based melodrama, but it has competence and narrative strength which counts for quite a lot, on top of the immense visual accumen of Snyder and his director of photography, Fabian Wagner.
For any DC Comics fan it’s absolutely worthy of your time, and is made all the more interesting because of the strange story that accounts for a rare occurrence in cinematic history on this scale. In the end, it’s resulted in Zack Snyder’s best DC Comics-based work, and I’m very glad that ended up being the case.