I have been frustrated by the vision and execution of the films in the DC Extended Universe.
Perhaps, the best of the films for me, was Man of Steel and Wonder Woman… the worst being Suicide Squad and the theatrical release of Justice League.
And through the mess that has been the leadership of Warner Brothers, and the misfortunes of Zack Snyder… we got a version of Justice League that was disjointed, listless and devoid of a coherent story and performances.
So then the question arose… can a Snyder cut, based solely upon his vision, change the perception of the movie.
For clarity, the original version was partially shot by Snyder but circumstances dictated that the film be recalibrated and finished by Joss Whedon… the true essence of too many cooks in the kitchen.
Well after years of begging, Warner Brothers finally provided the funding for Snyder to redo the film, and finish his vision.
Not because they believed in Snyder, but because of the new ownership of Warner Brothers by ATT and their new focus upon streaming.
The new HBO Max needed content to draw in subscribers… and this project fit the bill.
So after years to rethink his vision, and listen to fans and critics of the theatrical version… Snyder has finally delivered a film worthy to be proud of.
I truly enjoyed this edition of Justice League, allowing me to be a fan of the heroes and heroines from DC… again.
The detractors of Snyder, myself often being one, always mention his problems with storytelling and the color palette of his films, but this time around he has vehemently attacked those issues and authored a better film in those areas.
This version of Justice League has more character development and backstory, improving the depth and motivations of Cyborg and the Flash as well as the major villain of the story… Steppenwolf.
With 4 hours to play with, Snyder also cramped into this film, story beats and concepts that he was saving for Justice League 2 and 3, ideas that further flesh out the plots within this film, making it more sensible and enjoyable.
Is it a great film… no, but is it way better than what we saw in the theaters… Yes!
Now I can say something that I never thought I would… I wouldn’t mind a continuation of this vision and story, with more heroes and better dialogue.
And then maybe, just maybe, the DCEU can stand tall within the pantheon of Superhero films. 3 out of 5 on the MMTrometer.
Darryl King is a director, filmmaker, writer and avid Marvel/DC comic book/movie lover. Check out his reviews of Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad right here on musicmoviesthoughts.com, and his YouTube channel Euphoria Media.
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