Review - Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, this review has been overdue, but definitely worth the wait. Zack Snyder's Justice League, also known as "the Snyder Cut," is the 2021 released extended director's cut of the 2017 DC Comics' film Justice League, which stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, and Jason Momoa, along with the likes of Ciaran Hinds, Jeremy Irons, Peter Guinness, Ray Porter, Amber Heard, Diane Lane, Amy Adams, J.K. Simmons, Willem Dafoe, Billy Crudup, Kiersey Clemons, and Connie Nielsen. 

         Now, I'm not going to break down the entire plot of the movie, due to the fact that I already did that when I reviewed the theatrical cut of the film last year. But, here's a quick summary: after the death of Superman, Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince assemble a team of individuals with superpowers to defend the Earth from invaders from the planet Apokolips. The team eventually resurrects Superman, who helps them save the world from total destruction. Okay, now that the quick summary is out of the way, let's dive into everything about this version that's different from the theatrical version.

         First off, all of the scenes that Joss Whedon added to the theatrical cut are gone, including any signs of CGI yuck mouth Superman, Barry's quips about the concept of brunch, and comparing Superman's resurrection to Stephen King's Pet Sematary, and several other quips, jokes, and gags that were added in by Joss Whedon are all gone. This includes the scene of Superman fighting the Justice League, whereas in the theatrical version, Superman uses Batman's own words against him, in this version, Supes just lasers the crap out of Bats with his heat vision. No words, just eye lasers. 

          On top of that, the film's antagonist, Steppenwolf, is given a major design overhaul, looking much more menacing than what we saw before in the theatrical version. On top of that, Steppenwolf is in contact with beings on his homeworld of Apokolips: Darkseid and DeSaad. In addition, Steppenwolf has a more clear motivation for gathering the Mother Boxes and completing the Unity: to conquer Earth in Darkseid's name, to make up for the failed attempt thousands of years before. Speaking of that flashback, Darkseid is the one leading the charge as opposed to Steppenwolf, as Darkseid's is interested in something hidden beneath the surface of the Earth: the Anti-Life Equation. And I'll say that both Ray Porter as Darkseid and Peter Guinness as DeSaad were terrific additions to the film. 

           We also get more supporting players with ties to the heroes, with Willem Dafoe's Vulko appearing in a scene, as well as Kiersey Clemons as Iris West, who is the main romantic interest of Barry Allen in the comics. And in a twist that's hardly a surprise, Harry Lennix appears once again as Calvin Swanwick from both Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, but he is revealed in this movie to actually be the Martian Manhunter. Also, there's an extension to the Knightmare scene from Batman v Superman, where Batman, Flash, Cyborg, Mera, Deathstroke, and the Joker are all teamed up and ready to fight. First off, I definitely enjoyed seeing more of Joe Manganiello as Slade Wilson/Deathstroke, as well as seeing the return of Jared Leto as the Joker. 

       Now, there are two things that are worth noting here. First, the color grading is definitely darker in this version, which dies match with both Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. On top of that, the four-hour run time definitely feels excessive, but Zack Snyder fills every moment of time with cinematic awesomeness. On top of that, as much as I enjoyed Danny Elfman's score from the theatrical version, Tom Holkenborg did a kick-ass job with the music score with this version. I should also note that the film is presented in a 4:3 aspect ratio, so the film does have the black bars on the sides, as opposed to the top and bottom that is typical of a widescreen format.

        This movie, while still not the best film of the DCEU, is definitely the superior version of Justice League. Want my opinion? Don't ever bother with the theatrical version again, definitely watch this one instead, whether on Blu-ray or streaming on HBO Max. I'm giving Zack Snyder's Justice League a rating of 4.75/5. In truth, this movie was for the fans who wanted to see Zack Snyder finish his vision of a Justice League movie, so for all the fans on the internet who posted the hashtag #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, this is for you guys, because without your dedication, this version of Justice League would have forever been lost on the cutting room floor.

         This is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review - The Thundermans Return (2024)

        Hey guys, Chuck here. Last night, I watched the new movie The Thundermans Return on Nickelodeon, and I have a few thoughts on it. For those who don't know what The Thundermans was, it was a Nickelodeon sitcom that ran from 2013 through 2018, and focused on a family of superheroes known as, well, the Thundermans. The show was okay, at least the episodes I happened to catch when it was on, but after seeing a lot of the advertising for this movie, I was genuinely tempted to check it out. So, here's my review of the new Nickelodeon movie The Thundermans Return.           So, the movie starts off with the Thunderman family, who since the end of the series have moved to the city of Metroburg, and are fighting crime as the superhero team the T-Force. And, something worth noting is that the family has aged in real time, so we see that Phoebe and Max are now adults, Nora and Billy are high schoolers, and Chloe is a middle schooler. Unfortunately, after a mission gone awry due to
Read more

Review - Ocean's Eleven (2001)

       Hey guys, Chuck here. Back in the 1960's, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and the rest of the Rat Pack teamed up and made a movie called Ocean's 11 , which told the story of a military veteran named Danny Ocean, who teams up with his fellow squad members to rob a number of casinos in Las Vegas. It was definitely a product of the time, and is actually a really fun movie. Seeing Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and the Rat Pack on screen together is just genuinely fun.        In 2001, producer Jerry Weintraub and director Steven Soderbergh would bring together a fantastic cast to tell a more modern version of the Rat Pack classic, and that's the movie we're talking about today. This is my review of the 2001 Steven Soderbergh film Ocean's Eleven starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, and Julia Roberts, along with the likes of Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Eddie Jemison, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Elliot Gould, Carl Reiner, and
Read more

Review - Night at the Museum (2006-2014)

          Hey guys, Chuck here, and after reviewing Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon, I needed something of a pallette cleanser. And, thus, I'm taking a look at the Night at the Museum trilogy, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ben Stiller, Rami Malek, Mizuo Peck, Ricky Gervais, Patrick Gallagher, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, and Robin Williams, with additional cast members throughout the series including the likes of Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Carla Gugino, Bill Cobbs, Charlie Murphy, Jake Cherry, Amy Adams, Bill Hader, Hank Azaria, Jon Bernthal, Christopher Guest, the Jonas Brothers, Dan Stevens, Skyler Gisondo, Rebel Wilson, and Ben Kingsley.          So, the first Night at the Museum was released in 2006, and focuses on struggling entrepreneur Larry Daley, who ends up getting a job as the new overnight security guard at the Museum of Natural History, taking over for the older guards Cecil, Reginald, and Gus. Larry also befriends one of the daytime staff, Rebecca, and has a few r
Read more