And This is perhaps one of the most momentous occasions in cinema history. Where a director was unable to finish his original vision and due to support from an amazing fan base, the studio not only brought them back but gave them a larger budget to complete it. The only other thing that compares in my mind was the remastering of Sonic because of audience demand. Well, we finally got to see the Justice League Snyder Cut on HBO and now we finally get to decide… Was it worth it?

There is really only one answer here. Yes! There are many reasons why this is a huge win. The fans have spoken, the message is clear, Hollywood is learning that they don’t get to tell us what we want anymore. We get to tell them. Even if the movie was a huge flop, which it isn’t, it is still an important message to trust the artist! Now I’m no Snyder fanboy or anything and I was admittedly very hesitant to get too excited for this. Especially since his other recent DC films have really stumbled. Looking at you Batman V Superman.

The Good

Zack Snyder is an incredible cinematographer. Say what you will about his choice of color pallets, this guy knows how to work the camera. His choice of angles and framing always blows me away. There are very few directors that know how to make something look quite as exquisite as he can.

This movie just feels epic. Yes, this movie is long, but the pacing is perfect. The longer runtime gives him the ability to let the camera linger just a little longer, giving those intimate character moments a little more oomph. Plus he really makes sure to add the extra scenes and dialogue required to really understand the characters and make the chain of events feel so much more organic.

The action is incredible! I actually enjoyed the action in the theatrical release as well. But this time around it hits a little different. It’s a lot more brutal. And it feels like each character is finally being given justice for who they are and their powers. Everyone really gets their moment to shine and each time it feels very earned and organic.

The Bad

The length. While not being constricted by time, gave Zack the opportunity to flesh everyone out really well, there is still plenty there that just didn’t need to be. There were scenes with characters that felt very much like a gimmick for fanfare. Unfortunately, those scenes didn’t really make sense in the scheme of the story.

A 4-hour runtime is a big commitment. I know we live in an age where binging entire seasons of series in one sitting is the norm. But at the very least when going through a season it’s broken up nicely into contained episodes which makes it easier to jump in and out of. However, a 4-hour stint in one sitting makes re-watch-ability harder. Plus with what I was referring to above, there is easily at least a half-hour that could be removed to tighten this movie up a bit and have it make more sense.

Darkseid and Steppenwolf just look terrible. Steppenwolf looked bad in the last version. Well, now he looks just as bad with different armor. Darkseid looks very disproportionate. I understand he is a difficult and outlandish character, but so is Thanos, and Marvel nailed Thanos. There are people that aren’t going to have a problem with this though, so I won’t weigh it too heavily.

Justice League Snyder Cut Final Thoughts and Score

For a movie that has been labeled as being outside of canon, coming from a director who has come out saying he doesn’t want to do any more comic book movies, there sure is a lot of setup for a sequel. I know a lot of people would love to see the sequel that has been teased, but it’s honestly one of my least favorite types of stories that keep getting re-told.

I am definitely glad that Zack got to finish his vision for this film. Unfortunately, there is far too much studio overreach in cinema these days and it has drastically hindered Hollywood from telling good compelling stories. I am a huge proponent in respecting an artist and their work.

This is not a perfect movie. However, this is a good movie. And a very superior film to its theatrical counterpart. I loved that the violence was messy and more graphic. I love that in scenes of incredible intensity they let the heroes curse. And I love the smaller character moments that really let us connect. My biggest issues with this movie really come down to trimming some of the fat. The very gimmicky fat. And the poor character design and animation for Darkseid and Steppenwolf. Overall I’m going to give the Justice League Snyder Cut a 7 out of 10.

What do you guys think?

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