Let's Briefly Talk About Zack Snyder's Justice League

I don't think it will surprise anyone who knows me to hear that I love superhero movies, but it also won't come as a surprise to those people to know that I've had my fair share of problems with the DC cinematic universe. To be frank, it's been a mess; After getting off to a pretty decent start with Man of Steel, things fell apart a bit after the one-two, shit movie punch that was Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad, easily two of the worst big-budget superhero movies ever made. Since then, the continuity for these movies has become confusing and disjointed, as WB tries to seemingly erase the Snyder films from memory while also maintaining some kind of loose, overarching universe.

Earlier this year, I was actually preparing to write a long blog post on this series titled along the lines of "why the DC movie universe still isn't working" or some other nonsense, but then, something happened: I watched Zack Syder's Justice League and it was...good? It was really, actually, good. Not only was it a perfectly good superhero film and a great wrap for his initial trilogy, but it was a victory for a director, and a group of actors, who were wronged by the studio and by the (we now know) abusive director who took Snyder's place and released the chopped-to-bits "Josstice League" in 2017. It was so good that I can't believe Warner Brothers isn't going to use it as a jumping off point to continue the franchise with Snyder's vision.

To discuss this film, I'll be slightly changing up my usual breakdown formula. It'll be mostly the same, but I'll also be discussing scenes/plotlines/character beats in relation to their lesser, 2017 counterparts.

Plot:

For a quick rundown of the plot:

Following the death of Superman at the end of BvS, an ancient alien power awakens and calls to it's former holders, putting the earth squarely in the sights of an unstoppable galactic threat, Steppenwolf (and his masters). With its greatest defender dead, Batman, wracked by guilt over his divisive actions, sets out to build a team of meta-humans to defend the planet; Cyborg, a gifted young man who, after being paralyzed, is turned into a...well, cyborg, using the power of the alien Mother Boxes, becoming a practically omniscient technological entity, Aquaman, the heir to the Atlantean throne, a water dwelling being of immense physical strength, and of course, Wonder Woman.

While the plot of this movie is more or less the same as the theatrical release, where it differs is the fact that it's length allows the plot to make much more sense. Having Cyborg be the emotional heart of the story, as well as the character upon which the League's victory hinges (because of his connection to the Mother Boxes), is a wonderfully clever move by Snyder, and the fact that it makes so much sense in-universe is a testament to the lengths Whedon was willing to go to, to exact petty vengeance on the actor who called out his abuses publicly (for those unaware, not only does his plotline not exist in the 2017 release, but Cyborg is barely present in that film. Wonder why?). Whether or not a movie should take 4 hours to tell a coherent story is up for debate, but as it stands, this story is infinitely more interesting than it's theatrical predecessor.

Characters: Similar to the plot, the length of this movie allows the characters to really shine. Cyborg and the Flash are given much more backstory, and we get to see how each of them uses/comes to terms with their powers. They are no longer merely quip machines, they now have thoughts, and feelings, and a major impact on the story. Batman and Wonder Woman have a cute relationship, and aren't filled with petty resentments over their past deeds. Jason Momoa is actually allowed to let some of his charisma shine through here, and has a few heartfelt conversations with his team members instead of just being kind of an asshole.

However, what really changes between these two films is the way the characters are portrayed in terms of being superheroes. Gone are the brooding, seemingly unhappy characters from the Josstice League, these characters are HEROIC, first and foremost. One of the first things we see Cyborg do with his powers is help a working single mother by simply creating money for her bank account. The Flash, likewise, gets a wonderful scene, saving a group of rescued prisoners from falling rubble in truly spectacular fashion.

A great scene to compare that speaks volumes about how these heroes are portrayed is the League's first encounter with our villain, Steppenwolf: Unlike the theatrical release, where Steppenwolf kills a prisoner in full view of the League, Snyder's characters jump into action the second they see someone threatened. They seem much more like a team that actually wants to save these people, as opposed to a collection of assholes that are contractually obligated to save the world because they have super powers.

Speaking of Steppenwolf, how nice that our villain now has motivations! The Steppenwolf of the theatrical release is a psychopath whose motivations are largely a mystery, he seems to just be weirdly enamored with the Mother Boxes. In Snyder's film, he has very clear motivations, that help us to understand him more as a character.

The Visuals:

Everything about this movie looks better than the theatrical release. With the awful post production "fixes" that created the sloppy look of the 2017 film gone, Snyder's visuals are much more consistent, and his imagination is allowed to show through. While most of the visual differences are fairly minor, we do need to talk about what in the hell happened to Steppenwolf. Take a look.

Does the Snyder Steppenwolf look comic book accurate? Not particularly, but damn if it doesn't look way better than whatever happened in 2017. This version looks threatening, like a dangerous alien that could actually hold his own against the Justice League (also, his armor does this really cool thing where it moves and conforms to him. It's just neat).

The Action:

The short version is WOOO, the action scenes in this movie are so much better, it makes you wonder what happened. Here's a sampling of cool shit that wasn't present in the theatrical release:

Wonder Woman deflecting bullets with lightning speed?

Check.

The Flash absolutely destroying Parademons with a single, sped-up push?

Check.

Batman using his gadgets (in this case, energy absorbing armor) to hold his own with the super-beings?

Yup.

Superman being AWESOMELY SUPER?!

Hell. Yes.

Aquaman and Cyborg teaming up for a super-powered combo attack?

Well I couldn't find a gif for this one but I promise it's awesome.

Every single scene is an improvement over it's theatrical predecessor, both in terms of visual presentation and what each beat means for the character involved, and the entire finale plays out in a phenomenal, and entirely different, fashion.

In Conclusion:

This movie really feels like a breath of fresh air. I wasn't on board the hype train for this (especially considering that the extended cut for BvS did nothing for that film, and this films quality still doesn't excuse that films lack of it), but I am pleasantly surprised. A totally solid superhero movie, starring some of my favorite comic book characters, that has fun action, an interesting story, and a surprising amount of heart.

Look, I really don't have much else to say about this movie, I just very quickly wanted to let you all know that it's awesome. It's a lot of fun. It's exactly the version of all of these heroes that I've wanted to see since the DCEU began, and WB is foolish if they don't use this opportunity to right the ship.