Zack Snyder's Justice League (Movie Review)

 Summary:

A four hour director's cut where Batman and Wonder Woman assemble Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg to defend Earth from Steppenwolf and Darkseid following Superman's death. It features a darker tone, in-dept character backstories, and a triumphant final battle offering a vastly different story than the 2017 version. 

The opening scene is already infinitely better. We have the pivotal point where Superman dies and the echoes of his cries activating the motherbox. 

Part One: Don't count on it Batman. 

In just 30 minutes of the movie you can tell the drastic changes between Weedon's and Snyder's version. It's actually laughable that Weedon's version was ever released. Those 30 minutes honored Batman, Wonder Woman and the Amazons more than the entirety of Weedon's movie ever could. 

In this version, Batman/Bruce Wayne is depicted as incredibly intelligent and isn't out of the loop when another language is being spoken. Diana is depicted as being able to fly and a heroin to look up to. The Amazons shouting at Steppenwolf that they have no fear gave me goosebumps. That scene alone rushes your adrenaline. Finally the Amazons are depicted as strong warriors and we finally got to see them work together against Steppenwolf. 

Part Two: The age of heroes. 

I love how much more we're getting in terms of scenes and backstory. It's such a shame that the 'official' movie didn't have Darkseid as the main antagonist. I loved that they used more Greek elements like the arrow of Artemis and Diana using it to uncover the backstory of who their opponent is AKA Darkseid. While Steppenwolf is quite powerful on his own, he's nothing compared to Darkseid. 

Part Three: Beloved Mother, Beloved Son. 

We were robbed!!! We finally have detailed scenes of Victor as a football star turned Cyborg due to his father using the motherbox. The loss of his mother affecting his existing relationship with his father. I can kiss Snyder for adding scenes describing the extent of Victor's abilities...versus in Weedon's version Victor is portrayed as a secondary character. 

Funny how in Justice League Mera's parents 'died' in the Atlantean wars but in Aquaman her father is very much alive. I also can't stand her wack ass accent...did they make her reshoot all her scenes? And gave her a dye job? At least in Snyder's version Mera packs a punch and can somewhat defend herself. 

Part Four: "Change Machine" 

I love the attention to detail we are getting in this version of Justice League. It definitely sets the movie up for an epic battle between the Justice League and Steppenwolf. Even his armor, the way it adjusts is a lot better in comparison to Weedon's version. We also see the Martian Manhunter! What an epic character and surprisingly the CGI doesn't look too bad. 

Part 5: All the King's Heroes. 

One thing that I always found off was Bruce agreeing to bringing Clark back to life without even knowing if what they bring back will actually be him. And agreeing in using Kryptonian technology without having a complete understanding of it. 

Despite the upgrade in script and visual effects, Henry Cavill and Amy Adams have no chemistry. Whoever screen-tested them failed miserably. Even when they are supposed to have an emotionally charged scene it fell flat. 

We finally have a epic fight scene! I loved it and how each member had an important role to play in defeating Steppenwolf. 

Epilogue: A Father Twice Over. 

Most of these scenes were similar to the Weedon version which I found it so amazing that Snyder added a multiverse scene where Superman works for Darkseid. I've played the Injustice games and watched the animated movie so it's great to see even a little tidbit of evil Superman. 

Rating:

I'm giving Snyder's cut 4 stars on 5. Was this the best superhero movie I've seen? No. Is this the best DCEU movie I've seen? Also no. But is this better than Weedon's version? Hell to the yes. I'm surprised there was no end-credit scene but considering this movie was 4 hours long. I won't bitch about it. This took me a lot longer to watch in its entirety because 4 hours is just too damn long of a movie. I honestly feel no movie should be this long unless it's adapted from a book. There are ways to make movies detailed without dragging shit on. Overall, I really enjoyed the movie but by the end I was happy it was over.