Hello guys and welcome to the final part of my mini series of DC reviews related to Zack Snyder’s Justice League! Today we will be talking about the original 2017 theatrical cut of Justice League which has gone on to amass an infamous reputation. For those who don’t know Zack Snyder had to leave the project due to tragic circumstances regarding the death of his daughter and so Warner Bros. instead of finding someone to complete his vision they instead hired Joss Whedon to fix and edit the heck out of the movie presumably because they panicked after how poorly Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was received. The result ended up getting an underwhelming (if not completely terrible) reception from critics and audiences and it grossed much less than hoped ($659 million) especially since the re shoots caused the budget to soar past $300 million. Then over time as more information regarding what went down behind the scenes was revealed it’s reputation deeply soured over time with many fans finding it to be disaster in every way. I myself can certainly understand those feelings and just reading what happened just leaves a bad taste in the mouth and I am happy that Snyder got to make his vision in the end. With that said when it comes to the movie itself putting aside the behind the scenes drama while it’s certainly has a lot of problems I’ve always been able to have an enjoyable time with it. It’s far from being as great as a Justice League movie could be but I still think there are a number of things that did make this worthwhile for me. So now it’s time to unite the team of some of the most iconic heroes together in this flawed yet fun adventure.
Set about two years after the events of Batman v Superman where Superman sacrificed himself to save the planet the world has become a much darker place without him around with fear around every corner of the world. It also causes the reactivation of these powerful items known as Mother Boxes which attract the attention of the villainous, Steppenwolf, who returns to Earth after failing his mission to take over the Earth and aims to take the Mother Boxes and succeed where he failed before by forming a powerful force known as “the Unity”. After he takes the one from Themyscira Diana Prince decides to help Bruce Wayne out in searching for super powered individuals known as Metahumans and convince them to join their cause. The individuals in question include Arthur Curry, AKA the Aquaman who was born in Atlantis but raised on land, Barry Allen, a speedster who spends his days visiting his imprisoned father, and Victor Stone, a former athlete turned human Cyborg thanks to his father using a Mother Box to bring him back. Together they must all learn to put aside their differences in order to prevent Steppenwolf’s destruction of Earth and hopefully find a way to bring the Man of Steel back to fight again a task that will prove to be easier said than done.
Let’s might as well get the film’s biggest problems out of the way. For one possibly my biggest issue, and one that I’ve always had, is it’s length. Now I know the studio wanted a mandated runtime under two hours given the complaints concerning the long run time for Batman v Superman yet it seriously hinders the film. A movie like this that sets out to be this big team up film that introduces so many characters and sets up a number of plot threads needs more time to fully develop these aspects and as it is the final product ends up feeling a bit rushed and underdeveloped at times and it’s simply not as good or as compelling as it could be. It’s there where the studio interference really does show and it feels like the studio just wanted to make a Justice League movie as close as possible to the Avengers (probably why they brought Whedon onboard) given the more light hearted tone compared to the grimmer likes of the previous movies but it’s just not as well executed as that team up flick. The script can also have it’s hiccups as well with some lines of dialogue just coming off as either really cheesy or oddly placed and some of the humor can just fall flat times. That being said I don’t think this movie all bad as some claim it to be. One of the things that I’ve always really dug are the character driven moments where our group of heroes bond with one another as I like how they are portrayed as this sort of surrogate family unit that must put aside their differences and uncertainties in order to do some good in the world. I think they play off each other nicely, and the scenes themselves can be compelling or have some funny stuff here and there. I also do like how the film does take a look into how Superman’s death has affected the world and it is something that is felt throughout the film which makes his (spoilers I guess) resurrection all the more rousing. As for the story itself I think the basic structure is fine for the most part and the movie isn’t incoherent or messy in those terms (problem is that is just could’ve been developed a lot more) and I think there are a lot of really fun scenes throughout that do put a smile on my face whenever I watch. I also do appreciate how it doesn’t get too bogged down in setting up other future films with only some teases near the end and a couple of plot threads that probably would’ve been taken care of in a future film (something Zack Snyder’s cut looks to emphasize more interestingly) and there are plenty of neat little easter eggs to spot here and there. Again I still think there could’ve been a lot of room for improvement and it’s certainly not the grand and epic Justice League many wanted, but the stuff I think works, works well enough that it doesn’t completely hinder my enjoyment of what we got.
One complaint I do totally understand though is regarding the CGI which can be a bit of a mixed bag. There are times where it can look fine and show off the heroes abilities really nicely. For instance how Flash uses the speed force is cool to witness, Cyborg looks as accurate as he could be, and the scenes underwater in the brief time we are in Atlantic serve as a nice tease for what we would get to witness in full in Aquaman’s movie. Yet there are also times where it can be very noticeable and a little distracting almost like it’s out of a video game. This is most apparent with Steppenwolf whose design just looks off at times and there are many scenes with him that look like a really poor video game cut scene except it’s a live action movie. Now I’m sure this could all be because of how the film’s production was rushed and thus the VFX artist didn’t have time to make the finishing touches which does explain why certain parts just feel off especially in the climax where it gets very CGI heavy. This brings me to the action and for the most part there are plenty of fun set pieces that do a good job of showing the team fight together using their different powers to take the bad guys down. Steppenwolf’s siege of Themyscira where he takes on an army of Amazonians is pretty exciting and the team’s first fight in the underground facility has it’s moments. The climactic battle in Russia is a weird one in that while it’s fun to watch I just don’t think it’s as epic of a showdown that I feel like it was intended to be and thanks to the nature of where it’s set it feels weirdly small in scale (at the very least the Superman stuff is fun) and again it’s where the CGI is most noticeable. I also keep forgetting that Danny Elfman (who of course did the music for Batman 1989) did the score for this one and he does fine work even if it is reminiscent of his work from the landmark 1989 super hero flick. There are times where things can feel and look awkward (Batman’s rooftop fight with the Parademon especially) and the $300 million budget does not really show all that much on the screen, I do think there are some cool things to look at here and there.
For me though the big reason why I think I enjoy this more than most and I alluded to this earlier when discussing the character driven moments but I really like the team dynamic here and each actor fits in the role well. Ben Affleck may not be as gruff and intimidating as he was in Batman v Superman (a bit of let down as I actually really dug that portrayal) I guess it makes sense given how he feels guilt over Superman’s death and he does have very amusing conversations with Jeremy Irons’s Alfred who does get a lot of the funniest laughs once again. He also gets some nice interactions with the other members of the league in particular Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen (AKA the Flash). The former is once again perfect as the character and serves as the main authority figure of the team while the latter is fun comic relief gets some funny moments here and there even if I feel there is a lot of untapped potential in the character. Jason Momoa proves himself to be a great choice to play Aquaman giving the character a cool surfer vibe and I actually found Ray Fisher to be a solid Cyborg and he’s always been one of the more underrated aspects as there are a number of scenes that attempt to give sympathy to his character and show us why he feels so resentful towards the world (heck one of the biggest reasons I’m excited to see Snyder’s cut is that he plays an even bigger role and is developed further from what I hear which is great). Like I said they form an enjoyable team of heroes that functions as a sort of surrogate family that I really enjoy seeing bond and their fun company to be around. Oh and I almost forgot to mention Henry Cavill’s return as Superman and I really enjoyed what was done with him here as he now more closely resembles the hope filled Superman with a heart of cold and a smile on his face that everyone knows and love and it’s fun seeing that here (I know much has been said about his magic mustache but I’m not going to beat on that dead horse here) and I love the use of John William’s classic theme. I also thought it was fun seeing him play a more sinister Superman once he is resurrected and he has to fight off the Justice League which was one of the most enjoyable and coolest parts of the film in my opinion. There are other returning faces like Amy Adams’s Lois Lone and Diane Lane’s Martha Kent as well as new comers like J.K. Simmons who makes for a good Commissioner Jim Gordon and Joe Morton gets a couple of scenes as Cyborg’s father, Silas, and while they don’t have a ton to all of the major supporting players do well (weirdly enough some of the more minor performances were unusually awkward but at the very least their not in the movie that long). We also follow a family who is caught in the middle of the chaos and every time we cut to them I was a little confused as to their purpose in the story as they don’t add anything and feel like they are there to pad the run time out. Biggest disappointment for me here though is easily Steppenwolf who was unfortunately a very weak villain. While Ciaran Hinds is a talented actor he is not given very good material to work with here as Steppenwolf is just a really one note power hungry bad guy who just wants to destroy Earth in the name of Darkseid with little to nothing of a compelling motivation, set up and little in the way of personality aside from constantly saying “Mother” in a strange way throughout the entire movie. It’s never a good thing when a villain’s death is the most memorable thing about them but alas he just made for a lousy threat that didn’t do anything for me at all. If he was better handled I think it would’ve improved things a bit as he could’ve been a worthy adversary for the League to face in their own movie.
Flawed as it may be with it’s too short runtime that makes the proceedings feel underdeveloped at points, a number of aspects that come across as awkward, noticeable CGI, and an extremely weak villain I still have a good time with this cut of Justice League. I like the character based stuff, it’s coherent at the very least, there are some cool concepts and visuals, most of the action is fun to watch, and I like how the character interact with one another as a family unit. Like I said, it isn’t nearly as great as a Justice League film with these characters could be and there is certainly much room for improvement but it’s fun enough and works best as a good time with good company. It is disappointing that we never got a sequel though as the end credits scene teases a movie that I most certainly would’ve loved to have seen happen but oh well. I can totally understand people not liking this and feeling resentful given all that’s been revealed (I’ve certainly felt that way) but my opinion on the movie itself has basically remained consistent ever since I first saw it. At the very least Snyder got to get his vision made and I for one am very excited to see what he has in store once I get the opportunity to watch it in the future. In all it was fun taking a look back at these 3 movies as I think they each have things that work about them and some things that may not have fully lived up to their potential. Still though I like each to varying degrees and are at the very least different enough to stand out from each other which I think is one of the best parts about these new DC films is how I never know what I’m going to get with them and I look forward to seeing just what they have in store.
Rating: B-
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