Three and a half years after the disappointing release of the “Justice League,” the long-awaited release of the once deemed impossible Snyder cut has arrived on HBO Max in “Zack Snyder’s Justice League.”
Snyder was forced to step away from the original “Justice League” midway through filming due to a personal tragedy. After a disappointing theatrical cut, this is Snyder’s chance to right some serious wrongs in “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” clocking in at a marathon of four hours and two minutes.
Following the death of Superman’s (Henry Cavill) heroic sacrifice in “Batman vs. Superman,” earth has lost its most powerful asset, and Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck) knows it. He knows it’s only a matter of time before another outside threat invades earth — sooner rather than later.
That threat happens to be Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds), an alien military officer from an extraterrestrial planet. His goal? To collect all three mother boxes on earth to transform the planet and make it his own.
Already establishing a partnership with Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Wayne attempts to recruit other heroes to join a lineup that would put the '27 Yankees to shame. To put it lightly, his first recruit is a difficult egg to crack, as Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa) is hard-headed and his own man, wanting no part of joining a team.
Fortunately, the fast-talking and even faster moving Barry Allen/Flash (Ezra Miller) is an easier sell. In fact, Allen agrees to join the team before Wayne can even get the words out of his mouth.
Rounding out the team is another reluctant prospect in Victor Stone/Cyborg (Ray Fisher), a mad-at-the-world former football player who had his body cybernetically repaired after a car accident that should have taken his life.
In order to avoid global domination, they must set aside their differences, use their own unique powers/skills to the benefit of the team, and oh yeah, somehow bring that guy in the red cape back to life.
You don’t have to sit through too many minutes before you already notice the clear differences from the theatrical cut, in all the right ways. While the pace is obviously much slower here, it’s to the film’s benefit, as it takes its time to set up character development and make us care deeply about these larger-than-life heroes.
Who benefits the most? That would be Cyborg and Steppenwolf. Cyborg, almost seen as a punchline in the original film, is the heart and soul of this one. Now that we know his background and character arc, his character not only relates to the audience, but he has arguably the best scene-stealing moments.
As for Steppenwolf, he’s far more sinister and seen as more of a believable threat. He talks-the-talk and more than walks it. It also helps that he’s being instructed by the big-bad in Darkseid (Ray Porter), a character we never saw in the original film.
This is a film that has a very clear and distinct demographic. For the die-hard fans who got shortchanged in 2017, this one’s for you. It has action, drama and stakes that feel remarkably urgent.
Only time will tell if the success of “Zach Snyder’s Justice League” will lead to any continuation, but for now, justice has been mightily served.
Grade: A-
