Title: Zack Snyder's Justice League
Director: Zack Snyder
Cast: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa
Release: 2021-12-31
Plot: The official directors cut of Justice League (2017).
HBO Zack Snyder's Justice League - Streaming on HBO Max March 18, 2021
- Thread starter IRON MAN
- Start date
I originally planned to watch this in one run, but ended up watching it over two nights due to other commitments. Just got done, and oh man... Whedon must be feeling pretty embarrassed as a filmmaker right now 
. I initially didn't mind his version too much... granted I set my expectations super low once he took over since I've never been a fan of anything he's done, but I found his cut to be kinda fun at the time. However, Snyder's cut has truly opened my eyes to what a hot piece of garbage Whedon's version really is! Zack gave the characters so much more depth and impact, and the story as a whole made a lot more sense and just played out sooooo much better. It didn't feel 4 hours long at all to me, but they could've easily shaved 10 mins here and there IMO and still ended up with something great. The only real criticism from me is that the CGI was quite bad in places... the lighting/shadows were way off (or even non-existent) a lot of the time, and I couldn't help but be distracted by Cyborg's face looking like a Snapchat filter lol. But anyway... I bought a months subscription of NowTV purely just to watch this, and it was worth every single penny. On one hand though I kinda hate that we got to see this version at all now, because it's left me wanting MORE!! 
. I initially didn't mind his version too much... granted I set my expectations super low once he took over since I've never been a fan of anything he's done, but I found his cut to be kinda fun at the time. However, Snyder's cut has truly opened my eyes to what a hot piece of garbage Whedon's version really is! Zack gave the characters so much more depth and impact, and the story as a whole made a lot more sense and just played out sooooo much better. It didn't feel 4 hours long at all to me, but they could've easily shaved 10 mins here and there IMO and still ended up with something great. The only real criticism from me is that the CGI was quite bad in places... the lighting/shadows were way off (or even non-existent) a lot of the time, and I couldn't help but be distracted by Cyborg's face looking like a Snapchat filter lol. But anyway... I bought a months subscription of NowTV purely just to watch this, and it was worth every single penny. On one hand though I kinda hate that we got to see this version at all now, because it's left me wanting MORE!! 
Saw it yesterday and probably will watch it again soon, really cool film. Absolutely hated the Whedon cut back in theaters, his two hour film literally felt as long as Snyders 4 hour cut because it was so f*ing bad and it (together with Suicide Squad) kind of destroyed any hopes I had for upcoming movies of this DC run, I didn't even watch Aquaman, Shazam and WW84 because I had lost all interest in this new CU. Now I would absolutely love to see more, maybe a directors cut of Suicide Squad too since that was unbearable as well, and I will def. watch the other films now.
But I have to say, if the Snyder cut would have been in theaters in 2017 I don't think people would have praised it as much as they do now, it would have gotten similar reviews than BvS I think, which was imo not as bad of a movie as a lot of people say.
In the end, not a lot of stuff happens for a 4 hour film and the emotional aspect of a filmmaker who suffered a tremendous family tragedy finally getting to complete his artistic vision weighs in a lot here. They need almost 3 hours to really get going after character introductions we already had in BvS for some of them...3 hours! And I don't mind long movies at all but I don't know if that's really necessary for the story that was told here. But still, really enjoyed it and even though the story didn't require this runtime I wasn't bored for one minute.
But I have to say, if the Snyder cut would have been in theaters in 2017 I don't think people would have praised it as much as they do now, it would have gotten similar reviews than BvS I think, which was imo not as bad of a movie as a lot of people say.
In the end, not a lot of stuff happens for a 4 hour film and the emotional aspect of a filmmaker who suffered a tremendous family tragedy finally getting to complete his artistic vision weighs in a lot here. They need almost 3 hours to really get going after character introductions we already had in BvS for some of them...3 hours! And I don't mind long movies at all but I don't know if that's really necessary for the story that was told here. But still, really enjoyed it and even though the story didn't require this runtime I wasn't bored for one minute.
Very enjoyable, the space the 4 hours affords Snyder to let characters breathe, to introduce subplots, and let the audience take a breather between big set-pieces works wonders for the story he wanted to tell.
It's quite epic in some parts, grounded in others with Cyborg a far, far better character with a proper arc. That epilogue made me go from a tad "what the" about the cool but confusing nightmare scene in BvS to being absolutely desperate for more.
It's quite epic in some parts, grounded in others with Cyborg a far, far better character with a proper arc. That epilogue made me go from a tad "what the" about the cool but confusing nightmare scene in BvS to being absolutely desperate for more.
Will Zack Snyder Be Invited to Make a ‘Justice League’ Sequel? The Answer Is a Test of Whether Hollywood Still Works (Column)
For 45 years, Hollywood has churned out sequels to more or less any movie that makes a big enough splash at the box office. The rationale has always been simple: The fans want it. Starting in the mid-’70s, with “Jaws” and “Rocky” and “Star Wars,” fan service became the model, the engine, the economic blueprint of the movie business. Yet it was a double-edged sword.
The idea that the fans who made a movie into a blockbuster would line up, once again, for a movie with a Roman numeral after its title that was essentially the same movie, but just different enough to count as the new-and-improved version, turned out to be a spectacularly successful strategy. Creatively, though, it was mostly a bust. For every sequel you could name that satisfied expectations, or even (on rare occasions) surpassed them, there were seven others that were going through the motions. I remember back in the ’80s, I was reviewing “Poltergeist II: The Other Side” and trying to pinpoint why, exactly, the movie was so lame, and suddenly I realized why: It had no reason to exist. No reason, that is, apart from the financial imperative. This may now seem obvious, but you can never note often enough that a movie with no reason to exist is probably not going to be a very good movie.
The age of multiverse sequels has, in its way, camouflaged this reality. When a Marvel or a “Star Wars” movie is conceived as just one piece of Tinkertoy in a larger structure, it can seem, at the very least, to have a reason to exist. Good or bad, it’s another link in the storytelling chain. Yet that same dynamic can also rob a film of purpose. How much investment can we have in a piece of Tinkertoy? The end of it isn’t even an ending — it’s just a stop. In the age of comic-book cinema we now occupy (or maybe I should say: that now occupies us), only one thing can make a fantasy blockbuster come fully and thrillingly alive.
“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” has that thing. What is it? You could call it vision, and you wouldn’t be wrong. But it’s also something I would call voice. That’s not a quality we associate with comic-book movies, but the rare great ones have it. And in “Justice League,” Zack Snyder’s voice comes through in ways at once large and small. It’s there in the doomy Wagnerian grandeur, and in the puckish way the movie hones on a seed coming off a hot-dog bun in the bullet-time sequence that introduces the Flash’s superpowers. It’s there in the way the backstories don’t just set up the characters but intertwine their fates, and in the way that Snyder, leaving Joss Whedon’s genial jokiness on the cutting-room floor, replaces it with a sincerity so present it doesn’t have to speak its name. It’s there in the majestic symphonic rigor of the battle scenes, and in how the villains, the glittering-with-malice Steppenwolf and the dripping-with-molten-corruption Darkseid, comprise a threat at once relentless and remorseless.
In “Justice League,” Zack Snyder sits astride the pop moviemaking machine. He’s not just telling a story that’s greater than the sum of its parts. He’s speaking through that story, crafting a parable of camaraderie and faith. It should be said that my reaction to the film — loving every minute of it, to the point that I’m itching to see it again — isn’t universal. Some critics thumbed their noses; not every fan is onboard. Yet from what I’ve seen, the reaction to Snyder’s “Justice League” has gone beyond the “Well, it’s much better than the 2017 version” feeling that even the naysayers acknowledged. There’s a collective excitement about the movie. And for those of us who have fallen for it, part of the excitement is seeing a comic-book film that’s unabashedly conventional (it doesn’t have a character like, say, Heath Ledger’s Joker) yet one that serves up those conventions with such bravura that in some ineffable way, it feels like a personal movie. It’s not an art film, for God’s sake, but it’s a studio blockbuster made by someone who imprints his personality on every scene and means every scene.
All of which brings me back to sequels. For 45 years, the economic model of Hollywood has “worked” (though less and less so in the streaming era), but beneath the oversize numbers it has also exuded a certain desperate, megahit-on-steroids, break-the-bank-or-else quality. It has been a cynical strategy. (Give the people what they want! Then give them more of the same! And program them to want more of the same!) Within that, however, there have been moments of beauty and magic, of creative gold within the fool’s gold. And most of those moments have come from filmmakers who have the audacity and wild flair to be popcorn storytellers and artists at the same time. George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Christopher Nolan, Ryan Coogler, Tim Burton — when filmmakers like these are working on all cylinders, even in a pure escapist form, they keep the dream of movies alive. They are virtuosos, and part of their virtuosity is how much they mean the films they make. What executive would turn them down?
Up until now, Warner Bros. has stated that it will continue to make films in the DC Extended Universe without Zack Snyder. Yet Warners now finds itself in a strange position. In 2017, the studio turned its back on Snyder and trashed his vision. Yet it also, in a way, then gave him a second chance. “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” is the movie that shows us, at last, what the DCEU could be. I give props to the executives who, feeling the grassroots pressure of #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, agreed to greenlight this project. If there was a trace of cynicism in that decision, I don’t see it. They made it possible for Snyder to make the film he wanted to make, and to make a movie that would be something greater than fan service. A movie that would inspire true fan love.
Now that that’s happened, to leave Snyder by the wayside seems not merely unjust; it strikes me as foolhardy. The Warner Bros. executives will, of course, look at the numbers — at how well the film performs on HBO Max. I suspect the news there will be good. But this can’t be a decision based simply on numbers. The mobilization of fans behind #ReleaseTheSnyderCut was kind of awesome; they were comic-book-movie geeks who moved a mountain. And now that we’ve seen the results, their passion to do it again may be even greater. Whatever plan Warner Bros. now has in place, the reality is that plans can change. Minds can change. After “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” on what planet would an executive have to be on not to want Snyder to make a “Justice League” sequel? Only on a planet where even the potential artistry of mainstream moviemaking must always take a back seat to corporate control.
via Variety
Finally got around to watching this over the weekend (in two sittings) and was very surprised that I actually enjoyed it! All I remembered about the first version was that is was one of the worst films I ever had the misfortune to sit through and this, by contrast was very enjoyable. I did feel like there could have been at least 20mins of slomo's and story that could have been cut, I understand that DC fans must have loved all the added little bits but for the casual fan that I am, I didn't feel it all added to the story.
All in all, I would watch it again and find it a little disappointed that there wont be a follow up as for me, it was one of the least boring DC films.
All in all, I would watch it again and find it a little disappointed that there wont be a follow up as for me, it was one of the least boring DC films.
WARNING - MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
The filmmaker takes a deep dive into the conclusion of his resurrected superhero epic.
via EW
Zack Snyder breaks down the ending of Justice League
The filmmaker takes a deep dive into the conclusion of his resurrected superhero epic.
This is a very strange week to be Zack Snyder. Almost four years ago, it was announced the filmmaker was departing from Justice League, a movie he had essentially finished shooting and had plans to follow with two sequels. The project was taken over by a pre-disgraced Joss Whedon, who reshot most of the movie and then saw his version of the superhero saga savaged by critics and fans alike upon release. Following a grassroots fan campaign, Warner Bros. allowed Snyder to construct a four-hour version of his Justice League, which has just premiered on HBO Max to a mostly positive reception, with broad agreement that the so-called "Snyder Cut" is an improvement on Whedon's version. So, how is the director feeling?
"It's been pretty crazy," says Snyder. "Intense. Emotional rollercoaster. But I'm just happy about having the movie out. It's been a cathartic and healing process for us and this week has been a culmination of all of that."
There are many differences between the two iterations of Justice League and the films conclude in spectacularly different ways. While Snyder's movie still includes a version of the meeting between Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor and Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke (which concluded Whedon's film), it also features a post-apocalyptic sequence featuring Ben Affleck's Batman and Jared Leto's Joker among other characters, and a scene in which Bruce Wayne meets Harry Lennix's Martian Manhunter.
Below, Snyder talks us through the ending of his Justice League.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: This version of Justice League has a three-part conclusion. How did you originally intend it to end?
ZACK SNYDER: Originally, it was virtually the same scene that Bruce has at the glass house, but it was a different character. I'm not going to say who at this point, but it was a different character who he talked to. There was another character there, but it was essentially the exact same scene with very similar dialog, talking about "There's a war coming and I want to join the Justice League," but it wasn't Martian Manhunter.
The post-apocalypse scene was the major new sequence that you shot. What was that like? You were reuniting with a lot of your cast and you've got Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke and Jared Leto's Joker.
I was ready for it to be crazier. Instead, everyone knew exactly what to do, everyone was very comfortable in this world. It was just like stepping back into a thing that everyone kind of knew how to do. So, the process was really quite seamless and fun.
It was always our plan that the next movies would be all about the fall of earth and how to fix that. The idea for the next movie was, Darkseid comes to earth, kills the pregnant Lois, that sends Superman into a spiral of grief that Darkseid takes advantage of, uses the Anti-Life Equation to bring him on to Darkseid's side, and that's really what makes the earth fall. Then, in the post-apocalyptic world, Flash has to run back in time, and Batman sacrifices himself so Lois doesn't die, and then Superman is able to fight Darkseid. That's kind of the pieces that were in play in there. The five-movie arc would end with the big battle for earth. The "ask" by the fans was, "Do your thing, we want Zack Snyder's version" and that meant I would do the best I can to say, "Well, this is what I would do."
Also, I thought it was rude if I was to finish my run with DC to never have Batman and Joker meet. I thought that was just a thing that shouldn't be allowed to happen. So, it was cool.
I believe this is the first superhero movie to feature mention of "reacharounds."
It may be! Jared kind of threw that out and I said, "It seems in character." Jared was like, "That's never going to be in the movie." I was like, "Oh, really."
How does Deathstroke go from clearly being Batman's enemy in the Lex Luthor scene to his seeming ally in the post-apocalyptic sequence?
Well, Deathstroke was to be the star of the Ben Affleck-Batman movie that he was planning to do. I love Joe. So, any chance to have Joe around. Joe's actually the star of my animated Army of the Dead prequel. So, I was like, "Joe, what about if Deathstroke's with them in the post-apocalyptic world? Something's happened and Batman and Deathstroke are buddies now!" [Laughs] He was like, "That's awesome!" So, yeah, that was cool. It was just a bunch of dorks, really.
Presumably, we would have seen much more of the Martian Manhunter in your planned sequels?
Yeah, he's a super powerful character, and we would hope that some Green Lanterns would show up, and we would have a whole smorgasbord of DC [baddies]. Darkseid, he's got a whole host of crazy characters that would have come with him to earth to fight.
And did you have plans for Zheng Kai's Ryan Choi?
Yeah. I had been pitching Warners to do an Atom movie with him in China, like a Chinese-cast superhero movie. That was my goal.
"It's been pretty crazy," says Snyder. "Intense. Emotional rollercoaster. But I'm just happy about having the movie out. It's been a cathartic and healing process for us and this week has been a culmination of all of that."
There are many differences between the two iterations of Justice League and the films conclude in spectacularly different ways. While Snyder's movie still includes a version of the meeting between Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor and Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke (which concluded Whedon's film), it also features a post-apocalyptic sequence featuring Ben Affleck's Batman and Jared Leto's Joker among other characters, and a scene in which Bruce Wayne meets Harry Lennix's Martian Manhunter.
Below, Snyder talks us through the ending of his Justice League.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: This version of Justice League has a three-part conclusion. How did you originally intend it to end?
ZACK SNYDER: Originally, it was virtually the same scene that Bruce has at the glass house, but it was a different character. I'm not going to say who at this point, but it was a different character who he talked to. There was another character there, but it was essentially the exact same scene with very similar dialog, talking about "There's a war coming and I want to join the Justice League," but it wasn't Martian Manhunter.
The post-apocalypse scene was the major new sequence that you shot. What was that like? You were reuniting with a lot of your cast and you've got Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke and Jared Leto's Joker.
I was ready for it to be crazier. Instead, everyone knew exactly what to do, everyone was very comfortable in this world. It was just like stepping back into a thing that everyone kind of knew how to do. So, the process was really quite seamless and fun.
It was always our plan that the next movies would be all about the fall of earth and how to fix that. The idea for the next movie was, Darkseid comes to earth, kills the pregnant Lois, that sends Superman into a spiral of grief that Darkseid takes advantage of, uses the Anti-Life Equation to bring him on to Darkseid's side, and that's really what makes the earth fall. Then, in the post-apocalyptic world, Flash has to run back in time, and Batman sacrifices himself so Lois doesn't die, and then Superman is able to fight Darkseid. That's kind of the pieces that were in play in there. The five-movie arc would end with the big battle for earth. The "ask" by the fans was, "Do your thing, we want Zack Snyder's version" and that meant I would do the best I can to say, "Well, this is what I would do."
Also, I thought it was rude if I was to finish my run with DC to never have Batman and Joker meet. I thought that was just a thing that shouldn't be allowed to happen. So, it was cool.
I believe this is the first superhero movie to feature mention of "reacharounds."
It may be! Jared kind of threw that out and I said, "It seems in character." Jared was like, "That's never going to be in the movie." I was like, "Oh, really."
How does Deathstroke go from clearly being Batman's enemy in the Lex Luthor scene to his seeming ally in the post-apocalyptic sequence?
Well, Deathstroke was to be the star of the Ben Affleck-Batman movie that he was planning to do. I love Joe. So, any chance to have Joe around. Joe's actually the star of my animated Army of the Dead prequel. So, I was like, "Joe, what about if Deathstroke's with them in the post-apocalyptic world? Something's happened and Batman and Deathstroke are buddies now!" [Laughs] He was like, "That's awesome!" So, yeah, that was cool. It was just a bunch of dorks, really.
Presumably, we would have seen much more of the Martian Manhunter in your planned sequels?
Yeah, he's a super powerful character, and we would hope that some Green Lanterns would show up, and we would have a whole smorgasbord of DC [baddies]. Darkseid, he's got a whole host of crazy characters that would have come with him to earth to fight.
And did you have plans for Zheng Kai's Ryan Choi?
Yeah. I had been pitching Warners to do an Atom movie with him in China, like a Chinese-cast superhero movie. That was my goal.
via EW
Kinda rubs me the wrong way seeing him wanting to do a movie in China tbh. He could just pick Japan or Korea for that. But I guess that is getting into politics so I'll shut up now
WarnerMedia’s Ann Sarnoff on ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ and DC’s Future
WarnerMedia's Ann Sarnoff discusses 'Zack Snyder's Justice League,' toxic fandom, and the 'bigger and broader' future she's charting for DC.
variety.com
Watched this over the weekend and I gotta say its SO MUCH BETTER then the theatrical cut. I don't know what Joss and WB were thinking with what they did!?
And the same thing happened with BvS. If you only ever seen the theatrical cut of BvS, I strongly suggest you go back and watch the Ultimate Edition that has 30 mins of extra footage.
It makes the film WAY better as well.
I will admit, there are parts of ZSJL that did feel tacked on or too long. Like the girls singing when Aquaman leaves... or even the Martian Manhunter stuff felt a little unnecessary to me.
I also might be in the minority, but I think the Nightmare scenes, while cool. Don't entirely work. Especially since I don't think we will be getting more of that story so I just wonder "whats the point?".
That said. I still LOVED it. And so pumped the Zack got to release his version of the film.
Now... can we get the Ayer Cut!?
And the same thing happened with BvS. If you only ever seen the theatrical cut of BvS, I strongly suggest you go back and watch the Ultimate Edition that has 30 mins of extra footage.
It makes the film WAY better as well.
I will admit, there are parts of ZSJL that did feel tacked on or too long. Like the girls singing when Aquaman leaves... or even the Martian Manhunter stuff felt a little unnecessary to me.
I also might be in the minority, but I think the Nightmare scenes, while cool. Don't entirely work. Especially since I don't think we will be getting more of that story so I just wonder "whats the point?".
That said. I still LOVED it. And so pumped the Zack got to release his version of the film.
Now... can we get the Ayer Cut!?
Watched it this weekend with Ms. Potts. Had high expectations and boy did Zack deliver. I never bother going into details and spoiler territory so I'll end this post with:
The missus and I watched this in one go this past Friday and enjoyed it immensely. The key theme that stood out to me (other than redemption) was the relationships between parents and children:
I suspect that Zack used this theme to ground his movie so that lots of folk could relate. It's truly sad that he lost his daughter.
We didn't feel the 4 hour runtime. There were some scenes that I literally shouted at the telly, one of them involving Run, Barry, RUN!!!
10/10 for me.
- Hippolyta and Diana
- Bruce and Alfred (his adopted father, as it were)
- Bruce and his parents
- Bruce and his adopted son, Dick Grayson, who's mentioned by the Joker
- Barry and his father, Henry
- Victor and his dad, Silas
- Clark and Martha
- Arthur and his dual heritage
- Steppenwolf and Darkseid
I suspect that Zack used this theme to ground his movie so that lots of folk could relate. It's truly sad that he lost his daughter.
We didn't feel the 4 hour runtime. There were some scenes that I literally shouted at the telly, one of them involving Run, Barry, RUN!!!
10/10 for me.
You know how powerful this film was? So powerful that I wanted to watch it twice on the weekend rather than watch the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. DC hands-down won the weekend... and WB's response is to not continue the SnyderVerse and instead count Whedon's crapfest as canon going forward. That company is absolutely blind/deaf to what the public actually wants. Hopefully the #RestoreTheSnyderVerse and #ReleaseTheAyerCut campaigns change their mind.
It's a joke. Even as a casual viewer who has no idea about DC stuff I would watch a follow up. The idea of that nightmare bit seems like it could be interesting even if it is a little like the Marvel snap thing.
Once again, you and I FULLY agree.
This 4 hrs movie SHOULD have been 3. A lot of overlong scene (Aflred fighting Diana over who pours tea... come on...), a lot of singing too, etc. BUT yeah, now, we can TRULY understand the full vision Snyder had when he started MOS, then BvS and now this.
Knightmare scene, from what I can understand is just there as a "fan service" to explain us what this full vision was and what his plan was. Personnally, even if the little dialogue was cool and all (great for Leto to have a REAL Joker role), but personnally, I can fully understand why Warner wouldn't want to pursue this kind of story. It would be wayyyy too limited and not sure it would interest many.
I'll have to rewatch this when the blu-ray will be out, because I dunno if it's my version I watched, but the quality wasn't on point. Of course the 4:3 ratio was... yeah... you know... and some CGI wasn't finished, but seemed like a lot of the movie image was blurry... once again, must be my version, so I'll wait until I can buy the BD and watch it properly.
I'm just happy this Definitive version is out. Whedon&Warner can hide in the corner for a while after trying to sell us the first, cheap version, in my book, this 1st version doesn't exist anymore.
Finally, bring the Ayer's cut AND MOS2 now!!!!
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