Zach Snyder's Justice League is the ultimate superhero movie for fans. And a test for everyone else

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The legendary director's cut is logical, pleases with the author's corporate style and lasts 4 hours.

On March 18, the film “Justice League” by Zach Snyder was released on the HBO Max streaming service (in Russia - on “KinoPoisk HD”). Fans have been waiting for this event since 2017 - then the version, modified by Joss Whedon, failed in cinemas.

The new version, which received the definition of "snidercat" on the Internet, has long become a legend. It was believed that the film would remain a myth for fans. But the vigorous activity of the director's fan club, the development of streaming services and many other factors nevertheless allowed the legend to become a reality.

And for those who waited and hoped, the director's cut of Justice League will be a real treat. The film turned out exactly as it should be: slow, metaphorical, with amazing staging and very dark.

But casual viewers, and even more so skeptics, will certainly react to the release with doubts: “Justice League” did not offer something radically new regarding the theatrical release. I just improved what I already had.

How this unusual film came about

Those who are well acquainted with the background of the creation of the picture can not waste time and go straight to the overview in the second part of the article. And for those who have little interest in superheroics and the work of Zack Snyder, the hype surrounding this release may seem incomprehensible.

After all, formally "Justice League", where he is indicated by the director, was already released in 2017, you can watch it on the same "KinoPoisk", and the reviews about the film are not very good. Therefore, it is worth briefly explaining the story itself.

Creation of the MCU

In 2013, Warner Bros. launched a superhero cinematic universe based on DC comics as a response to the work of Marvel. According to the original idea, the studio wanted to make their films darker and more adult, which was quite consistent with the spirit of the comics themselves about Batman and other DC characters.

The start of the MCU was entrusted to develop the director Zach Snyder - a big fan of comics, who has already transferred the famous graphic novel "Keepers" to the screens. The film adaptation initially failed at the box office, but over time, the full version of the picture became a cult one.

In the very first film, Man of Steel, Snyder greatly reworked the image of Superman (Henry Cavill): the color of his suit was made colder, his red panties disappeared. And the story did not look so straightforward: in the finale, the main character personally rolled his neck to the last representative of his race, and then screamed wildly out of anger. There has never been such a Superman on the screens.

In the sequel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, things got even more ambiguous. Snyder showed an aging, aggressive Batman (Ben Affleck), obsessed with the idea of defeating the Man of Steel. The heroes united only in the final to defeat the villain Doomsday, after which Superman died.

After this movie, the MCU started having problems. The picture got together well at the box office, but at too high studio expenses, this was not enough. Moreover, critics and viewers received the theatrical release coolly. The situation was partially corrected by the director's version that came out later: it turned out that whole storylines were cut out of the picture, making the narrative more coherent.

But Warner Bros. was convinced that all the problems arose because of the gloom of the film, and decided to change the policy. Director David Ayer was forced to dramatically change the tone of Suicide Squad and add jokes to it.

Meanwhile, Zach Snyder was developing the Justice League crossover, the content of which was already hinted at in Batman v Superman.

The release of the joint film was initially too rushed. The same Marvel went to the "Avengers" for five years, and the "Justice League" had to push the heroes, many of whom had not yet received solo projects. But that was only the first problem.

Zach Snyder and writer Chris Terrio were also pushed to make the film more positive. The director was even assigned producers on the set, so that he did not go into too deep gloom and metaphors.

It is not known how the confrontation would have ended. But tragedy struck: Zach Snyder's adopted daughter committed suicide. The director, of course, could not continue working and left the project.

Later there were rumors that Snyder either left before the tragedy, or was fired by the leadership. But there is no confirmation of these versions.

The collapse of the theatrical "Justice League"

Joss Whedon was invited to finish the film. He has already worked in Marvel, and it is on the crossovers - "The Avengers" and "Age of Ultron", which Warner Bros. wanted to focus on.

The new director immediately undertook to reshape the plot. Due to conflicts, most of the scenes with Ray Fisher's Cyborg were cut from the film. Zack Snyder called this character the "heart" of the picture, while Whedon turned him into a purely auxiliary character. They also removed visions of a post-apocalyptic future, which killed the hints that were given in "Batman v Superman".

But Whedon added jokes to the plot. To begin with, we came up with an introductory scene where the children take pictures of Superman on a smartphone. Then this insert became one of the most shameful symbols of the picture: at that time, Henry Cavill was already filming in the sixth part of the Mission: Impossible franchise and wore a mustache. In the "Justice League" vegetation was covered with computer graphics. But it turned out so bad that the scene went to memes.

Whedon also added text jokes to Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and a scene where Flash (Ezra Miller) falls on Wonder Woman's chest (Gal Gadot). Rumor has it that before that he wanted to show the same moment with the Hulk and the Black Widow in The Avengers.

In addition, the signature dark and cold visuals that characterized Zack Snyder's paintings were replaced by bright red graphics.

As a result, the release of Justice League in 2017 turned into a real collapse. Critics literally smashed the picture. They scolded the incoherent plot, bad graphics, stupid humor and literally everything else. And the audience's interest was very low, and the film barely recouped the production costs.

After that, Warner Bros. within the cinematic universe, DC continued to rely on lighter pictures that the viewer loved: "Wonder Woman", "Aquaman", "Shazam".

It seemed that one could forget about the gloomy world that Zack Snyder created. But then the fans got involved.

The cult of a defunct film

Quite soon, rumors spread among fans about the existence of a "sniderkat" - the original version of the picture, which was edited by Zack Snyder himself. That is, without all the alterations and stupid jokes.

For a long time, the studio's management denied the existence of any hints of a director's version. But the fans did not let up and staged a whole advertising campaign with the slogan Release the Snyder Cut. The corresponding hashtag spread on social networks, and even in Times Square a billboard appeared with an appeal.

By the way, fans of Zack Snyder are often accused of toxicity and obsession. But these same people, in parallel with calls to release their favorite film, raised more than half a million dollars in support of suicide prevention funds.

Gradually, the actors from the film joined the action: Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck, and then the director himself. It turned out that there was indeed some rough material edited by Snyder.

Despite the scale of the campaign, it is unlikely that a director's cut would have seen the light of day in theaters. But amid the boom in streaming services, the studio launched HBO Max, which needed eye-catching exclusives. And Justice League has become one of the platform's flagship projects. The director was allocated a budget for the finalization of special effects and possible additional filming.

It was the digital release that turned out to be a better option for the Justice League release. In the example of Batman v Superman and The Guardians, you can see that at the box office, you had to shorten the timing and cut out the hardest scenes in order to maintain the age rating.

On HBO Max, Snyder was allowed to release a four-hour uncensored version. In addition, the director recorded a new soundtrack, inviting instead of Denny Elfman (he created the music for the rental version) Junkie XL, with whom he worked in "Batman v Superman". Snyder even changed the aspect ratio of the frame to show more detail. In a movie, this would be impossible.

Thanks to the efforts of fans, the stubbornness and strength of the director and the development of new formats, Zach Snyder's Justice League made it to the screens.

Of course, it came out ambiguous. Complete freedom and considerable timing allowed the author to turn the film into an almost experimental project that pleases with its scale and visual range. But this also tilted the picture towards the philosophy, metaphors and biblical references that Snyder loves so much.

At the same time, exactly the same story remained at the heart of that that was in the theatrical version. So viewers who are only interested in plot and dynamics will enjoy the new version with only a couple of twists.

What came out "Justice League" Zach Snyder

More logical plot

Justice League kicks off immediately after the Batman v Superman finale. Kal-El sacrificed himself in the battle against Doomsday, and his dying cry awakened the maternal cubes that had long been preserved on Earth. The villain Steppenwolf comes to their call. He plans to conquer the planet and thereby curry favor with his master Darkseid, who once banished his assistant.

Neither the Amazons nor the Atlanteans can resist the Steppenwolf and its parademons. Earth's last hope is a team of superheroes brought together by Batman. But even they cannot cope with the invaders without the help of the deceased Superman.

When information about the four-hour timing of the future picture first appeared, many skeptics suggested that Snyder would simply stretch the plot, showing each scene in more detail. But the differences between the director's version and the rental version are noticeable literally from the first scenes of the film. And it's not just the background of the mother cubes.

The very causal relationship is changing. Whedon's version began with a clash between Batman and Parademon. In the director's version, this scene is not at all. And Bruce Wayne is assembling a team according to the precepts of the deceased Superman. That is why the heroes are not too eager to meet him halfway: no one believes in the reality of the threat yet.

Snyder does not just throw monsters in the first frames, but gradually builds up the atmosphere: at first, only rumors and strange followers of evil appear. And only then Steppenwolf bursts into Themiskira to take the mother's cube.

The first half of the film (that is, almost two hours) is devoted just to the motivation of the characters, as well as their background. This gives Justice League the epicness and scale that the rolling release lacked. Wonder Woman not only sees the report on TV, but personally appears in the place that the Amazons indicated to her, and from the drawings she learns about the possible arrival of Darkseid.

A flashback about the appearance of mother cubes on Earth is much more epic, because the villain has become more dangerous - he is equal in strength to the gods. And therefore the very image of the Steppenwolf changes. As the main villain, he was not very impressed, but now he is made only a servant of an omnipotent being.

Steppenwolf's plan looks more logical: he collects cubes and in parallel builds the Citadel, from which the capture will begin. Parademons seek out those who have come into contact with the artifacts, and the villain, using unusual technologies, elicits their whereabouts from them.

At the same time, Snyder removed the history of the Russian family from the plot (in the rolling Russian dubbing, they were carefully turned into Poles). Probably, in Whedon's fantasy, the unfortunate victims of the invaders were supposed to make the plot more human (and at the same time added room for jokes during their evacuation). But in reality they looked as unnecessary as possible.

But the rest of the heroes, on the contrary, were given more time.

Full disclosure of characters

In the theatrical version of Justice League, Batman and Wonder Woman remained the central characters. The rest of the superheroes looked like only their assistants, each of whom embodied some kind of cliche: Cyborg is an unsociable genius, Aquaman is a tough cheeky guy, Flash is a naive boy who does not realize his abilities.

Now Victor Stone is turning into the most tragic character - he is a genius-champion who has become an outcast. A young man who cannot forgive his father for the death of his mother and willful experiments on his body. And this teenager, who still does not understand who to consider himself, is forced to save the entire planet.

The Flash remains a mostly comic character. But his character is also made more interesting. Except for the scene with Superman's animation, he was previously shown as just a shy boy who runs very fast. Now, the full power of the Flash, who was often called the most powerful superhero, is being fully revealed. Finally, comic book fans will see real speedforce.

Throughout the film, friendships are shown between Barry and Victor. And in parallel, Wonder Woman and Aquaman also realize that they have much more in common than they thought.

And even Lois Lane, playing a seemingly purely secondary role, looks livelier and much more tragic. After the death of her lover, she did not return to work and does not write about cats, as Whedon showed. This is a devastated and completely lost person who cannot survive the loss. And so her encounter with Superman now looks much stronger.

But the most amazing thing is that Batman has changed too. Bruce Wayne doesn't wear a suit at all for the first half of the movie. Thus, it is emphasized: in a team of superheroes, his organizational skills and intelligence are more important than devices. But in the final battle he is cool.

All of this doesn't just add drama to the story. A detailed story about each character turns them from a cliché into living people. That is why watching the final fight is more interesting: you really want to worry about the heroes. And the fight doesn't turn into banal beating of characters before Superman arrives. After all, the very idea is that the enemy can only be defeated together. And the team fully proves this.

The emergence of new heroes

It is worth mentioning the fact that comic book fans will have a lot of surprises in the film. And this applies not only to Darkseid and his new assistants. Of course, those who have followed the picture's advertising campaign already know about most of them.

But the rest will be pleased not only by Jared Leto in the image of the Joker, different from the one in "Suicide Squad". Barry Allen's beloved will appear, as well as other important personalities for fans.

Old acquaintances from previous films are also given a little more time. Allows you to take a closer look at the Green Lantern - in the theatrical version, he flickered only in the background. And they even introduce another character that no one was expecting. Perhaps, according to the original idea, he was supposed to join the superhero team.

Links with previous films and a head start for the future

In Batman v Superman, Bruce Wayne had a strange dream related to a post-apocalyptic future, where Kal-El became a tyrant, and the sign of Darkseid is visible on the scorched earth. After that, the Flash from the future appeared to Batman and said that the key to everything was Lois Lane.

All fans were waiting for an explanation or at least the development of this topic in the "Justice League". But in the rental version of the picture, the hints were simply forgotten. However, now this story has finally been continued.

Visions associated with a grim future are no longer limited to Bruce Wayne. And the appearance of Darkseid hints that such a development of events is really real. How exactly everything will happen, fans know from the computer game Injustice: Gods Among Us and the comics of the same name.

Snyder made some additional filming and added one very unexpected scene specifically to reveal this topic.

The director originally said that Justice League will consist of three parts and the sequel will just show the future, the evil Superman and the takeover of Earth by Darkseid. Now even his motivation is clear - he is looking for the Anti-Life equation. And then, according to the author's idea, the heroes had to go to the planet Apokolips to fight the main villain.

Alas, today even the director claims that his version is not considered canon for the MCU. Therefore, the hope for the continuation of this plot is ghostly small. Although the very existence of the director's version, too, once seemed fiction. So nothing is impossible.

Stylish visuals

Many consider Zach Snyder to be primarily a visionary. His love for biblical references and other visual metaphors has long been both a cause of delight and a reason for jokes. And Justice League allows you to fully enjoy its visual style.

From the very introduction, where Superman's death is shown, religious motives will flicker in the film on a regular basis. Take Darkseid, for example, with ships hovering behind him, creating the feeling of huge black wings.

The picture pleases with long flights of the camera with nature shots, and in the center one of the heroes must freeze in a beautiful pose. The director especially loves pretentious moments with Batman. But it's hard to blame him for this: many of the shots seem to be copied from drawings by Jim Lee or Frank Miller.

Of course, Snyder plays a lot (too much) with slow-mo and special effects. The graphics were partially corrected regarding the rental version. It cannot be said that she became perfect: Cyborg sometimes looks too unnatural, Steppenwolf has changed for the better, but it has remained drawn, and the parademons are not at all scary.

But in most scenes that are too saturated with computer effects, like, for example, the flashback about the battle with Darkseid, the director, on the contrary, resorts to the comic style. He had done something similar in the "300 Spartans".

And it is very important that the eye-catching reds and oranges, which were used in the rolling version, have been changed to colder blues. This makes the picture darker and less painful to the eye.

In general, visually, the film turned out to be much better than Whedon's version, and a lot of shots will probably go to screenshots and wallpapers.

Why you might not like the movie

Still, Zach Snyder's Justice League, with all the hype that accompanies this release, will surely remain the same cult film for fans as the 3.5-hour version of The Guardians.

If you imagine that someone who is not too interested in the world of superheroics and filmmaking, who just watched the first two parts of the MCU, will take to watch the picture, he has every chance of getting bored.

The exposure in this film is too long. The heroes are slowly coming together. Basically, the author is just telling several separate stories in parallel.

Excessive metaphoricity and congestion slow-mo make some of the frames too static. The characters literally freeze in place for a long time. If the viewer is not an esthete, then he will want to add speed on such scenes. And there are completely superfluous episodes added only for the sake of beauty. Like the singing villagers where Aquaman comes.

But even if this viewer wade through the jungle of the whole picture, the epilogue will surely tire him out. Whedon's painting ended too quickly. Snyder's film essentially has three endings. Not everyone can stand it.

Although the director took care of the most impatient audience. The film is clearly divided into chapters (each even has its own title), so it is easy to split the viewing into several runs. This will make a great miniseries.

There are many films in the history of cinema that became truly great only after the director's cut was released. Ridley Scott has worked on Blade Runner for 20 years, Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America has doubled in timing. And for "Seal of Evil" director Orson Welles himself wrote 58 pages of comments, in which he explained how his vision of the picture differs from the rental version.

With the "Justice League" everything is not so simple. Not everyone will like the new version. But fans of the first films of the DC Cinematic Universe, the work of Zach Snyder and generally beautiful and unhurried superheroics will definitely be delighted.

This film is also very important for both the director and the audience. Snyder decided to finish the picture in memory of his daughter and even inserted her favorite song Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen into the finale. And the very possibility of the appearance of the picture was the result of the unification of many people in a single impulse. And it may even seem that the final words put into the mouth of Cyborg's father are dedicated not only to the heroes, but also to the Justice League fan club. This is a film made by people themselves.