Director: Zack Snyder

Cast: Henry Cavill, Ezra Miller, Gal Galdot, Ray Fisher, Joe Morton, Ben Affleck, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams, & Ciarán Hinds

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I was 50/50 in terms of my excitement about watching this re-release. I “liked” the first Justice League movie, so didn’t want to sit through the same thing again…but longer; BUT I also wanted to see what a director’s vision would’ve looked like for this film. 

When I went back to check my review for the first film, one thing I said was: “I probably could have used a little more to the plot, but wasn’t anything major…” With this installment, my concern wasn’t addressed. The plot still needed a little work, especially considering how long it was. 

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Below are my grades for key components in #ZackSnydersJusticeLeague that I find to be key in any story/film—Theme, Plot, Pacing, and Character Arc/Development. 

Additionally, I have added an entertainment factor scale to help you determine whether or not the film is something you’d be interested in taking time out of your weekend, evening, or day to watch. The scale range consists of: Worth the Watch, Interesting Enough (if looking for something new to start), & Don’t Rush.

I have also added a few non-spoiling thoughts, wonderings, and comments as I watched the film to help give some rationale for my grades and entertainment scale.

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Theme: A

Plot: C

Pacing: B

Character Arc/Development: C

General Entertainment Factor: Interesting Enough

Film Enthusiast Entertainment Factor: Interesting Enough

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 Takeaways: 

1. As mentioned in my first review back in 2017, I really enjoy Ezra Miller as Flash. I love the youthful, Gen-Z/Millennial vibe that he has. 🙌🏾

2. Also, as mentioned in my first review, Ray Fisher… My goodness… just a beautiful man. 😩😍

3. Now Wonder Woman… Why in the hell are you just looking at the damn water? Really? 🤦🏾‍♂️🤨

4. I’m glad they got rid of that scene with the random family in the house near the big battle… the first time I saw that, I was confused as to why it got so much screen time. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

5. I found the exposition to be too long and slow without an elevated purpose. We really don’t get a true sense of these other characters in the midst of Batman recruiting them. Instead, they are put in these odd/“look at me” vibe situations to showcase their power/ability. 🥴🤷🏾‍♂️

6. I liked the separated “Parts.” It made me think of Mortal Kombat story mode 😅, but it helped move the plot in a nice way. 👍🏾

7. There seemed to be more focus on the cinematography and effects than with the overall story with this re-release, which added to the stretched pacing of this film…that’s not what extra time should be used for. 🥴🤷🏾‍♂️

8. You know who really needs his story unpacked? Cyborg. I think this film did a better job allowing us to get at the root of his resentment, but now I want more. I mean, who wouldn’t be happy about returning back from the dead with powers like him? I need/want more…in terms of his own origin film. 👍🏾👍🏾

9. At first, I wasn’t with the Epilogue…it felt so damn random because of the presence of one particular character…until you realize what the moment was, and then I appreciated it. 👍🏾👍🏾

10. Do they only have 1 way of being smashed into a wall with brute force? 👀 I’m just saying… 🤷🏾‍♂️😅

11. The final fight scene was enjoyable to watch, and it felt smoother to me. 👍🏾👍🏾

12. There were a lot of character reveals… I just wished they were introduced in a more cohesive way…instead, we get these “shock value” introductions that can lay the foundation or plot holes and inconsistencies. 🥴

13. To piggyback off of #5, I miss the original film opening… I think more can be pulled and expounded on from that particular opening vs what we received with this Snyder Cut. 🤷🏾‍♂️

14. I appreciated more presence of this villain/Darkseid brigade/community.  👍🏾

15. However, to point #14, they are possibly the only group of villains who’s rationale/purpose doesn’t make sense to me. So you just want to destroy 100,000 worlds? For what? It just looks like petty people raining on others parade for fun—and if this is the case, play up on this more. 🥴

16. And another thing to point #14, how DeSaad appears was random. The block of metal? That you can just push these Mother Boxes in? I didn’t like it. Why not just have 2 metal pillars of some soft where the Mother Boxes sit, that opens a portal when at least 2 boxes are across from one another WHICH opens the communication to DeSaad? Or why not have him simply appear via the same route that Steppenwolf appears? 🥴👎🏾

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Overall, there were definitely a few pros with this Snyder cut. I did appreciate the darkness of the film, more focus on the Stones, and I even liked the cinematography (It is truly a stunning film to be quite dark). However, this just feels like one of those films that was intended for the DC Comic readers/lovers/fans and not the general public. Ultimately, I prefer the first film due to the pacing and more intentionality with the plot.