Zack Snyder’s Justice League (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray)

There are two camps when it comes to Zack Snyder's superhero films. There's one camp that thinks Snyder frequently misses the point, eschewing conventions in favor of a more divisive style that doesn't capture what his characters are all about. This camp is very loud in their disapproval.Then there's the other camp. The fans who might acknowledge some missteps but overall appreciate a new take on what has become a very stagnant genre. Superhero films, historically, have been all about the fun factor, but it's difficult to look at a genre that came into prominence in the mid-20th century, which highlights the strengths of those largely considered "different" and ignore what most modern comic book writers and artists already know. Superheroes are the new American mythology, and abstraction of all of America's dreams and a reconciliation of her fears.Okay. But how does that tie into Zack Snyder's JUSTICE LEAGUE?Well, it all goes back to those original camps. What makes a superhero film good? Is it when a sympathetic, yet flawed, superhero manages to rise up and defeat a more powerful villain? Is it when they reconcile who they are, who they want to be, and who they need to be? SPIDER-MAN 2 is considered one of the best (if not *the* best) superhero film as of yet. It has it all: a villain who doesn't know he's a villain, a hero who doesn't want to be a hero, social factors that are constantly at play and affect the narrative. For as much as we want Spider-man to win, it's true that being a superhero is antithetical to a normal life. But it's something we can all sympathize with and have to wrestle with frequently: that choice between doing what's best for ourselves, or what's best for others, for our friends and families. What we want to do, and what we're ostensibly meant to do.OKAY. But, Snyder's JUSTICE LEAGUE? What's up with that?Superhero movies have been, for years, playing it safe. And I don't want to say that in a negative sense, because safe can be good. It can be entertaining and, y'know, sometimes you just want to see the good guys win. Which is why, I think Snyder's films stand out so starkly from the pack, because he doesn't *just* want to see the good guys win; he wants to see them struggle, define themselves at that intersection of what society expects and what the heroes expect of themselves. He wants to see them fail, take three steps backward for every step forward. He even wants to see these superheroes lose ground even when they *think* they've succeeded. Superman saved ten people today, but he didn't save eleven. Batman stopped a murder today, but meanwhile there were three more that happened at the same time. How are these guys superheroes if they're pulling out all the stops but only chipping away at their mandate?JUSTICE LEAGUE! Okay! Here we go!JUSTICE LEAGUE is the culmination of a decade-long argument between Snyder, his studio, and fans about what superhero films can be. Not even *should* be, but *can* be. It's the final punctuation mark on a fight that started even before MAN OF STEEL, going all the way back to WATCHMEN. Snyder revels in exposing the flaws in his superheroes, to the dismay of many fans who think Superman needs to smile, to pull cats out of trees, and espouse truth, justice, and the American way. Snyder is constantly asking: would *we*, as a society, allow these superheroes to go about their day, as usual, or would we treat something "different" with suspicion and distain. How would superheroes stay strong when their ideals are tested time and time again; as with Batman, when he sees gods descend from the sky and pulverize one of his buildings and everyone in it? How would heroes with absent parents define themselves?Zack Snyder's JUSTICE LEAGUE rolls that train into the station. Out of such dismal reckonings, we find that there is good out there worth fighting to sustain. No matter how unique your situation or how wild your background, you can find others to lean on and embrace, form a community, and tackle challenges thought unconquerable. JL is the biggest of all victories for the heroes involved, which works against the prevailing notion of the more cynical camp that think Snyder doesn't *get* his characters. On the contrary, he gets them alright. He acted under the philosophy that no matter how hard you drag these characters down into the darkness, they'll break upwards and resurface to seek the light stronger than ever. And, in doing so, they'll set an example so that others might join them in the sun. That's a victory that so few superhero films hand to their characters, and it's one that we very nearly missed out on.And for as long as we lean so heavily on this prevailing notion that superheroes can't be flawed, can't fail, can't build up a personal code and then break it entirely in a moment of weakness, then Snyder's tenure in the DC universe will be all the more unique for it, and it'll be an even bigger tragedy that he wasn't so much let go but chased out. All for the crime of thinking that our most cherished heroes might blink at the sight of their own destinies.

MAN, what this coulda been, like "FALLOUT"We can only imagine from this exhibition.Not only were the studio execs not behind my man Snyder but the incongruity of the actual powers that be "THEE UNIVERSE" "FATE" actually stepped in to take a swipe at my man to prevent his activision. Sometimes I wonder? COULD WE TAKE 'EM/TAME 'EM? Maybe one day ZACH will give us the answer.

“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” features the titular director’s original vision for the film before he had to bow out following a family crisis. While the 2017 theatrical cut often felt disjointed, with Joss Whedon’s re-shoots clashing with the prior material that Snyder filmed, this movie is more tonally consistent, particularly when viewed as a continuation of Snyder’s first two DCEU films, “Man of Steel” (2013) and “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016). Snyder is easily one of the greatest cinematographers of our time, though some of his original plots struggle, but this film is a fascinating example of auteur theory and an unheard-of instance of a major Hollywood studio bringing a director back to extensively re-shoot a previously-released film in order to better fit the director’s vision. Unlike most “director’s cuts” in which a director re-cuts the film using footage they filmed previously, Snyder was able to film entirely new material and create all-new visual effects to execute his vision.Overall, the major story beats remain the same as in the theatrical version. After all, enough had been filmed before Snyder’s departure that Joss Whedon couldn’t change too much. That said, the extended runtime allows for more scenes expanding the backstories of the Amazons, the Atlanteans, and others. This is particularly beneficial as this story was originally intended to follow David Ayer’s 2016 film, “Suicide Squad,” and Patty Jenkins’s 2017 film, “Wonder Woman,” but preceded James Wan’s 2018 film, “Aquaman.” Though delays in production pushed the release of Andy Muschietti’s “The Flash” to 2022, Snyder’s reference to “Injustice” in “Batman v. Superman” coupled with the extended Knightmare sequence and Barry Allen’s own reference in this film to time getting strange as he approaches the speed of light helps to set the stage for the alternate timelines that “The Flash” will explore. Snyder also includes more references to the Green Lantern Corps even though DC disallowed a direct appearance of Hal Jordan as they have not yet decided how to use the character following the flop of Martin Campbell’s 2011 film. To that end, he only shows a Green Lantern in the flashbacks, brining in Martian Manhunter (Harry Lennix) for a cameo in the present. Also, where Whedon relied on Steppenwolf for his main antagonist, Snyder includes appearances of Darkseid both in flashbacks and briefly in the present while making Steppenwolf himself look more monstrous. Snyder gave Steppenwolf a more defined backstory and included a conversation between him and DeSaad about the Anti-Life Equation, helping to set up future stories with Darkseid. Barry Allen similarly receives greater attention, including a more emotional sequence with his father, a scene in which he briefly meets Iris West, and a greater examination of his powers. Barry himself is far more likeable in this than he was in the theatrical cut, where Whedon’s forced humor often made the character annoying. Barry and Cyborg, as the youngest members of the team, have a great rapport in their scenes together. Victor Stone receives a full flashback origin story as well, helping to humanize his character and the tragedy surrounding his transformation into Cyborg. Finally, Snyder’s story for Aquaman works well to set up the events in James Wan’s subsequent standalone “Aquaman” film. As a result of greater backstory development for these characters who receive their first significant time on-screen in this film, their characterizations are altogether more consistent while the members of the Justice League have greater chemistry together than the disjointed interactions of the theatrical cut.Structurally, Snyder’s film feels like a collected story that would play out over multiple issues of a comic book, perhaps even across different titles as is common in DC’s big stories. This works to its advantage, unlike the theatrical cut which had a story resembling a quick promotional comic book. That said, “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” feels like something between a film and a miniseries. The closest comparison would be the extended editions of “The Lord of the Rings,” except that this features a great deal of entirely new footage. It’s a satisfying continuation of the narrative that ran through “Man of Steel” and “Batman v. Superman,” though the increasing reliance on standalone stories in the DCEU and Elseworlds-type films means that any connection between this version of “Justice League” and future DCEU films remains to be seen, though this gives both filmmakers and fans the freedom to choose which version they consider canon. The work itself and the behind-the-scenes story of its creation will doubtless become the subject of innumerable scholarly film analyses with time while this version should satiate those fans left disappointed by the 2017 theatrical cut of “Justice League.”

Explains a lot left out of the theater release. Loved it and would love to experience the spinoff teasers in this. I would have liked to see more of Cavill since Man of Steel was so great.

Okay, it is still not the best superhero movie I've seen, however the extended cut provides a much better and fleshed out story.I had seen the original version in a theater and wanted to see what the hype of the new cut was.

I say this ia real canon of Zack DCEU vision. It would have been a mild success.

disappointing this wasn't the first version to go out. Also a missed opportunity to expand the franchise given the great world-building the team performed here.

Black and white 4 hours