Zack Snyder’s Justice League is an anomaly among anomalies. It’s rare for a studio to green-light a director’s cut of a film. It’s even rarer for them to give the director $70 million for reshoots nearly four years after the original film’s release. Fans fought long and hard to see Snyder’s vision for the DC super team. They got what they wanted.
The Snyder cut is aggressively different from its predecessor, as its lengthy opening moments work to make clear. For the most part, this film is a vast improvement over Justice League. There are little improvements, like stylistic unity and clearer stakes. There are some dramatic improvements, like Cyborg being a fully realized character and the Flash being upgraded from mere comic relief.
But there are plenty of inclusions that feel needless and stretch the runtime. At four hours, the movie could still use the eye of a seasoned editor who could trim the fat off the story and make this much-improved film less of a chore to watch. Here’s a look at places an editor may have helped the film.
The end of Aquaman’s introductory scene received a small addition in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. The moment doesn’t do too much damage to the runtime, but it is a fine example of a purposeless addition. As Aquaman strides into the sea, he takes off his sweater and throws it behind him. Three nameless women on the shore begin singing, and Aquaman disappears into the ocean. The camera lingers on the women for nearly two minutes as they keep singing. One of them steps forward and sniffs Aquaman’s discarded sweater. The film never revisits these women or provides any context for what was shown.
The Snyder cut makes some vast improvements on the Flash’s character. That doesn’t mean it’s perfect. An added scene introduces Barry Allen as he’s applying for a job at a pet store. He meets a young woman on his way into the shop, and moments later she’s involved in a car accident. Barry uses his powers to save her, and fans get a look at the world from his point of view. In the now-standard style for super speed, everything around Barry slows to a near-standstill as he goes to save the woman. Barry spends an uncomfortable length of time admiring the woman’s beauty, and tucking hair behind her ear, before saving her life.
The scene might feel less bizarre for comic fans who know the woman to be Iris West, Barry’s future wife. That said, this is supposed to be the first time Barry is meeting her. Less comic-savvy viewers will be totally lost here, as the movie doesn’t actually introduce Iris or use her as a character. Getting more time with Barry is great, but this scene could use some healthy editing.
Steppenwolf’s representation was one of the biggest disappointments of the original Justice League. The Snyder cut makes improvements here, most notably by giving Steppenwolf genuine motivation for attacking Earth. There is some over-correction here, however. Two of Steppenwolf’s extra scenes involve him talking to, essentially, holographic projections of his higher-ups. They urge him to keep doing what he’s been doing for the entire film — find the Mother Boxes and form the Unity.
Viewers who’ve forgotten what’s going on (understandable amidst also these moving parts) might find the scenes to be helpful plot reminders. Others might be willing to forgive the heavy-handedness. If it weren’t for Steppenwolf’s lackluster first outing, these scenes would stand out as the needless filler that they are.
Then there’s Martian Manhunter. Justice League cut his inclusion, which had been hinted at prior to the film’s release. Many were happy to see him finally appear in the Snyder cut, but his scenes are painfully unnecessary. A brief cameo in a hallway gives viewers their first look at the famous DC staple. That could have been enough.
Instead, the film grinds to a halt near the end, so that Martian Manhunter can have a conversation with Bruce Wayne. The alien promises Bruce to help out during the next attack on Earth. This scene adds nothing to the current film, and it doesn’t work as a teaser because the studio has already canceled the sequels. Before flying away, he says, “Call me Martian Manhunter,” and comics fans might have been a little confused. His name is J’onn J’onzz.
This is the scene that really splits opinions on the Snyder cut. It’s the longest new scene in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. For some, it is a look at everything Snyder promised with the scenes he included in BvS: Dawn of Justice. For others, it is the perfect example of what Snyder gets wrong about putting together the DCEU.
Style over substance is definitely in operation here. In this futuristic dream sequence, viewers see heroes and villains traveling together in a sand-toned dystopia where the death of Lois Lane has made Superman go evil. The scene has no real context, no real stakes, and, obviously, none of it goes anywhere. For a few minutes, fans can live within this stylized universe that might have been, and they get to see Batman swear at Joker.
The beauty of all these additions is that fans finally get to see Zack Snyder’s vision for the film fully realized. The downside is that in his glee, Snyder included too much. Moments that have no stakes, aren’t fully developed, or serve as meaningless references and Easter eggs for the Internet to dig through all degrade the impact of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. While better than the theatrical cut, the four-hour Snyder cut needed a healthy edit to be as good as it could have been.
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