Zack Snyder’s version of ‘Justice League’ lasts four hours, a superheroic excess with which, Let’s be honest, it doesn’t matter if we are supporters of the dark and tremendous vision of the director’s DC heroes. Or that we prefer the more carefree vision of the genre in the Marvel style, or even that of more colorful DC movies like ‘Aquaman’ or ‘Shazam’. Or even a very common in-between point: Snyder’s vision of Batman and Superman may seem inelegant but at the same time it is clear that the director is capable of conjuring images of a considerable epic.
Whatever the opinion of each viewer when it comes to facing Snyder’s definitive vision, the truth is that It is necessary to recognize him a megalomania without limits and a confidence in his vision beyond all doubt. The value of the result is left for each viewer to judge, but it is clear that we do not see a production of this size and ambition every day (luckily). The question that now remains to be resolved is: was it worth it?
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Without a doubt, for the fan of the Snyder style, the answer is yes. All the tics of the author, absolutely without any restrictions, are here. That is to say, ocher colors in the photography, tacky indigestible (from the songs on the soundtrack to the horrendous aesthetics of characters like Steppenwolf, Cyborg or Flash), a lot of slow motion, posturing like splash-pages, total absence of irony, a vision of heroes and villains unambiguous and with no room for mercy or forgiveness (the basis of his justly controversial vision of Superman) …
For better, for worse and for that gray space in which unspeakable films like his ‘Watchmen’ are located, this ‘Justice League’ is one hundred percent Snyder. Y From that point of view, the tweeters who have been fighting for the appearance of this montage for months have their reward. This time, Snyder hasn’t had anyone over his shoulder telling him “maybe this should be cut” or “this thing is redundant.”
The problem comes when that vision of the author consists, directly, in making a dump truck with all the filmed material. And incidentally losing the perspective that putting a film on its feet is also clearing the excess filmed material, choose what to introduce or not in the final assembly to avoid redundancies. And of the latter, ‘Justice League’ is well served, with sequences that are just characters walking quietly or having dialogues that should have fallen in the editing room due to their lack of interest. Chapter 5, where Superman’s resurrection is set up, or the unintentionally hilarious half-hour epilogue are strictly that: filler and more filler.
Excess as discourse
It is inevitable to compare Joss Whedon’s version of ‘Justice League’ with Zack Snyder’s. As we know, the first is simply a very reduced version of the second, with some reshoots and some key change: Darkseid disappears completely, some of the background of characters like Flash or Cyborg is eliminated and in general, the tone and style of the version released in theaters is more colorful and carefree than in this new final cut.
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But essentially, it is the same movie. Eighty percent (or more) of Whedon’s version was material already shot by Snyder. The only thing that the new version does is lengthen those sequences that Whedon had already organized in a film that broadly respected the original version of Snyder. In some cases, the stretch is for the better (the final match with Steppenwolf is decidedly far superior in the Snyder version), in others not so much (the whole part in Atlantis needs its good scissors, and the solo scenes of Flash and Cyborg would not be bad … if they lasted less).
In the end, it is not so much a matter of excess material: four hours are perfect to tell a story like this, with many characters but that, deep down, is relatively simple. But it is not understandable why a good miniseries of four strong episodes has not been made. The reason is the same reason why the four-hour movie works only at times: the rhythm.
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Whatever Snyder is wearing, his original version of ‘Justice League’ It wasn’t for a four-hour movie: it was for a two-and-a-half hour movie, as he usually does.. He shot footage for four because, well … that’s how movies are made. But what he has given him with his director’s cut are absurd rhythm ups and downs: plot stops at the most inappropriate moments (the resurrection of Superman is good for a little more explanations, but not fifteen minutes of looks and landscapes in full climax). Or fairly common plot distortions that go nowhere (Cyborg’s football flashback is almost ‘Land As You Can’ from ‘Justice League’).
All these elements are defensible and on paper, improve what Whedon proposed. It is clear that climax works better as Snyder has left it than with the car and girl silliness. The extra explanations about the terrestrial Mother Box and how it reaches Cyborg give coherence and verisimilitude to the whole. Relationships between members of the Justice League are now somewhat more natural and nuanced friendships and rivalries are forged. But pacing is completely sacrificed: this is simply not a four-hour movie, but a very slow two-hour movie.
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The result is not a disaster, but it is closer to the inconsequential fix or the product for fans than to a true revolution of the genre, as has been said (obviously, it has been said before seeing it). It is closer to those horrid ‘The Hobbit’ by Peter Jackson who did not even remotely understand where the succinct magic of the original book resided, than to a drastic turn to superhero cinema. A shame because Marvel and DC need a revulsion sooner rather than laterBut the solution is not in gorging on the steroid arguments.
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