Review of Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) by Thisguy1 — 19 Mar 2021

I'll start by saying I think DC comic storylines are absolutely fantastic and there is no logical reason WB shouldn't be able to put out a fantastic film every time they adapt a DC character/story. Additionally, I'm glad Snyder got to finish his version of the film.

On that note... There was only one thing that this movie did definitively better than the theatrical version of the film: the final battle. Yes, the character development was also better, but it was at the cost of pacing.

The Snyder cut acted as an origins film for Cyborg, fleshed out the Flash and Aquaman more, and provided motive for Steppenwolf all of which easily added an hour and a half to the film which was too long.

A lot of Cyborg and Steppenwolf's additions were worth it, but you probably could have cut a half hour of content here without sacrificing character arcs, story, or emotional impact. What value did close to four minutes of slow motion football add to Cyborgs character? Why did I need to know that the Flash applied to be a dog walker (let's not talk about Iris.

.. girl was flying through the air after a vehicle collision with the calmest expression, that scene was laughable)? And, what the heck was the deal with the singing lady when Aquaman went back into the ocean (sure, that was only like 30 seconds but it felt like an awkward eternity).

Honestly, this film could've been an 8/10 if it were an hour shorter which could've been easily achievable by just removing about half the needless slow-motion scenes and focusing on making a great individual movie without putting in a bunch of scenes with no impact on the immediate story, meant to tease things to come (which I'd lean towards us never seeing a continuation of on the big screen).

It could be a 7-7.5/10 if it were a three-part miniseries. But, as a 4-hour, fully intact film, it was a chore to get through and I will likely never re-watch it.