SnyderCut: A Fresh Re-Start to an Unfinished Journey (Spoilers!)
Updated: Apr 11, 2021
Finally! After four years of #ReleaseTheSnyderCut fans finally get to indulge on this 4-hour epic retelling of the Justice League originally envisioned by Zack Snyder himself. As each year went by I wondered if we would ever get to see a different version of this film, and as the time passed by I continued to lose hope. Though, to my surprise, HBO-MAX and Warner Brothers finally announced the release of the "Snyder Cut."
First Thoughts:
A Four-Hour superhero film scared me... As I am sure it did for many others, but it didn't feel like a four hour movie because I became invested in the characters, the plot, and the stylistic choices made by Snyder himself.
I wasn't a fan of the aspect ratios.
The film did a great job at fleshing out the characters and providing motivation for each of the heroes and even the villains.
The film shares a few plot points from the original cut, but the styling, longer scenes, and added scenes provides something that feels nothing like the first cut.
The Good:
The action scenes are better choreographed and exciting.
The plot development is unlike most films and has solid pacing throughout.
The characters are likable and all have motivation for the actions they make.
The film is truly captivating and tells a complete story.
The sound design and soundtrack is absolutely perfect and really sets the tone of the film.
It's far better than the original cut and really lives up to its expectations.
The introduction of the film echoes nicely throughout the film and it really sets the tone of the film. It also connects its other movies to the "Snyder-Verse."
The finale is epic.
The movie does a good job at making it feel like there are stakes.
The Bad:
Some of the scenes lack finished CGI.
I wasn't a fan of the format (but it isn't deal-breaking).
It could have been shorter by at least an hour.
Batman just does not fit well with super-capable heroes.
We may never see a sequel to this amazing movie that really crafted a universe worth exploring.
Final Thoughts:
I think it is worth saying that Warner Brothers and AT&T really struggle to provide customers and their audience the media they want to see. Naturally, they are plagued by the Hollywood greed of turning a profit, while Marvel Studios under the helm of Disney continue to build an amazing universe. This is all while Disney gives full control over to Kevin Feige and let the directors and producers make the film they want to make. Meanwhile, AT&T and Warner Brothers continue to jump into projects that they approved and chop up films just to try and turn a better profit. As a result of that, it took years of petitioning to get the "SnyderCut" of a film that they fucked up just because Snyder had some serious and unfortunate events to attend to regarding his family, and they felt the need to make the movie shorter, funnier, and just a cash grab under the banner of ""The Justice League." Let's not forget about the allegations against Warner Brothers and Josh joss Whedon who seemingly cut the film of scenes that involved Ray Fisher (Cyborg) and his entire back story, among other "non-white" actors/actresses for reasons unknown... But this is not a political blog, it is just sad that such a company cannot realize that they are constantly getting in the way of their own success in the long run, causing people to dislike the franchise more as well as have people at DC fired because they need to downsize. The worst part is... Josh Whedon gave us "The Avengers" and has done nothing good since then and continues to degrade himself as an artist.
Now that I have finished my rant of which I had not planned, I must say that it is truly an honor to finally continue to see what Zack Snyder himself was trying to build. AND it is beautiful. From the surprise role of the Martian Manhunter to Superman's black cape, the film breaks from its horrible origin and returns to its original roots and vision that Snyder had built from the beginning. Now we just have to wait three to four years before Warner Brothers realizes that not continuing this storyline and universe is going to hurt their image even more, but it also proves what assholes they are for trying to bury the movie in the first place and then ignoring its success after the fact.
If you have not seen this film, watch it. There are chapter breaks throughout the whole film which makes it easy to finish it at whatever pace you would like. Sure, the complexity of it may make it hard for some to enjoy, or people might just dislike it for other reasons, it takes a risk as doing something that has not done before. And for the most part... It really works. Thank you Zack Snyder for returning to the film and finishing your project despite the hardships you had to go through, both personally and professionally.
Please stay tuned for my entire review of WandaVision (maybe even an episode by episode breakdown) and Falcon and the Winter Soldier series premiere.