Zack Snyder's Justice League: Film Review

Cast: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Ciaran Hinds, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Diane Lane

Director: Zack Snyder

The long-awaited, much-vaunted, oft-campaigned-for release of the Zack Snyder cut of the critically derided 2017 movie Justice League is finally here.

After Snyder stepped away from the original film, due to personal issues and pressure following the negative feedback on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Joss Whedon's take on the DCEU was so badly received that it was widely believed to have been one of the reasons the DC films followed a lighter template as set down by the success of Marvel movies.

However, Snyder maintained there was a four hour cut of the Justice League movie, waiting for release - and so the pressure to release it began, with an internet campaign gaining weight from the likes of Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck.

Now, the four hour mega cut has seen the light of day - and there's both good and bad things about it.

Justice League finds a world mourning the death of Superman (Cavill) amid Batman's desire to pull together a team to protect Earth from the oncoming threat heralded by Ciaran Hinds' Steppenwolf and a gaggle of pan dimensional gods out to destroy worlds.

So as Batman struggles to recruit the team, the threat grows ever closer - can Momoa's Aquaman, Miller's The Flash and Fisher's Cyborg help save the day and stop the threats from the gods and a trio of life-destroying boxes from ending Earth as we know it?

It's fair to say the 4 hour cut of Justice League has a lot going for it, offering more than its fair share of thrills and spills into the comic book genre.

And it's equally fair to say the Justice League from Zack Snyder is a superior film than the original, with a depth of emotion that's infinitely better than anything before from the DCEU.

A deeply immersive affair broken down into 6 parts (each with comic book issue ending cliffhangers and portents) and an epilogue, the film certainly has widened the scale and scope of Whedon's movie. And yes, there certainly is the feel of a bloat here and there.

With some $70million spent on reshoots, effects and a new OST, it's clear this is a labour of love, though in all honesty, that's sometimes the albatross around Snyder's neck. And whether you'll succumb to it, depends on how much you want to watch scenes that largely set things up, before anything really happens - it's a double-edged sword the movie presents. It's ultimate Snyder, a CGI-heavy slow-mo fest that deepens the mythology but also makes you yearn for a middle ground.

Sure, there are the usual slow-mo shots and freeze frames you've come to expect from Snyder, but what emerges here in this cut (that, in all honesty could have used an expeditious trim) is a vision of the DCEU that's actually worth bearing with - and is a welcome antidote to the tireless fripperies and casual approach of the Marvel Cinematic universe.

Snyder uses the plentiful extra time to give more fleshed out background to Ezra Miller's Barry Allen (still the best thing about the film and a reminder of the biggest shame we never got a Flash spinoff) and more poignantly, Ray Fisher's Cyborg. 

In an irony given Fisher's alleged treatment at the hands of Whedon on set, there's much more humanity on show and a feeling that these are characters you should care about. Less so Arthur Curry, though given his standalone film which played after this, it probably pays not to overthink timelines.

Equally, Ciaran Hinds' Steppenwolf emerges as a more rounded threat, even though he's a servant of a greater master Darkseid. In truth, the Darkseid teases feel pointless in the film, given a second was never put to paper, but certainly, there's a frustrating open-endedness to Justice League that an epilogue and codas tantalise and toy with. (Though as the villain, the motivation is still surface level, as opposed to the Flash and Cyborg, who have more packed into their expanded screen time).

And bizarrely, the MacGuffins of the film, the Mother Boxes, the destructive trio of boxes that raze worlds, get a bit more backstory as well - again, it's not essential stuff, but it's about a depth to the DCEU that had been hitherto lacking.

There are moments of fan service in Justice League, and a four hour movie it may be, but it would have been better suited trimmed down to a 3 hour piece. Extraneous scenes with Amy Adams' Lois Lane don't always work, and while there is a hint of something going on with these, they more often than not feel surplus to requirements.

As mentioned, the scale of the FX of Justice League show great promise. Early scenes with the Amazonians cry out to be seen on the biggest screen, though the final battle does fall into the usual visual overload trap of Snyder's work.

In many ways, Zack Snyder's Justice League is a more successful film than the original movie was. 

But in some ways, it's too much of a fan service, and an occasional advocate for a good editor both on and off screen.

Yet, it's also redemptive for Snyder, who dedicates the movie to his daughter Autumn. It shows the scale of his ambition and the drive of his talent, and proves to be worthy of the years of campaigning that took place on his behalf.

In all honesty, Justice League may not win over any new fans, there are certainly moments you feel it's in fan service of a wider world, and it could have been better as two event movies rather than one bum-numbing seemingly never ending blockbuster.

Yet Justice League serves as reward to both Snyder and equally Fisher, who appear to have gone through hell to ensure their contributions to the pantheon of comic book movies are seen.

Justice has definitely been served.

Justice League is streaming on Neon from Thursday March 18 Express from the US, and will premiere on SkyMovies Premiere at 8.30pm, before an encore showing on Sunday March 21 at 7.30pm.