Zack Snyder's Justice League - Why You Need To Own This!

Nearly as soon as ‘Justice League’  hit cinemas in 2017, #releasethesnydercut began to trend on social media. The 2017 film was met with mixed reviews, with fans being let down from what had been sent up in the previous instalments in the DC Cinematic Universe. Ultimately, the film bombed grossing just over $230 Million domestically and under $700 million worldwide. With the announcement of Warner Bros. streaming service HBO Max, the ‘Snyder Cut’  began to pick up steam again, with the studio looking at options to release the film. In March 2021, the film released onto ‘HBO Max’ and now in May 2021, the film has also released on Blu-Ray and 4K UHD. Snyder fans are happy as they have finally received the film they have been begging for, for almost four years. But was the film worth the wait? That’s what I am here to discuss today. Here are my 5 reasons on why you need to check out ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’:

1. The Action – The action in the film is dialled up, with a stronger emphasis on the action set-pieces of the film. Whilst the core action sequences do remain consistent with the original cut of the film, here they are expanded and given more room to breathe. The sequences are longer and feel like they have more significance to the plot. The sequences never feel excessive, as we are given plenty of moments of levity and character building throughout, so when the action sequences turn up they feel more impactful as they actually have stakes. My favourite action sequence in the film is the fight between Steppenwolf and the Amazonians as Steppenwolf attempts to take the Mother box from Themyscira. It is great and a lot of fun, with the sequence feeling like a relay, as the Amazonians continue to pass the mother box from person to person.
2. Further Development of characters – the characters are given much more character development here. We get small moments with the characters so that they feel more fleshed out and again, feel as if though they have weight to them. In the original cut of the film, the characters were not given a lot to do, they are introduced and then they are fighting. Here we spend time with each of the characters so that they feel a lot more developed. Cyborg is given his own origin, Flash is given some great moments including a moment where he saves a woman from a car accident (this will appease comic book fans as well, as it is a further introduction to another popular character) and Wonder Woman is also given more to do sharing leadership duties with Batman himself. These moments make the characters feel more real and for that, I think Snyder’s cut does a great job.
3. The Villain – One of the biggest casualties of the 2017 cut of the film, was the films villain ‘Steppenwolf’. He had a generic design and a generic backstory. Here the character has been re-designed with more of an emphasis put on his vision and what he is trying to achieve. He is a lot more menacing because of the characters new design and because his goal is clearly established, we know why we should be afraid of him. Darkseid is also introduced, who was absent from the 2017 theatrical cut. Whilst his inclusion, ultimately does not have a huge implication on the outcome of the film, it is set up for future instalments in this universe that does feel natural and gives more weight to Steppenwolf as well. I enjoyed his inclusion and I also enjoyed the sequences with the two characters.
4. The resurrection of Superman – as we all know, Superman died battling Doomsday at the end of ‘Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice’ – we knew he was going to come back and in the theatrical cut, he did, but it was underwhelming. Here his resurrection feels earned and adds to the film. He reappears in the black suit we saw teased in behind the scenes stills, but here we actually get to see it in action. This was awesome, even if it is only a small detail, it just felt epic in scale seeing Superman back on screen. His inclusion in the final battle is also very important ot the outcome of the final confrontation, it makes him feel important in this sequence and his inclusion necessary.
5. The team coming together – seeing the team on screen together feels epic. With Junkie XL’s score mixed with the awesome costume design, there are some great moments especially in the films third act, that are truly epic and among the best sequences in the film. In the theatrical cut, the film failed to feel epic or important, where here when the team is all on-screen together, it feels momentous and important. I loved seeing the characters on-screen together in the Snyder cut and I think it was stunning.
    

‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ is a four hour, film epic it is filled with great character moments, better action and a more-established and complex villain. I had a blast with this one and for the reasons above would recommend that you all check it out and on 4K UHD if you get the chance. Be sure to pick up your copy from Sanity in store or online today!

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Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here