'Zack Snyder's Justice League' Is Here, And It's Long, Indulgent And Better Than The Original

After four years, a prolonged internet social media campaign and allegations of severe studio mishandling , director Zack Snyders cut of Justice League has finally been unveiled and yes, its an improvement on the version that came out in 2017.

The theatrical cut of Justice League was a cobbled-together movie that Snyder was unable to finish due to the suicide of his daughter Autumn . Already belabored with significant pressure from Warner Bros. who badly wanted a superhero team-up crowdpleaser to rival Marvel s Avengers movies and were aghast at the poor critical reception to Snyders previous effort, 2016s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice the director eventually left the project. Spiraling into disaster control mode, Warner Bros. brought Avengers director Joss Whedon on board to finish the film.

Whedons version featured a mix of old scenes and newly shot footage filled with zingy one-liners that seemed taken from the Marvel movies and out of place in the comparatively dour DC Comics cinematic universe. Punctuated by an antiquated soundtrack by Danny Elfman, Whedons Justice League defied Warner Bros. hopes, leaving most reviewers including those at HuffPost calling it middling at best.

In the years since, rumors that Whedon underutilized Snyders footage and undermined the directors original intent sparked a #ReleaseTheSnyderCut fan campaign that, while admirable in its desire to see artistic integrity restored, also veered into the realm of dangerous fandom toxicity . Allegations that Whedon engaged in abusive behavior on set and greatly minimized the role of actor Ray Fisher, who plays the man-turned-machine Cyborg, amplified this call.

Finally, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, theaters were ground to a halt long enough for Warner Bros to shrug, say Well, why not, and allow Snyder to finish what he started for an HBO Max debut.

And now we have Zack Snyders Justice League, a weighty behemoth of a movie with a runtime of a whopping 4 hours and 2 minutes that shouldnt exist but was nevertheless willed into existence.

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