Stumbled onto Zack Snyder’s Justice League (aka The Snyder Cut) Part Two

 

[Eastern music featuring a ceremonial cry] 'Kal-El, no'

 - sorry couldn't resist

Do not worry, my Justice League frustration will not be split into six parts like the movie. After this post, I think I will take a break from dissing on Zack Snyder. I can’t promise though ; because HBO max has already announced the release of a black and white version of the Snyder cut (spoiler alert, I have seen the next post and there is yet another unflattering mention of him). And the movie is already in a 4:3 ratio like an old television set. It is a marketing technique; he is begging for us haters to come after him! I have already made a long post about all the small (and some bigger) details that I did not enjoy in this second draft of the film. This post is a bit more general. It is of course still about my frustration with this movie’s very existence. However, it is also a humble admission of the very bias I pretend is not that big a deal in my previous post. If I am being honest, chances were I wasn’t going to like this movie. But in an attempt to be even more honest, I swear I tried.

In case I didn’t in my last post, I want to acknowledge that there has been wide appeal for this version, from viewers and critics alike, and recognise that it is a coherent movie that looks much less like a jigsaw puzzle than the original Justice League. I also want to acknowledge that Snyder’s aesthetic, despite personal preferences, is better suited for DC comics than it would have been for, say, Marvel. I think the main difference between the two companies, DC and Marvel, is the humanity of their characters; Marvel focuses on this aspect and is much more relatable, whereas DC creates a myth around their heroes and is more inspirational. Both are fine; that’s not the issue. The reason one formula works better than the other, nonetheless, is that Marvel and the MCU have adjusted to the current zeitgeist. Snyder is ignoring it completely. The year is 2021, the original movie came out in 2017; people have made it clear that characterless buff men in spandex doesn’t cut it for them. They want some humane aspect to their idols. Not just because of the MCU, which serves as the obvious comparison; James Bond also adjusted,, for example, and having three dimensional characters (for some of the seasons at least) made an incredibly nerdy, medieval show with dragons and boobs into a global fandom. I am not saying DC needs to have Wonder Woman smash a coffee cup and proclaim ‘Another!’ to highlight that she is out of this world. Nolan, for example, interpreted the zeitgeist differently, but did not ignore it. He didn’t go for relatable and fluffy, but instead deep dived into the trauma, the societal structure, and all in less than four hours too. Well, this was my attempt at acknowledgment, recognition and positivity and boy, did it go great! Let’s move on to the frustration bit.

What bothers me about the entire entity of this cut is that this was more of a reply to Whedon’s, admittedly, butchery than it was a movie. The four hour runtime includes a number of teasers that will lead nowhere because the DCEU has already been cancelled. They are not relevant to the movie, the plot, and they knowingly will not lead anywhere! We all know so and we are all asked to go along with the notion that this is four years ago and these Easter eggs would have lead somewhere had the executives not fucked up. But we, like the Cyborg, are burdened with knowledge. So these teasers that do not add to the movie, nor future movies, are a very childish ‘I told you so’ from one creator to another. I understand that he may have already shot these bits, but if this is to be treated as  piece of film independent of the surrounding scandal, these scenes should have been edited out. And, frankly, these teasers were not better executed than Whedon’s. Yes, I’ll say it! Whedon’s quick peak onto a Green Lantern was more nuanced than Snyder’s insertion of the Martian Manhunter pretending to be Martha (remember Martha?) that meant nothing and even made that one heart-warming scene less meaningful. But that is Snyder’s mantra; less nuanced, more on the nose and baptised grandiose. And might I add, had these scenes not been included, the runtime could be less than half a working day (as pointed out by Ryan George).

It is also useless to discuss this as Snyder’s original vision, as it is not original; this movie is the result of extensive feedback. The Joker is proof of this benefit because, as you may have noticed, he looked and acted quite differently to the Joker from Suicide Squad. They received a lot of hate and criticism for him and they very rightfully changed the character. Which is a good thing, don’t get me wrong; I couldn’t take another shot of that tattoo crazed Joker, but it is the very reason that the talk about Snyder’s redemption is unfair to say the least. And even with all that unfairness on its side, the script still felt like it was made for video game cut scenes. Viewers complained about Steppenwolf’s lack of motive and we had no more than a cut scene where he explains his motive to another villain who, in turn, has no discernible motive, who works for a third, scarier villain with, you guessed it, no discernible motive. Talking about benefitting from feedback, this version also included some of Whedon’s input; the quirky lines, the Batman’s Iron Man-esque responses. Again, good for them, selecting and keeping the good stuff as part of the movie, but this is why this whole debate should not have been so personal.

There is also a problem that might not be Snyder’s fault, as much as I would love to pin it onto him. A lot of it feels unearned. DCEU’s decision to forego the proper set up of its heroes will always mark their movies; the emotional investment just isn’t there. Some heroes have been set up nicely, like Wonder Woman, but even that is not taken to its full advantage. Snyder did his best, bless him, with his slow motion, endless face shots of his pained heroes and numerous paternal voiceovers. But for all those asking for restoration of the Snyderverse, this lack of set up will always be a parasite and I honestly and lovingly think they are best to reboot it.

Nonetheless, I missed pop culture, and bad pop culture is so much more fun to complain about. I guess there is no harm done in having someone complete their vision, you know, other than the four hours each viewer will spend on this movie and the additional two they had spent on the previous abomination. Darn it, I was supposed to end on a positive note.