My Review on 'Zack Snyder's Justice League': When Justice is Truly Served

Four years already. Is it worth the wait? Or is it just a waste of time?

Zack Snyder’s Justice League has been through a lot of things (more like obstacles) since 2017. The movie underwent various production issues and rumors. Thankfully, it emerges to the surface on March 18, 2021 distributed by HBO Max, and I had the chance to watch it on HBO GO.

Now debuts freshly on Rotten Tomatoes with a 78%, Zack Snyder’s Justice League has been called as a big improvement to its previous version, the 2017 theatrical release Justice League which garnered mixed reviews from both critics and moviegoers. A second chance surely suits on you, Zack!

Directed by: Zack Snyder

Written by: Chris Terrio, Zack Snyder, Will Beall

Distributed by: HBO Max

Running time: 242 minutes

Rating: R (16+)

Anyway, I won’t discuss much on this movie because I’m afraid I will spoil the movie to you. Here we go!

Short synopsis of Zack Snyder’s Justice League:

After the beacon of Metropolis has died in the hand of Doomsday, Darkseid (voiced by Ray Porter) sends Steppenwolf (voiced by Ciaran Hinds) to invade earth and activate the source of power, namely the Mother Boxes. Along with Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), The Flash (Ezra Miller), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), and Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Bruce Wayne aka Batman (Ben Affleck) puts together a team of metahumans, preparing to fight the incoming war.

Short introduction of the characters:

BRUCE WAYNE/BATMAN: The tech-master and founder of the Justice League, also the money supplier of everything. He is the caped crusader who has been protecting Gotham City for twenty years.

CLARK KENT/SUPERMAN: A Kryptonian with superhuman strength previously working as a journalist for Daily Planet. He died in the battle of Doomsday in Batman v. Superman (2016).

DIANA PRINCE/WONDER WOMAN: A powerful Amazonian warrior and princess who is the co-founder of the league.

VICTOR STONE/CYBORG: A former Gotham City University student and a famous football player back in 2016. He becomes a half-human half-machine called Cyborg after being brought back to life by his scientist father Silas Stone.

BARRY ALLEN/THE FLASH: A student at Central City college who is as fast as speed of light, goes by the name The Flash.

ARTHUR CURRY/AQUAMAN: A half-human half-Atlantean who joins the force to fight Steppenwolf.

STEPPENWOLF: The right-hand of Darkseid who is sent by him to claim back and gather the three Mother Boxes.

DARKSEID: The leading tyrant of Apokolips aiming to conquer earth and all worlds.

Now, dive into the main review.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League amazingly lives up to its justice on the characters and storyline. We get to see Snyder’s incredible and enormous vision of what could have happened in 2017. The climax part is the most satisfying sequence in my opinion. It really depicts how Justice League looks like in the comics. And mostly, this is the JL that I’ve always imagined as a DCEU fan. Snyder really shows those potential in the characters and develops it immensely from his heart.

Colors and CGI is a whole beauty, and a lot better than the 2017’s when Whedon made it to be as bright as possible.  The dark tone looks good on the film. Cinematography is good enough. The original Steppenwolf design is an absolute fire. The spikey killing machine is terrifying.

Tom Holkenborg’s (aka Junkie XL) scores are shining and shimmering throughout the movie. He shared his first sneak peek of JL theme back in DC Fandome and I couldn’t get more excited since that time. My most favorite is The Crew at Warpower which becomes the movie’s main theme. Holkenborg, who also works on Godzilla vs. Kong score, gives the touch of Godzilla theme in ZSJL too!

I also think that this whole movie is a huge difference compared to the 2017 version. A more well-written development in the characters (mostly Cyborg arc), a better plot and amazing visualization. If I can say, it’s a whole different movie with a bunch of great elements. Unlike 2017’s Justice League, there are so many heartwarming moments that don’t feel forced.

However, due to its almost-4-hours-runtime, I’m pretty sure those who are not really into Snyder’s film style will find it kinda boring for its slow-paced and very detailed story, you can say it exaggerates many things inside it. On the contrary, as a huge Snyder fan, I find it very much pleasing and enjoyable in exploring the narration of JL from scratch.

Back in 2017, it was announced that Willem Dafoe’s Vulko, Zheng Kai’s Ryan Choi, and Kiersey Clemons’ Iris West would make appearance in the movie. Turns out during the theatrical release, their scenes were entirely cut. All hail to the 2021’s SnyderCut, those characters finally can come to light! 

Lastly, I would give this movie a score of 88%. Big thanks for Snyder fans who always fight for the cut. It was really worth my four hours.  Also, there is a special appearance of secret cameo in the movie! A very good one, of course.

Watch the ZSJL trailer here:

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