Welcome to this week’s edition of the Nerd Review!  Every week the Nerds give you their take on a different movie from the Nerdosphere.  This week Dave and Patrick review the highly anticipated Zack Snyder’s Justice League!

The Flick:  Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

What’s it About:  In the wake of Superman’s death, Bruce Wayne attempts to gather other superheroes in preparation for a danger he fears could destroy humanity.

Metacritic Score: 54

The Nerds’ Take on Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021):

Dave: The year was 2017. DC fans, such as myself, were filled with excitement on a whole different level as we anxiously awaited the release of Justice League (JL). After all, the MCU had already shown us just how epic a super-hero team up could be with two Avenger’s movies (at that time anyway) and the Justice League was every bit as iconic a team as the Avengers, X-Men, or Fantastic Four. The problem was that the movie fell horribly flat. It wasn’t that it was bad; it just wasn’t great. Shortly after its disappointing box-office run ended, fans began demanding the release of the Snyder Cut. At the time, this was all a grassroots campaign based off of the belief that Zack Snyder’s vision for the Justice League was far more completed than believed and was drastically different from Joss Wheedon’s version of the film. #ReleasetheSnyderCut seemed like a pipe dream…. until it wasn’t when HBO Max shocked us all by announcing they would release the Snyder Cut. On March 18, 2021, Zack Snyder’s Justice League (ZJL) debuted on HBO Max. To say it has taken the Nerd Universe by storm is an understatement. But, is it any good? In the words of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin…”Oh Hell Yeah!”

The general gist of JL is, in many respects, the general gist of ZJL. It is how we get there that makes this new cut stand out so much. The first question many people who, for some inane reason, respect me have asked me is whether ZJL is really a different movie from JL. It absolutely is. Even the few moments that are direct repeats from JL feel different because of the way we get there. Everything is bigger but tighter, grander yet more digestible, more over the top and yet oddly understated. There is a depth to ZJL that was completely absent from JL. The best way to discuss this is to look at two of the central supporting characters who got completely overlooked in JL: Cyborg and The Flash.

Rey Fisher’s issues with WB notwithstanding, in JL, Cyborg was an afterthought. He came across as emotionally robotic as his body armor. There was nothing compelling or endearing about him. ZJL completely changed the narrative by giving us Victor Stone’s backstory. We explore Victor’s strained relationship with his father and the tragic accident that killed his mother and forced Victor’s father to use a Mother Box to repair his son’s broken body at the expense of sacrificing much of his humanity. We see Cyborg being reluctant to get involved but gradually accepting himself as much as the other members of the Justice League. Cyborg goes from being dull, lifeless, and boring to one of the best characters in the film. It is literally night and day.

For me though, the change with The Flash is even bigger and better. In JL, Barry Allen was portrayed as an awkward kid unsure of how to rescue even one person. His comic relief was fine, but that was not the Barry Allen I knew from the comics, not even close. In ZJL, however, Barry Allen is a man who feels like one of the most powerful characters in the DCU. He is a man who very much understands his powers, understands the Speed Force, knows that he has the power to manipulate time, knows what that means, and does not shrink away from the big moments. The way he springs into action without a second thought to rescue who we presume was Iris West early in the movie shows just how different a variation of Flash this character is. I loved what they did with Cyborg; what they did with Flash actually made my soul smile. Yes, it was that damn good.

The second question I get asked is whether ZJL is really the better movie. To steal from Corey Graves…”Yes….yes…a thousand times yes!” You are literally comparing apples to oranges. Now there are some, like my friend Patrick, who just do not dig Zack Snyder’s directing style and that is fine. To each their own.  It does not take away from the fact that this is still an infinitely better told story in every way. Take Steppenwolf for instance, the Jar Jar Binks of JL. In ZJL, not only does he look better, but he is bad ass this time out. Not only that, but there is a depth to his character that was completely absent the first time around. We learn that he tried to betray Darkseid and is now seeking redemption. Then there is Darkseid himself. We see enough of him to understand that he is a Thanos level entity, not to be trifled with, or taken lightly. But we even get some of his back story and how he was repelled by the defenders of Earth millennia earlier. This becomes hugely important because we also learn more about the Mother Boxes and the consequences of the three boxes unifying. This creates a sense of urgency, explains why the heroes are fighting as hard as they are, and explains why resurrecting Superman was so important. There is a palpable feeling that something really matters here, that preventing The Unity is reality altering, and that the stakes are very high indeed. The resurrection of Superman was handled much better this time around. I will say that the black suit Superman might have been overdone a bit, but that is a minor complaint.

Wonder Woman was every bit as awesome as she has ever been. Batman/Bruce Wayne was more effective because he was not being funny for the sake of trying to be funny. He took on the Captain America role for the team, as he should have. Aquaman’s issues with Atlantis were explained a bit more. We learn about the anti-life equation being on Earth. We see how shattered Lois Lane really was by the death of Clark Kent. The pacing of the fights was better even though they were all much longer. There was no real filler in the movie. Everything fits together as it should. Unlike JL, ZJL captured the power and awesomeness of the Justice League and brought it to life. These are some of the most iconic and powerful characters to ever grace the pages of comic books and ZJL makes you feel as though you are actually watching these awesome characters come to life.

By now, you may have surmised that I am going to rate this high. That’s not a prediction…it’s a spoiler. However, I might have rated this higher but for the plain and simple fact that ZJL represents, in many ways, a wasted opportunity. Yes, it is fantastic that Zack got to finish his vision and get it released to the fans. There is no question about that. But one cannot help but wonder what might have been had WB not pulled the plug on Zack Snyder, had given him time to grieve his daughter’s death, and had just let him see his vision to its conclusion. The seeds for where things might have gone are all planted in the Epilogue. Some will complain about this sequence being nothing more than post-credit scenes but I disagree with that. It shows possibilities of where things might have ended up. We get a little more to Deathstroke than the post-credit scene in JL. We also get some extended dialogue between Bruce Wayne and the Martian Manhunter, a pleasant, but expected, surprise in ZJL. But the biggest aspect of the Epilogue is the riveting scene, and dialogue, between Batman and The Joker. The uninitiated will not understand it; DC fans will see it as Snyder teasing the possibility that we could have gone down the Injustice rabbit hole. The fact that we see Lois with a pregnancy test in her nightstand…along with Snyder confirming Lois was pregnant…creates the very real possibility of a story line quantum leaps more disturbing than anything we had seen so far. ZJL also set up a Darkseid invasion and even a potential cross-over with Crisis On Infinite Earths. It is now highly unlikely that any of that will come to pass. Don’t get me wrong though. The DCEU still has the potential to be very good; after watching the excellence that is ZJL though, one can’t help but feel that the DCEU could have been great.

For the MCU fans who want me to compare this to MCU movies, I will say this: ZJL is better than Age of Ultron and I would even go so far as to say it was as good as the first Avengers movie, all things considered. It is not on the same level as Black Panther, Guardians of the Galaxy, Infinity War, or Endgame, nor would I say it is better than Wonder Woman. I would give it the nod over Shazam or Aquaman though. It is as epic in scope as anything you have seen in the MCU so far and that is not hyperbole. Ultimately, you might ask yourself if it is worth the 4-hour time investment? If you are a DC fan, a Marvel fan, a comics fan, or a super-hero fan, it is not a question of should you watch it….you need to watch it.

Dave’s Rating: 4.5/5

Patrick:  This week we review the long awaited Zack Snyder’s Justice League.  Zack Snyder was originally tabbed to direct the first iteration of the film, but tragically had to step down in the middle of production after the death of his daughter.  Joss Whedon was brought in to finish the film and dis so to poor reviews from critics and fans alike.  After years of clamoring from fans disappointed in the 2017 Whedon version of Justice League, Warner Brothers decided to give in to fan demands and allow Zack Snyder to complete his vision for the film.  The four hour “Snyder Cut” is a decided improvement on the original mess of a movie resulting in a good, albeit not great, superhero flick.

You read that right.  While I felt the movie was good, I did not view ZSJL as the masterpiece a great number of fans did.  Before I go into what I felt held this movie back, let’s get into those improvement I mentioned.   I’m not going to rundown the plot very deeply (I figure Dave will give a pretty solid blow by blow) as the basic plot is not particular different from the original.  Batman, haunted by the death of Superman and a vision of an apocalyptic future, begins to gather superheroes to combat this approaching danger.  This results in the team we know and love of Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Cyborg and a revived Superman taking on the menacing Steppenwolf.

So, what improved here?  In two words, character development.  Much of the film’s four hour run time is dedicated to developing the lesser known characters, particularly Ray Fisher’s Cyborg.  In Whedon’s version, Cyborg is largely an afterthought in a movie where he is supposedly a key to saving the dat.  Snyder gives the audience a fully realized character wrestling with his own identity and a complicated relationship with his father.  Suddenly Cyborg is a fully realized character that becomes the heart of the team and the film itself.  To a lesser degree we also get more depth for Aquaman and the Flash, although I felt there was more there for Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen.  We also get a much better understanding of the motivations of Steppenwolf and his ruler, Darkseid. There was next to no attention given to the villains in the Whedon version.  Snyder treats Steppenwolf very similarly to how the Russo brothers approached Thanos, allowing the character screen time beyond destroying things, thus allowing the audience to fully realize the threat posed.

The other big improvement to me is Snyder’s script.  Gone are the quippy out of place Joss Whedon jokes, replaced with a heavier script and bits of levity sprinkled throughout.  The result is a more grounded film that makes sense for the tone of the film.  A lot of Whedon’s script changes and reshoots really seemed to make no sense whatsoever.  Snyder brought a coherent vision that was logical to follow.

So, what didn’t work for me?  Well, while I appreciated the added exposition for character development.  It does reach a point of redundancy in some places and I found my mind wandering.  I understand Cyborg resents his father.  I don’t need to be reminded of it seemingly every other scene.  It was too much.  The same could be said at times for Steppenwolf.  I get that he is reporting to Darkseid, but a couple of his seems felt more like padding, not plotting.  Second, is a personal gripe I have with most Zack Snyder’s work and that is his overuse of slow motion.  Everything gets slowed down in this movie.  It doesn’t matter if the audience is getting an action sequence or a hero shot.   Zack was going to make sure that action was s…l…o…w.  Now, that is not say slow motion didn’t have value.  You cannot shoot the flash without slowing him down, the audience what’s to experience time as he sees it.  But I am honestly surprised he didn’t have Amy Adams walking in slow motion to buy her morning coffee.  The slow motion sequences again took me out of the moment in a way I know Snyder doesn’t intend.  And once you are out of the experience the film needs to work that much harder to bring you back in.

Last but not least: the epilogue.  I’m sorry superfans, but I didn’t like any of it.  I kept this to myself on this week’s Bandwagon Nerds.  There are really three epilogues in one here and shoehorning Bruce’s apocalyptic future in the middle of the whole thing for 20 minutes was, to me, just too much.  Less probably gives me more in this case, especially when you learn that Jared Leto’s scene was the only one actually filmed during the Snyder’s building of the movie over the past year.  It is indulgent and not necessary to get you to the big reveal of that scene.  I know Dave was impressed by Leto’s performance.  I found it to be fine, but I felt no real emotional reaction to the interchange between Leto’s Joker and Ben Affleck’s Batman.

So where does that leave me?  Honestly, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a good superhero movie, but is it a great one?  I don’t think so.  The story is stronger and more coherent, but gets bogged down in the sheer volume of material presented.  The dialogue better, and the language stronger, but not so much to really move the needle for me.  The action sequences are loud and impressive, but hurt by Snyder’s overuse of slow motion filming.  I think if you are a DC fan and have a strong connection to these characters, you will love this movie.  I didn’t dislike Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but I know I am likely never to watch it again.

Patrick’s Rating: 2.76/5.0

Overall Nerds’ Rating on Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021): 3.63/5.0