As evidenced by the fact that this blog features Marvelous Wednesdays but not DClicious Thursdays, I’ve always been bigger into the MCU than the DCEU. I’m not a DC hater, and I’ve seen most of the movies – and I’ve liked to loved a handful of them – but they’re not necessarily films I prioritize (when it comes to DC, the CW shows are more my jam.) While there are certain properties within the universe that I’ll go out and see as soon as I can, others fall more into a “it’ll be there for when I get around to it” space.
All of which is to say I wasn’t campaigning for the Snyder Cut and I didn’t race to HBO Max to see it as soon as it dropped. I probably put it off longer than I otherwise would have because of the sheer length of the thing (why – just why?), but I have at last made my way around to it.
When ultra-baddie Steppenwolf sets about assembling the ultimate doomsday device, Bruce Wayne takes it upon himself to bring together a group of individuals with extraordinary abilities. Though they come from very different backgrounds and all have their own internal baggage, the fledging team is forced to work together to keep Steppenwolf from acquiring all the necessary pieces (a.k.a. Mother Boxes) and bringing about the apocalypse. And given the impending end of the world, it sure is a shame that the only Kryptonian they’re aware of on Earth is dead.
I watched the original recipe DCEU Justice League at some point after it came out on DVD. I thought it was okay but muddled, and I hated the stupid shot of Barry falling on top of Diana. I didn’t enjoy it or hate it enough to write about it on the blog. Mainly, I just came out of it still loving Wonder Woman and being prepared to watch Aquaman, and that was about it.
Now that Zack Snyder has brought “his full vision” to life, it’s clear just how much the original was interfered with. If nothing else, it’s nice that he had a chance to put out his movie, instead of something that another director reshot to hell while harassing some of the cast members. Unlike its Frankensteined predecessor, 2021 Justice League has a consistent tone, look, and feel throughout. It feels like one story, not two ham-fistedly sewn together.
There are some definite good points here. All the actors in the main cast perform admirably, even if I disagree with the direction the franchise takes with some of their characterizations. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman remains my favorite, and Jason Momoa is really engaging as Aquaman. My issues with this version of Batman are down to the story and not Ben Affleck, who continues to work surprisingly well as an older, worn-down incarnation of the Dark Knight. Ray Fisher is excellent as Cyborg, who holds the film together in a lot of ways, and I maintain that Henry Cavill probably has a good Superman in him, if that Superman were written by somebody else. Ezra Miller is fine but a little flimsy as the Flash, and just in general, Barry isn’t used well as a character – I screamed when he’s tasked with getting all the civilians out of a dangerous situation and he just zips around among them encouraging them to hurry and saying, “This way!” (Also, there’s a video of Miller throttling a woman at a bar, which is gross.)
As the kids say, there is just so much movie in this movie. It absolutely does not need to be 4 hours long. While, yes, the length allows for some little character moments added in for color, it also makes room for painfully-slow slow-motion fight shots and interminable singing from fishing-village girls (it’s a thing.) Watching it, it doesn’t feel like a film, but despite some act-break title cards, it’s not paced out like a miniseries either. I don’t know if the DCEU as envisioned by Zack Snyder would ever really be my cup of tea, but I do know there’s a respectable-enough superhero movie somewhere within this four-hour behemoth.
Warnings
Violence, language, drinking, and thematic elements.
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