Zack Snyder's Justice League

Except for the fabulously overstuffed chapter where Steppenwolf's headquarters is attacked, this is the first Snyder film where I'm sort of willing to accept digital mess. It is tempting to make a screenshot of each frame and add text bubbles to the characters, this is a living comic book, like from Crew or BB Art. Thanks for that feeling at least, but I can't say I'm jumping in joy. What works on paper doesn't work in the film, the 4 hours of perceptual inferno and the fuckton of slow motion make you tired, so you are grateful for every subtle scene where two characters just talk, which are few and far between. I could have easily done without the pathetic epilogue and Leto's awkward Joker. (03/20/2021)

Ineffective, poorly coherent, long but sparsely motivated, hollow in terms of the plot, and psychologically ridiculous. Basically, four hours of futile attempts to give the impression of something fateful by staring into the void, overusing slow motion, and commenting music. But there's no such thing here. The characters have no relationships with each other, and everything Snyder has added here versus the awful Whedon version is more masturbatory fanboy filler than any kind of substantial and creative storytelling. The DC universe feels like an epic sculpture, but once you kick it you realize it's not made of steel but plaster. It's a good thing there are legions of fanboys whose standards have been so dulled by a series of cinematic disasters that they bow down even to this false idol. Back to Marvel. (03/25/2021)

Not impressed. It's undeniable that this is in line with Snyder's vision from the Ultimate Cut of Batman vs Superman, but whether it is for the better, that’s another question. It doesn't feel like a complete film with a four-hour arc, but like an episodic miniseries (and it is divided in chapters), where for every passable action set-piece there are a few minutes of interchangeable mind-numbing CGI mess, and for every successful scene like "Diana bantering with Alfred over the tea-making process" there's one WTF scene (though nothing in the style of “Martha”). At times it's light, at times it's in the spirit of heavy Wagnerian opulence "about gods and people (only without people)" and at times it's completely different. At times it's very spectacular and at times it looks like filmed in a soundstage with unfinished visual effects. You will be convinced that Affleck is a great Bruce but a mediocre Batman, and the same can be said about the rest. Basically, it’s full of contradictions. What saves a lot is that Aquaman and Wonder Woman have already had their movies in the meantime, so there's time for Cyborg (which sort of works) and The Flash (which doesn't work that well). The advantage is that it feels like a team effort, where everyone plays an important role, something that couldn't be said about the cinematic version. The villains are again punishingly bland (but at least with motivation). There is no justification for the four-hour runtime, it could have easily fit in three. Sure, Snyder does have a vision, and it’s clear he’s had it all along, but a vision a film doesn’t make, and his looks better on paper than in practice. It is still not a good film, it's a film with more than one good to memorable scene and moment, but as a whole it's an uninteresting hodgepodge of everything and nothing. At least compared to Whedon's cut, it's a watchable, uninteresting hodgepodge of everything and nothing. (03/18/2021)

Snyder can check off the final box, his League is better overall than the original, but it certainly won't be for everyone. It's more layered, more plot-driven, with more emphasis on all the main characters. It portrays them better, it focuses on their motivations and values better, so the overall emotional impact is stronger, and the same is true for the villains, especially Steppenwolf. But I can't shake the feeling that while the film is a patchwork of beautiful, sometimes darkly gothic, sometimes Sin City-like overstyled scenes, with plain cool shots here and there, that works with good story material, but it's ultimately merely an adaptation of a concept that didn't work then and still doesn’t fully work after the facelift. At times, the whole thing feels too artificial and over-artistic, and I couldn't shake the feeling that Superman was just like a sore thumb and he wasn't the Superman from Man of Steel anymore, as if Cavill wasn't Cavill anymore. And ironically, the most memorable and emotionally powerful scenes are those when Affleck climbs mountains to an impressive musical score, or when Zimmer's Man of Steel theme plays. 3.5 stars at most. (04/14/2021)

An uncompromising, sprawling comic book colossus. This time, Snyder arranged for the white collars to fail big time. The movie isn’t perfect, a little creaky here and there (Ezra Miller is awful in the role of Flash), but as a whole it works great. The dark tone is consistent with the two preceding pictures: a somber atmosphere, good character motivation and the action scenes are superb. Mainly, the baddies are not there just for a decoration, but there are motives for their behavior. Theatrical soliloquies, heroic entrances, a thunderous soundtrack. I’m happy. Maybe HBO will pay for the sequel too. (03/19/2021)