Darker, richer, better, longer.

amesmonde

While superheroes protect the three powerful Mother Boxes, Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince team up to recruit a team of super humans to protect the world from an impending doom.

Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021), a 4 hour plus cut with additional shot material is superior, even more important than the better director's cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). The effects here are much better and the action setups are well executed. It's less dulled down and not as tongue and cheek. Broken up into chapters, it lives up to the hype and will no doubt appease fans with it's lengthy immersive entertainment.

Snyder offers more depth to the characters including Wonder Woman, Flash and Aquaman (more so and in shorter time than his film) and notable Cyborg with the runtime justified. The characters are readjusted, less quips and melodrama, replaced with richer character beats and drama. The stakes are high and there's a surprise death. Even Darkseid (Ray Porter) and Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) and their army of Parademons get a makeover and more backstory.

This delivers but not without a few niggles, the score is great but the the soundtrack is mixed bag and at times annoyingly intrusive. Product placement is pushed down your throat. Also the 4:3 TV aspect ratio is visually frustrating, having spent the last 30 years getting used to 16:9 widescreen, what TVs are now made for. Apparently this was done (semi-redundantly) to accommodate and enhance the IMAX experience. This aside, it's a better film, the additional scenes, worldbuilding elements, new characters and the tease of new films to name a few. As a comic fan I've found other property outings bloated, pretentious and unable to capture the je ne sais quoi of the comics. Thanks to Snyder's DC work at least they appear to echo their source material without you having to question it.

Amy Adams sells the emotion as Lois in a scene with a twist where Calvin Swanwick reveals himself as Martian Manhunter. The Flash remains likeable, Cyborg's expansion at times feels a little shoehorned but it's great to see more of Ray Fisher. Both Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck offer their usual effortless screen presence along with Jeremy Irons in functional extended cameos throughout. Henry Cavill's Kal-El is sorely missed (as with the previous version) but when his Superman returns it's worth the wait. It plays out slightly differently, thankfully with no CGI top-lip. The action is more intense, Clark is more dangerous, especially his laser vision when confronting Batman. Also the voices of Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe add poignant weight and continuity along with a suit which fits the film's pallet and tone.

Even if the muted colours are to hide any CGI imperfections, it's stylistically dark but more importantly it feels finished. In addition, despite the runtime, for a fan (why else would you watch) it zips along at pace. There's more horrifying premonitions/visions, more drama, with well placed humour, it's a ominous comic action, in-keeping with the other films.

Nevertheless, there's a lengthy epilogue that robs the epic yarn of its thunder and becomes more curious, yet, frustrating as it unfolds. As it moves into a multiverse/dream, Aquaman's fate is unknown. Cloaked Cyborg, armour clad Flash, Deathstroke, Batman and Mera, with a cameo from Jared Leto's Joker, who face off against a 'bad' Superman which is tantalising but unnecessary. Finally it ends with Martian Manhunter warning Bruce of what is to come.

Overall, (albeit lengthy to the casual viewer) the film's improvements fix what was deeply flawed in its predecessor making it an enjoyable experience. Highly recommended.

score /10

amesmonde 18 March 2021

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw6706648/