FILM REVIEW: Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Zack Snyder’s Justice League was easily my most anticipated film of the year, perhaps multiple years. I truly never thought it would never happen when the hashtags first started appearing, but I am very glad to see that I was wrong.

First of all, I am SO happy for Zack Snyder for getting to tell the true story of the Justice League. We know it means a lot to him for personal reasons, and it also means a lot to us as fans. Just seeing the opening credit is emotional, and you find yourself finally believing that this is really happening. With that in mind, this review is completely spoiler-free and an in depth review will air in episode #3 of The Aspiring Kryptonians Podcast following the worldwide release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

Now, I don’t want to compare the two too much, but there were many times in the previous version where we didn’t really know what was going on, why things were happening and why certain moments were included. It just felt really choppy and in-comprehensive. Well that certainly is not the case for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, this is a fully comprehensive piece of story telling, which expertly breaks down every action and reasoning for the viewers.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League has so much depth, there are so many powerful and emotional moments within this film. Each and every character gets their moment to shine and that can be especially said for those that do not yet have their own solo film. That really allowed you get into the origin and personality of The Flash and more specifically Cyborg. For me that was a great touch, as it allowed us to truly get invested in this version of these characters, the true version. The villains were actually terrifying and intimidating, which I felt was missing in the previous film.

The action is phenomenal throughout and each hero showcases what abilities they’ve got, what they can do and why they are an asset to this team. The cinematography and CGI throughout is impeccable too, and that is what really brings this film to life. Don’t worry, Superman does not get a weird mouth and every moment is full of detail. The use of slow motion really allows you to take in every bit of action within the film. We really get to digest the moments in battle and truly get to appreciate just how monumental they are. There are several scenes reminiscent to 300 and Lord Of The Rings, and that is a huge compliment.

I admit prior to the film there were some scenes from the previous film that I really wanted to see done in this one, because I wanted to see Zack’s version of them, (see episode #1 of The Aspiring Kryptonians Podcast). I am happy to report those moments are in there and are escalated to extraordinary proportion.

The score by Junkie XL is absolutely phenomenal, it really accentuates the emotions and hype throughout. I adore how they merge the iconic themes of the individual characters by Hans Zimmer into pretty much every scene they are in. It really gets you going and takes you back to the first time you heard that particular piece of music in the other Snyder-Verse films. I found myself head banging to the Wonder Woman piece by Tina Guo several times and the pieces used from Man Of Steel brought a tear to my eye. I truly cannot wait to hear that soundtrack in full upon its release.

I will say this though and it’s my only negative toward the film… some of the other song choices that were in the film I felt sometimes didn’t fit. But that’s not to say it was bad, that’s just my personal opinion and I felt like a different choice may have worked better. Like I said before, a majority of them really do add a lot of emotion to the scene and really allows you to get invested in these characters and their backstories.

Overall, Zack Snyder’s Justice League felt like Justice was finally served, pun intended. Zack got to tell his story his way and I could not be happier, especially as a Superman fan and I know a large majority of the fans will feel the same way. Some will say that four hours is too long for a film, but in this very rare case those four hours were simply not long enough in my opinion.

I still really cannot understand why the film was completely changed, when this version was originally planned. That was a huge mistake and I’m glad we got to see that corrected. This is the outcome of a true visionary director telling their original stories and their plans and I am completely here for it. Director Zack Snyder has set something so special up here, the characters, the relationships and the story lines. It would be a huge shame and an even bigger mistake to not follow this universe through and see this vision through to the end.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a cinematic masterpiece filled with action, depth and the best portrayals of our favourite characters. It is truly everything I wanted and more. This is my Justice League and I hope we get to see more. It’s time to #RestoreTheSnyderVerse.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is available to stream worldwide on Thursday 18th March 2021.