director: zach synder (watchmen, men of steel)

starring: gal gadot, ben affleck, henry cavill and jason momoa

REVIEWER: lyall carter

Zack Snyder's definitive director's cut of Justice League. Determined to ensure Superman's ultimate sacrifice was not in vain, Bruce Wayne aligns forces with Diana Prince with plans to recruit a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions.

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Fandom. This is one of the massive reasons that we have this long wished and hoped for version of 2017’s Justice League. With everything from billboards in Time Square to the trending hashtag #ReleasetheSynderCut, fans in their droves have been pushing for Synder’s cut of the film to be released. Zach Snyder’s Justice League is a much more complete film giving much needed space and time to character development and an expansion of the narrative. Justice has been well and truly served. 

Determined to ensure Superman's ultimate sacrifice was not in vain, Bruce Wayne aligns forces with Diana Prince with plans to recruit a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions. The task proves more difficult than Bruce imagined, as each of the recruits must face the demons of their own pasts to transcend that which has held them back, allowing them to come together, finally forming an unprecedented league of heroes. Now united, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash may be too late to save the planet from Steppenwolf, DeSaad and Darkseid and their dreadful intentions.

When I watched Justice League in 2017 I really enjoyed the first couple of acts but the final act just seemed to descend into a messy CGI fest. For the most part the Synder cut has not only saved the final act, adding further depth to the characters of Steppenwolf and the Thanos-esque Darkseid, turning them both into a real clear and present threat. 

This allows the final battle to transcend the CGI spectacle because as well as having more of a connection with Cyborg and The Flash because of their character development in the first couple of acts, having a deeper understanding of the threat of Steppenwolf and Darkseid makes this final battle really mean something. 

With a four hour run time split into six parts, Zach Snyder’s Justice League has time very much on its side. A lot of time. We get a heck of a lot more time with Ray Fisher's Cyborg and Barry ‘The Flash’ Allen’s as their characters and backstories get fleshed out (having more time with Ezra Miller’s The Flash makes you realise what a travesty it is that we never got to see him in his own spin off film). And with that time and a return to Cyborg’s story arc, Zach Snyder’s Justice League finds its beating heart giving us some real skin in the game. 

If you're a fan of Synder’s style (I definitely am; Watchmen has one of the best openings in a film ever) we get to see way more of his flourishes from beautiful slow mo moments to a stirring scene of singing villagers. 

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Zach Snyder’s Justice League is a much more complete film giving much needed space and time to character development and an expansion of the narrative. Justice has been well and truly served.