Zack Snyder's Justice League Review Special and DCEU Recap - Capes #9
Greetings, citizens of Earth, and welcome to the rebirth of RPC’s Capes podcast! This is a very special episode, as we celebrate and critique Zack Snyder’s Justice League, also known as the Snyder Cut, as well as the entire DCEU franchise! Joining in on the festivities is Mike, Jacob, Keona, Brock, the returning Morgan (who last joined us on the Home Theater podcast), Josh and Kristal (making their triumphant reappearance!), and our special guest and Twitter bestie, Gwendolyn Jae Stone! Enjoy the extra-long episode!
As we all know, it’s been a long, strange trip for the fabled Snyder Cut, as it’s taken three years and a massive fan outcry to get this version of Justice League released on HBO Max. As the film was in development, after the tragic death of his daughter, Autumn, Zack Snyder left the project of his own volition, after sensing that the tide had turned against him at Warner Bros. HQ. A new executive team had been assembled to oversee the direction of DC’s superhero films, and after Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had underperformed at the box office and received middling reviews from many critics, the decision had been made to shift the tone of the DC movies to a more Marvel-esque one. Snyder realized this, and rather than throw himself into another conflict with the bigwigs at the studio while also dealing with grief over his daughter’s passing, he decided to move on. WB brought in Joss Whedon, who had played an integral part in establishing the tone and direction of the MCU itself, to finish the film, and well, you know the rest. Suffice it to say, the 2017 theatrical version of Justice League failed to light the world on fire the way the MCU had. Grossing a not-insubstantial but still underwhelming $655 million worldwide, JL failed to meet expectations, and served as a catalyst for the dissolution of many of Snyder’s remaining plot threads and the universe he had constructed.
Since then, an intriguing confluence of events has occurred which brought us to this point. Among them, the birth of HBO Max, Warner Media’s streaming service, reborn from the ashes of HBO Go and HBO Now, and featuring an extensive library of cartoons, kids programming, anime, classic movies, contemporary shows and films, and original series. HBO Max needs big events to compete with the likes of Netflix and Disney+, so they were on the lookout for the Next Big Thing, especially after Game of Thrones had ended its run. A growing contingent of fans on social media had begun to converge around the Snyder Cut, and the sprawling #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement was born. Zack Snyder himself took part in and endorsed the fan collective, releasing teaser images that served to galvanize devotees. Soon, the cast began to throw their support in as well, and the movement gained even more traction.
Then, of course, came the allegations of abusive behavior behind the scenes from Cyborg actor Ray Fisher. I won’t dive too deep into this part of the story, because I don’t want it to be the focus of these notes, but I will say that Fisher openly said that Joss Whedon himself behaved in an unprofessional, abusive manner, while new DC execs like Jon Berg and Geoff Johns were named as the people who enabled this behavior on Whedon’s part. Fisher also placed responsibility on new studio head Walter Hamada, who had replaced the outgoing Kevin Tsujihara, who was himself accused of misconduct. The whole thing is a mess, and further served to energize and galvanize the Snyder Cut movement, who then started the #IStandWithRayFisher hashtag in a show of solidarity and support with the actor, whose role in the film had been removed and cut down significantly.
In 2020, the news came that Warner Media had decided to release the Snyder Cut on HBO Max, pledging $70 million to restore the footage and complete the film. It was initially to be released as a four-episode miniseries, but the decision was reversed and it would be released as a four-hour long director’s cut. Snyder has said that the 2017 theatrical version is still canon according to WB, but fans have definitely reacted more positively to this version of the movie.
So, amidst all the pandemonium surrounding this version of Justice League, I think we can take solace in a couple of things: first, this is a much more complete and better version of the movie, especially due to the fact that characters like Flash and Batman are less awkward and more true to form, and Cyborg himself has far more character development and a deeper subplot about his connection to his father. Second, while it is four hours long, and that’s a big chunk of time to devote to watching a movie, the movie’s pacing is pretty good, perhaps even better than the 2017 version, which had some unnecessary moments in it (anything involving the Russian family was superfluous and nonsensical, at best). While I do miss some of Whedon’s trademark banter (some of it was horrifically ill-suited to the movie, don’t get me wrong; I just liked a few of his added lines), I do believe that Snyder’s JL film is the superior one.
While I do have some nitpicks and issues with the Snyder Cut, it is still awesome that a filmmaker has the chance to see his creative vision come to fruition, especially in the aftermath of his departure from the franchise. The release of the Snyder Cut is a triumph, not just for the fans who demanded it, or for Ray Fisher, who finally has his chance to shine on screen as a truly fantastic version of a fan-favorite character. This is a triumph for creative visionaries everywhere, and for Snyder specifically. And for the memory of his daughter, Autumn, who clearly inspired him and who was obviously and wonderfully loved by her mother and father.
Below is the uncut live video stream version of our Snyder Cut Special:
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