Zack Snyder´s Justice League

I still remember, when i for the first time saw the 1980 film Superman II, and that was in 1985. I was 8 years old, and this was the coolest film i had seen at that time. I remember that i even got myself a Superman costume at one moment, and i tried to fly off in the forest. Of course it was impossible to lift off, but it felt good feeling the spirit of Superman, that you want to do something good on this Earth, helping people. Superman II had a very good combination of a solid story, and great characters as well.  To see legendary actor Christopher Reeve as Superman, fight against the 3 criminals known as General Zod, Ursa and Non, was a big highlight for kids at that time.  Superman II had both great action scenes, and a good sense of humour as well, and this film is directed by legendary director Richard Lester ( who fans of The Beatles really appreciate for his musical comedy A Hard Day´s Night ). I still enjoy the first film from 1978, but i actually prefer the sequel. Christopher Reeve as Superman will always be the greatest Superman in cinema, there is no question about that. As most of you know, Superman is based on the comic book character from DC Comics, and have been around since 1938. But there are plenty of DC comic book characters that have found a huge fan base worldwide, with comic book characters such as Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and many others. All of these characters have their own films, and some of them are actually really good ( not Batman & Robin from 1997 ). After actor Henry Cavill managed to deliver as Superman in Man Of Steel, i was excited to see him face Ben Affleck in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. That film did have a few fun moments, but actor Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor destroyed this film. When we got the news that even more DC comic characters would team up in Justice League, i felt a glimpse of hope. That film did have a few fun moments as well, but did not work thanks to bad CGI effects of Steppenwolf, and the lack of character development. So DC comic book fans across the world found out that director Zack Snyder had a longer cut of Justice League. After fans started a name petition to try and get the Snyder Cut released, no one was sure if the studio would agree to let this longer cut be released. But here we are in 2021, and the film was actually released on HBO Max and HBO Nordic. Is this longer version of Justice League better than the 2017 version, or should they have skipped releasing this version at all?

2000 years ago, Darkseid and his Parademons attempted to conquer Earth using the Mother Boxes ( created by Apokoliptian scinetist Himon ). They fail with their mission, as they are attacked by a unified Alliance of Old Gods, Amazons, Atlanteans, humanity, and a Green Lantern. After the battle, the boxes were hidden in different locations, guarded by the Amazons, Atlanteans, and humanity, respectively. In the present, Superman´s ( Henry Cavill ) death triggers the Mother Boxes reactivation, attracting Steppenwolf ( Ciarán Hinds ), one of Darkesid´s servants, to Earth. Steppenwolf who have fallen out of favor with Darkseid, aims to regran it by gathering the boxes to form "The Unity". Bruce Wayne ( Ben Affleck ), also known as Batman, can not defeat Steppenwolf on his own, so he gather a team of superheroes to make sure that Steppenwolf´s plan will fail

Let´s make one things straight right away. Zack Snyder have made a better film with his cut of Justice League, no doubt about that. He manage to give each character more depth, and there are a lot better CGI effects here, especially on the main bad character Steppenwolf ( who looked terrible in the 2017 film ). One important detail is that in this longer cut, we find out the background story of the character Cyborg ( played by actor Ray Fisher ). For those of you who have seen the 2017 film of Justice League, you might remember that Cyborg was the most mysterious character, because we didn´t really find out much about him. In the Zack Snyder cut, we do find out what really happened to him, and why his whole life changed. And this is a detail that really helps this film become more interesting, because Cyborg is clearly struggling to be accepted in society. The other characters in this film also give the Justice League team some entertaining moments. Ben Affleck as Batman is a solid match, where Ben knows exactly how to portrait Bruce Wayne with smooth dialogue and the right kind of personality. Actress Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, is definetely one of the highlights in this film, as she brings another strong acting performance. I have to mention that i really enjoy the new scenes with Wonder Woman, they actually add something tasteful to the story, compared to the 2017 film. Jason Momoa as Aquaman needs no big introduction, he manage to bring some fun with his portrait of this powerful character. Henry Cavill have no problem with giving us his portrait of Superman, that give us some charmeful moments. Ezra Miller as The Flash does not feel annoying, as he did in the 2017 film. He does bring some comedy moments in this longer version as well, but this time it works better. So what makes the Snyder cut better, a part of better action scenes? The story is told in a much more effective way, where you can understand the characters on a much more personal level than in the 2017 version. We also get a more serious tone with the Snyder cut, where director Zack Snyder skip too many comedy elements, and bring in a different vibe into the storyline. This film is 4 hours long, so if you can accept that, you will most likely have a good time with this version. Zack Snyder´s Justice Leage does not only manage to work better as an action film, but this film also manage to bring out the DC comic book characters in a more effective way than Joss Whedon´s version of Justice League. Definetely worth checking out if you are a comic book fan, or worship Gal Gadot as i do as Wonder Woman, who would not want to marry her? ( Don´t tell my wife i said that, i might get in trouble ).

Rating: DDD