Welcome back to the Tramway,
Happy April everyone. I hope that spring is arriving in your area and that you're also able to enjoy the warm weather.
Today I wish to do a different post where I simply share my thoughts on a movie. This isn't a review per se. As a writer (and not a film major) I don't think I have the knowledge to fairly review a movie. I'll leave that to others. I will try and look at it from a story point, though this won't be a deep analysis.
So over the weekend I watched Justice League: Snyder Cut.
In case you are not familiar, Zack Snyder was removed from the movie Justice League in 2017, due to a personal tragedy and executives being unpleased with his vision. After a multi-year online fan campaign, HBO Max gave him additional resources to finish the film. The legendary Snyder Cut is now real and available to stream.
I never thought the Snyder Cut would happen. I was skeptical that the studio would give Snyder the resources, and thought that the fans were acting entitled. While there certainly was some of the latter, there was a genuine passion to see Snyder's vision finished.
Now that I've seen the film, I understand a bit more why. Compared to Joss Whedon's version of the film that came out in theaters, the Snyder Cut is an improvement. There's less awkward jokes, and characters introduced in the film, The Flash and Cyborg, feel more developed. And Steppenwolf's redesign looks much better than the gray villain who looked like he accidentally fell into the DC universe from a Skyrim game.
The Snyder Cut's improvements weren't enough to turn me around on Snyder's vision for DC, unfortunately. I went in with low expectations (I was not a fan of Man of Steel, the first film Snyder directed in the current DC universe, and the end of Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice infuriated me) and some bias.
I grew up with the DC animated Justice League show, and the Cartoon Network Teen Titans show, so I had expectations of how the characters should act. The Snyder Cut wasn't as bad as I feared, though it was still too much like the 2017 theatrical cut for it to win me over.
It was great to see Henry Cavill have some fun with the role of Superman (and a few smiles, which were greatly appreciated. Superman is a boy scout, a frown doesn't really suit him for me).
My criticism of the theatrical cut (another gray villain, Snyder's saturated color pallet that makes the superheroes outfits not pop) are still here. Granted, I expected the color pallet, since it is part of Snyder's style, and that comes down to my personal preference.
I was also not a fan of the epilogue, which felt like a set up for films we will not see. Snyder planned to have two more films in his trilogy, including an evil Superman (which was set up in Batman vs Superman), and time travel. Though now that Warner Bros and Snyder have parted ways, we're likely never going to see that sequel. Granted, I said the same thing about the Snyder Cut, but there's a difference between $30 million and a budget for a blockbuster.
Perhaps we'll see a comic adaptation, or an animated movie. While both have their expenses (animation in particular) it may be more plausible than pushing for another live action movie.
In general, I feel somewhat indifferent towards the Snyder Cut. I feel more excited to see DC films directed by other directors like James Wan (director of Aquaman) and David S. Sandberg (director of Shazam!). I don't regret seeing the Snyder Cut, but I also don't feel blown away or have a "Endgame moment" as I'm sure fans of Snyder's previous work did.
Which is all right. Art speaks to people differently, and we're allowed to have different reactions. While mine was less passionate, for some, this was their equivalent of Avengers Endgame. I'm glad that fans were able to get closure for Snyder's trilogy of DC films. If you are a "Snyder Fan," I hope that the Snyder Cut lived up to your expectations.
And additional credit where credit is due, Snyder included several characters of color that were cut (due to time) from the original cut. I hope that characters such as Cyborg are able to get additional films. While I may not be the biggest fan of their set up, I enjoyed Aquaman's film, and he was introduced in Justice League. Though given DC recently cancelled two films, the future for these characters is uncertain.
That's all of my thoughts on the Snyder Cut. Have you seen the Snyder Cut? What did you think of it? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. Thank you for reading, and I'll see you on the Tramway.
