Directed by ZACK SYNDER
Starring BEN AFFLECK, GAL GADOT, JASON MOMOA, RAY FISHER, EZRA MILLER,
JOE MORTON, and AMY ADAMS
I had very low expectations for the highly anticipated Synder cut of the 2017 'Justice League.' I'm not one who thinks "director's cuts" will magically make a better movie. If it wasn't a good movie to begin with, I don't know how much a director's cut can do? I was especially doubtful of a new Zack Synder cut. I kinda enjoyed his previous superhero films 'Man of Steel' and 'Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,' but I wasn't impressed. Synder is hit or miss for me. His bloviated style of spectacle over substance isn't something I usually enjoy, but this time he combined both style and substance.
When it was announced that Synder was stepping down from the film I hoped Joss Whedon would bring a fresh look and style to the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Please note I don't want to diminish Synder's reasons for stepping away from the film in 2017. He suffered a terrible loss. As a fellow human being and a parent, I empathized.
But despite Synder's flaws, his films were rich with world-building. When his original film was recut, all of his flaws were still present, but none of his charm. Whedon replaced all of Synder's appeal with his own signature cutesy style and cheeky banter. Sadly, Whedon left most of the character development on the cutting room floor. The combination of Synder's flaws and Whedon's humor WAS A DISASTER. The 2021 version of the film corrects this mistake.
Synder's cut still has flaws, but when placed in context IT FINALLY MAKES SENSE. Whedon tried to create 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' lite, which in itself was a bad movie. From what I read this was done at the behest of the studio. It's fair to say that Warner Bros. Studios is the absolute worst. They've repeatedly tried to destroy their 'Wonder Woman' franchise, they reboot Batman every few years, and they cut Synder's films to pieces.
Instead of the formidable villain Darkseid, Whedon reorganized the film to make Steppenwolf the main bad. THIS MADE NO SENSE. Removing this extra layer of villainry was a huge mistake. Without Darkseid, Steppenwolf was just another villain with no character development beyond "hey let's conquer earth."
In the Synder Cut, Steppenwolf is a means to an end to what Darkseid has in store for earth and its inhabitants. Whedon also made the mistake of showing too much of the film's villain, giving him flirtatious banter with the Amazons, and quips with the Justice League. It was a typical Whedon plot point (most of his films and tv shows include tongue-in-cheek villains), but it didn't work in a Zack Synder film.