Zack Snyder's Justice League

First appearing in March 1960 in the comic book series The Brave and the Bold issue 28, the superhero team from publisher DC comics featured the superheroes Aquaman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martial Manhunter, Superman and Wonder Woman. Numerous animated series and films allowed this team to be discovered in different formats by a very large audience. After many more or less successful films on the superheroes Batman and Superman and recently the excellent Wonder Woman, it was inevitable to compete on their own ground with the Marvel cinematographic universe to finally propose a live adaptation of Justice League and thus to set up the DC comics cinematographic universe. So after Man of Steel, Batman vs Superman, Dawn of Justice and Wonder Woman, we find here with the same pleasure Ben Affleck (Batman / Bruce Wayne), Henry Cavill (Superman / Clark Kent), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman / Diana Prince), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Jeremy Irons (Alfred), Diane Lane (Martha Kent), and Connie Nielsen (Queen Hippolyta) previously seen in the previous films. We also discover people seen in the previous films like Ezra Miller (Flash / Barry Allen), Jason Momoa (Aquaman / Arthur Curry), Ray Fisher (Cyborg / Victor Stone), J.K. Simmons (Commissioner Gordon), Amber Heard (Mera).

There are two versions of Justice League the one that was completed from the work done by Zack Snyder and reassembled to make a failed version of two hours released in 2017 and massacred by the critics and shunned by the public and this new version that makes twice its duration or four hours and two minutes exactly. This new version certainly would have deserved to have a better work from the editing point of view as the rhythm of the film is not always constant. Zack Snyder was able to benefit from an additional budget of 70 million to complete the film he wanted to make before a personal tragedy caused his withdrawal from this production worthy of a peplum. Divided into seven parts ("Don "t count on it, Batman"; "The Age of Heroes"; "Beloved mother, beloved son"; "Change machine", "all the king "s horses", "something darker", "A father twice over"), this film succeeds in making us forget a calamitous first version that was a pale comparison to the Avengers team. The visual universe remains coherent this time and the spectators finally get the show they were waiting for. The main characters gain in psychological depth, especially the Flash with a very successful scene featuring the first meeting between the fastest man in the world and Iris West (Kiersey Clemons) (Flash saves her life during a serious car accident).

In this case the script finally succeeds in giving a real sense to reunite this famous Justice League after having resurrected Superman. Unfortunately in this new version we find special effects too present on the screen to the point of reminding us more of being in front of a video game like Injustice 2 than in a superhero movie analyzing with intelligence the psychology of the main characters. On the other hand, we finally have a film that corrects one of the shortcomings of the short version, that is to say that it finally gives importance to these new characters that are Cyborg, Flash and Aquaman. The film finally gains in efficiency instead of being a simple long confrontation between the Justice League and the forces of SteppenWolf.

While Marvel studios continues to bring us very inspired adaptations of its own comics like the excellent Thor Ragnarok and the upcoming Avengers Infinity Wars (April 2018), Warner Bros is trying to find the right approach to create a successful and immersive cinematic universe. The numerous lengths that remain in this long version of the film and the lack of dialogue seem to testify to the difficulty of achieving a convincing result.

In this new version, the numerous scenes featuring Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman are very successful, as are those focusing on Aquaman and the return of Superman and especially those with Flash, announcing an epic film. This editing corrects in a certain way several defects of the cinema version and especially gives solid bases to the very awaited Flash movie. However, we regret the absence of Superman in this cut, as if Warner Bros. still didn't understand the importance of this character in movies. Yet as the excellent new series Superman & Lois showed, this superhero is the very basis of the DC comics universe. In the same way, Richard Donner's film remains an unforgettable masterpiece that takes no prisoners and remains the perfect model of a superhero character's adaptation in cinema.

Unfortunately no scene manages to reach the magnitude of those seen in the latest Marvel Studios productions. Ben Affleck in the role of Batman does not manage to give the strength and thickness brought by Christian Bale in The Dark Knight and seems to only want to move away from this role (to the point of having refused to direct a new Batman and to resume his role before changing his mind).

The movie version had shown us what Justice League could have been with a much less ordinary scenario and above all the power of its superhuman beings, true gods among men except for Batman as pointed out in a scene of the movie Aquaman. Certainly the short reprise of Superman's theme is perfectly brought and the choice of Danny Elfman is judicious to bring a real atmosphere to the film. In the same way, the numerous new weapons of Batman reinforce his status of leader and superhero whose only real power is his endurance and the fact that he is a billionaire and a seasoned scientist.

Justice League directed by Zack Snyder is a more successful version of Joss Whedon's film but still can't compete with the Marvel films. This film confirms the leadership of Marvel Studios in adapting comic books to perfection and above all offering us imposing and unforgettable scenes. Of course, this movie leaves a real opening to Warner Bros to create a DC Comics universe as shown in this final scene in the middle of the sea of Lex Luthor missioning Deathstroke to build a team of super villains. Justice League remains a muscular entertainment that will easily find its audience if it doesn't please the real comic book fans. We are now impatiently waiting for Matt Reeves' The Batman because we have no doubt that this director will succeed in injecting a real soul to his movie and unlike Justice League, not be satisfied with being a colossal marketing operation for Warner Bros. to simply sell many derivative products.

Zack Snyder's Justice League
Directed by Zack Snyder
Produced by Deborah Snyder, Charles Roven
Screenplay by Chris Terrio
Story by Chris Terrio, Zack Snyder, Will Beall
Based on Characters by DC Comics
Starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Willem Dafoe, Jesse Eisenberg, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J. K. Simmons
Music by Tom Holkenborg
Cinematography : Fabian Wagner
Edited by David Brenner, Dody Dorn
Production companies : Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Films, Atlas Entertainment, The Stone Quarry
Distributed by HBO Max
Release date : March 18, 2021 (United States), March 18, 2021 (France)
Running time : 242 minutes

Seen on March 17, 2021

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