Opinion Piece/ Review; Zack Snyder's Justice League: Should we #RestoreTheSnyderVerse?

 With the Snyder Cut out, it's safe to say that DC is right now enjoying a lot of time in the spotlight now. I'm sure a lot of people here are at least somewhat familiar with the story. Zack Snyder was removed from directing the Justice League film due to tragic events that happened to his family. Joss Whedon was brought in to get the movie to a releasable state; that version was a disaster due to conflicting tones and visions, leading to a campaign to get Zacks version finished. AT&T heard that, though it would make great content for HBO Max, and so it was done, giving the public a four-hour movie. If all you're looking for is a review comparing the two, well, there is no comparison as objectively, Snyder's version is better. But is the Snyder Cut a good movie on its own merit?

The big thing of note for Snyder's version of the movie is that it's far longer by necessity. They've added in many scenes that help fix the pacing issues of the theatrical cut and give characters like Cyborg a more critical role. There are also inclusions that, as it currently stands with the fate of this take on the characters in limbo, forced in for the sake of building up later movies that might not happen. There are two scenes with the Martian Manhunter that can be summed up as him telling Lois "stop being depressed" and another asking Batman after the final battle "hey, you mind if I join in next time?". Darkseid is brought in for more buildup, which feels redundant due to his presence in the movie, thanks to Steppenwolf.

Why are you in this movie?

 

In contrast, another part of it is frustrating: the continuing focus on the nightmare future from Dawn of Justice (but I'll get back to that later). I think they could have easily cut over half an hour off the movie by trimming down these rather pointless inclusions (when looking at the story itself, taking out the director's desire to direct a scene with these characters). It's just padding out the run time, setting up sequels that will only really happen if AT&T get involved again, which they may not even do!

Remember this picture for after this coming paragraph...

One other issue that I have when it comes to how the movie was released is that the film was rendered and released in IMax resolution, which doesn't work on a streaming service release. Most people have 16:9 Wide Screen TVs, projectors and Monitors. There is a lot of dead space on either side of the screen because of this. When you combine that with the fact that the movie has a very cold, dark pallet with a lot of harsh shadows, night time shots, and not a lot of brightly lit shots in general, it makes the movie look a lot darker than it is when you have two very distracting black borders on the left and right of the screen. 

This is how distracting the black boarders can be.

Though I'm not sold on some of the designs, Cyborg reminds me a bit too much of Michael Bay Transformers for my liking; the CGI and effects in the movie are well done, with moments like the final battle looking a lot better with the lighting the costumes were designed for. That, and the scenes added to help expand on rushed moments from the theatrical cut, is why I'm not saying much about the actual movie itself here. As I said at the very start of the review, this is the best version of the film to watch, even if there are decisions that don't make much sense given the context for release and current standing on upcoming movies. The big question about the film isn't "Is it good", it's "should we go back to this style of DC movies?". I don't think we should.

I don't think it would be a big shock to say, "I'm a fan of the Marvel Movies". I think the fact that I've talked about every movie released so far and have done yearly Marvel reviews now for the last few years goes to show how much I enjoy them. They have problems, don't get me wrong, but the quality of the movies overall has kept me invested in them. When the worst movies in the MCU can be described as "Ehh, it ok." you're doing something right. Two of the big reasons for their success and the two things DC need to get right are the characters and the pacing. Looking at the three Snyder movies, Man of Steel, Dawn of Justice and Justice League, none of the characters feel faithful to the material because "deconstruction storytelling" has been baked into them from the start. That's not necessarily bad, but it does mean that none of these characters feels like the source material due to the conflicting ideas going into them. Introducing characters, deconstructing characters, modernizing characters, subverting expectations. I don't know who any of these people are. Can we start with introductions, please?! At no point in the three movies have I felt like I've gotten the character, something that I've done with every Marvel movie, and the versions of these very same characters in the DCAU. The only character in the DCEU that I can safely say, "ok, I get what this character is like, what their personality is, I get why they're a hero", is Wonder Woman, thanks to her standalone movie.

Really? You're doing a Flashpoint this early?

This takes me to my next point. Why are we here, at this point that we're at by the end of movie three with Snyder's films, four if we're going to count Wonder Woman (and no, I'm not counting Suicide Squad because that feels bolted on at this point)? We've got a four-hour movie trying to introduce three new heroes, revive a fourth that shouldn't be dead in the first place, getting them all together while also trying to introduce the madness that is the New Gods before establishing the Old Gods. It's the fourth movie directly focusing on members of the Justice League. One of the biggest reasons the MCU has succeeded is pacing character introductions, letting people get to know characters in their movies before they start mashing them together. Batman and Superman shouldn't have fought in Movie 2; they should have fought/ worked together after a Man of Steel 2 and a Batman movie introducing people to this new version of Bruce Wayne. Superman should not have died in Movie 2 (that shouldn't have happened for several years) to give the Justice League time to establish itself properly. Superman shouldn't have been immediately revived either because that kills the moment entirely! This version of Justice League (minus resurrecting Superman) should have happened after Flash and Aquaman had standalone movies. The DCEU shouldn't be building up to an Injustice movie, and you people want more of this? You want more of WB's corporate meddling, rushing to get crossovers to happen, forcing iconic characters to suffer as a result?

Why are you in this movie?

I want more DC movies too. I would love for a shared DC Cinematic Universe to rival Marvel's, to give them a run for their money as both companies are at their best when they're building off each other. But I want more movies like Wonder Woman, Shazam, Aquaman, movies that keep to the spirit of the character, with the movie's tone complimenting the character. Movies that show the world why these characters have fans, not trying to contort them to "the sensibilities of the movie going audience". The answer to beating Marvel isn't to make a grim, dark, cold series of movies where the idea of a smile is a rarity because "older people don't like smiling!", it's showing why DC's characters are beloved by fans by showing the good, the bad, the silly, and everything in between. There's a reason why WB Animation frequently mocks Snyder's movies because of how dark and edgy they are; that should show you that we shouldn't want more; we should want better. 

Why are you in this movie? And why the hell didn't you help earlier?!

As nice as it is to finally see a version of Snyder's Justice League, for as good as the movie is, anything would be better than the theatrical cut, and this should not absolve all the previous movies problems. This doesn't change the fact that Man of Steel tried to make an idealistic hero realistic, defeating the point of the character. This doesn't change the fact that the version of Batman we were introduced to was so far removed from what Batman should be that the final "look, he's Batman again!" moment feels cheap. This doesn't change how bad Joker was in Suicide Squad, how bad Killer Croc looked in Suicide Squad, and how bad the course correction from Dawn of Justice was because of how botched the theatrical cut was to try and cut down the run time. If the reason you want more of this was so that you could have something with a tone completely different from the MCU, you need to rethink your priorities.

Young Justice: The less edgy, and better looking Titans

Before anyone tries it, that comment is aimed more at the costume design rather than the casting.

By now it should come as no surprise that, while both have their ups and downs, I tend to lean more towards the animated side of DC's catalogue when it comes to watching shows and movies related to DC, the highs have been higher, and even some of the low points can still loom over parts of their Live action films, and shows at times. One that many held in high regard was Young Justice, a show focusing on a team made up of sidekicks and younger versions of league members handling more covert ops missions, which was at one point cancelled, then brought back on DC's new streaming platform. Was it for a good reason though?

DCember; Justice League: Was anyone expecting this to be good?

I don't really say that as a joke either, this film was in development hell from the start to the point where it was a miracle that it even got to "competently made", and many would argue that even that's a stretch. From rewriting on the fly, to calling in a director with a drastically different style due to loss in the Snyder family, to badly CGI'd upper lips thanks to Mission Impossible, the reports coming out about the film during development was one mess after another. It's safe to say that this movie was released with the expectation that it was going to fail in the eyes of Warner Brothers. Were they right to assume that though?

DCember Prologue; Lego DC Supervillains:Well, at least I'm not smelling corporate bias?

It is no secret that I hated Lego Marvel Superheroes 2. I personally found it a slog to go through, the DLC was broken, the over world wasn’t fun to travel through, the levels got shorter as I went through, and even at the 100% mark, I never really felt satisfied with the experience. I got so mad at the experience that I was genuinely considering not getting another one, and became extremely cynical towards DC Super villains. Against my better judgement, I picked up DC Super villains thinking that, at the very least, it would be a good review for this week, seeing as most of, if not all of next month’s content is going to be focused on DC. Was I wrong to be so overly cautious? In a word: No. It’s times like this when I’m glad I don’t do number scores or submit reviews to Metacritic and the like, because I’d probably piss someone off at WB for this, not that it matters, I don’t get review copies, and any ad space they may get here is through Google, not me.

Injustice; Gods Among Us: All it took was a bomb, some gas, and a laugh.

Some say the DC Universe is like a Greek play, a Shakespearean performance. Some choose to stray away from these routes, where the events are mere coincidences, noting more, nothing less. Others try to embrace it; the extent of success is up to the viewer's choice. Allow me to take you on a path, one where the course of an entire universe was changed forever by one bad day. To take this path, there are two places to look. The first being the comics for the lead in to what they were inspired by. Welcome, to the world of Injustice. Welcome to a tale of death, destruction, and the collapse of everything you thought you knew about DC's strongest friendship.

Batman; Return of the Caped Crusaders: Nothing could have prepared me for this...

Unfortunately, the review of the original TV show is going to have to wait a little bit, that one needs more time.

Up until this point, I haven't had any direct experience with 1966's Batman TV series. I've seen the references, the memes, and all the talk on the show, but I've yet to fully experience it in any capacity. I'm probably not alone in that department, it came out in 1966 after all, I wasn't born until 29 years later. Surfice to say, not even the greatest of memes could have prepared me for what I'd gotten myself into with a movie 50 years later. Well, let's see where this rabbit hole goes.

Suicide Squad: What happened to three strikes and you're out?

Or for that matter, how bad does one of these movies need to be in order for WB to consider this a failure? While yes I know the movies have been successful financially, none of them have been considered as good movies yet. To say nothing of the behind the scenes stories about this movie which make you consider how this movie was pushed this hard to be released, and you have to stop and wonder what they're smoking, and where you can get some. Welcome to the Suicide Squad.

Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Cosmic Clash: Coin Collecting, the cure for all kinds of collectors

Some might be thinking why I'm not starting with the first Lego Batman movie. Well, the reason is because... its Lego Batman 2, its the game's cutscenes edited into a movie. As to why I'm not doing the other Batman movies and TV specials first... I've been playing a fair bit of Lego Batman 3, and was just in the mood for something with Brainiac as the villain. Now as to why I'm playing Lego Batman 3 and other non Zelda or Horizon games? Future plans for Breath of the Wild, and I don't have a PS4. Onward to the review!

The Killing Joke: Sometimes all it takes is one bad day

A few things before I start. First, what does it take to get an R18 rating for people in America, this is MA15+ along with Deadpool. Also: Two timely movie reviews in a row? Does this count as a comic review? It's directly based off a comic, that's good enough right? No? Well I'm doing it anyway. Regarded as the backstory of The Joker, armed with an all star cast and crew "and an R18 rating" in America, seriously? Regardless, this got attention, this got hype, did it deliver?

Batman V Superman; Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition: I think you mean Batman in Blue vs Batman in Black; Dawn of the Jesus Symbolism Cluttered Edition

The overly long name for the review of the overly long movie is entirely intentional.

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. What many regard as the most dissapointing movie of this year. Panned by many, though more people wanted to see it, so many debate weatehr Ghostbusters is worse. Some think I may not have much to say about the movie that hasn't already been said. But, my view of the movie? Well, let me tell you what I think, and probably in less time then the movie itself. Oh and one thing, spoilers ahead.

No idea why, but for some reason the concept reminds me of the last part of Acadeca

Green Lantern x Star Trek; Spectrum War: This is going to be interesting

So we come back to DC, find something new from IDW that doesn't involve giant robots or horses, and we get a cross over which I didn't think would happen, and didn't know people wanted. But, here we are. Yes, this is a thing, and its kinda making me want to do similar stories for a few months. First of the month being for a weird crossover. Thoughts?

So there are apparently several different covers for each of the six issues so, have what's probably a variant.

The Dark Knight Returns

One final jab at Dawn of Justice, as this the last DC thing I'm doing for a while. It should come as no surprise that a part of the inspiration for Dawn of Justice is The Dark Knight Returns, and while I'm not reviewing the comic, I do want to review the animated movies. And yes, I said movies. There are two parts to this. So let's just go in order

Justice League (+JL: Unlimited): Proof that a slow burn for build ups can work well

So here we are, the big one, in terms of tv shows. The uniting of the Justice League, the coming together of DC's greatest heroes in the shared DC show universe. Unlike something like The Avengers and the MCU, this wasn't as big of a deal back then, as far as I can tell (keep in mind I was 5 when this show first aired, so I'm going off of what I could/ couldn't find online), but it is one of the few most remembered. Batman and Superman worked well on their own, and recycling footage apparently worked, so lets bring them together properly, with more characters to boot.

Very quick, a lot of people have brought it up online, so I won't go into detail. Yes, the 3D animation is ugly, no its not the rest of the show, thankfully. The intro for Unlimited is better animation wise, but doesn't pack that same punch the original did though, so pick your poison.

However, being honest, there isn't much to say that wasn't brought up in Batman the animated series, Superman the animated series, or Batman Beyond, with the only part being the pacing. From what I've seen for this review, which is just over a season, all the storylines are multiple episodes long. There's no one episode plots, everyone taking two, or even three, which I think works in part. It does mean that nothing feels rushed, and with a cast this big, you need that. But the individual episodes might help with the pacing, making the two or three episodes more of an event, rather then just a 40 minute episode. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it is more tedious to watch multi part episodes, it just never feels as bad because they're more like events, so to get them all the time here is a bit of a drain if you marathon them.

If you liked the Batmen shows and you liked Superman, then you'll like this if you haven't seen it already. I know its a cop out, and I'm sorry for that. I have something to make up for it though coming soon.

Batman Beyond: New villains, new suit, new Gotham, new Batman

Before getting to the big one, allow me to make a quick detour for a moment to bring you this spinoff. Set several decades after Batman the Animated Series, to try and make something akin to what the comics industry was doing at the time... and I'm sure comic book fans can already tell where I'll be going with this. So lets tackle Batman Beyond... or "Batman of the Future" as it was known here... not as catchy, is it?

Superman: The Animated series: Now with 100% less bloom lighting

While there are more shows in DC's old animated universe, at the moment, I want to focus on the main shows, the ones that got the most attention, and the ones that people still talk about to this day. I do plan to cover the other shows, but they are for another time. In the mean time, let's take a look at Superman: The animated series, and see if it holds a candle to its predecessor. I should say though that due to time limitations, I haven't been able to complete a full season of the show at time of writing. I want to give this more time, but isn't meant to be, and thankfully, is a statement not shared by next weeks review and hopefully the week after. Feel free to consider this an Opening Impression if you want.

Batman: The Animated Series: For reals this time, honest

I couldn't resist doing an April Fools this year, and I'm both sorry, and not sorry for the lame joke. I do however admit Rising Rainbow came out better then the Rick Roll. That one was last minute after all,

I've stated a few times now that I personally prefer DC's animated projects over their Live Action ones, and while I do plan to cover more in the future, for now, lets take a look at some that many remember from their childhoods... I don't because I was too young at their prime, but still. Up first, the one that started it all, and one of the cartoons that has probably helped inspire much of children's television to this day, Batman: The Animated Series.

Green Lanturn: The Animated Series: Green Lanturn Bulkhead at your service

I am still working on Batman The Animated Series. Sit tight, its on the way. In the mean time, have a bit of filler (brought about by the YT copyright bot's questionable flags). Green Lanturn: The Animated Series.

D.C.M.M.M: Man of Steel, also known as Jesus Symbolism and Bloom lighting, the movie

This, this movie, this product, is the reason why Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice has so much to prove. I'd personally like to just get to it, so here's Man of Steel.

Even the poster has bloom lighting?

D.C.M.M.M: The Dark Knight Rises: Wait, didn't he do that already?

The end of the Dark Knight Trilogy, at last. But, where do you go from the critically acclaimed "masterpiece" that is The Dark Knight? Well, for me, The Dark Knight wasn't flawless, still good, but not flawless, and this movie is seen as many to be worse... Primus help me...

D.C.M.M.M: The Dark Knight: Simple isn't always easy

Regarded as the best in the trillogy, and has gone down in infamy thanks to their lead villain dying of depression thanks to his role in the movie, sufice to say, people were happy with how it turned out. At the time, I was too, though times change, so lets see if it still holds up.