'Justice League': 10 burning questions you might have about HBO Max's four-hour 'Snyder Cut'
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Note: The following discusses changes between the 2017 "Justice League" film and the 2021 director's cut, but there aren't any major spoilers for the new edition.
Are you ready to watch the longest, most polarizing superhero movie in recent memory?
âZack Snyderâs Justice Leagueâ (streaming on HBO Max now) â referred to online as the much-ballyhooed âSnyder Cutâ of the 2017 DC superhero team-up adventure â is a four-hour directorâs edition created to finish Snyderâs vision as well as satiate the filmmakerâs rabid fandom. The epic gives audiences more of Gal Gadotâs Wonder Woman and Jason Momoaâs Aquaman, rekindles the fire for those living for Ben Affleckâs Batman and Henry Cavillâs Superman and serves up much-needed justice for new heroes like Ray Fisherâs Cyborg and Ezra Millerâs Flash.
Not up to date on the drama behind the existing âJustice Leagueâ? Letâs tackle a bunch of burning questions you might have before booting up HBO Max:
'Justice League':Check out Jared Leto's freaky Joker in the trailer for Zack Snyder's new HBO Max cut
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The Whedon Cut:Read our review of the original 2017 'Justice League'
Why is there a Snyder Cut in the first place?
Itâs a good question since the original was pretty decent. But thereâs been quite a story behind the scenes with âJustice League.â Snyder, 55, and his producer wife Deborah stepped back from post-production in early 2017 after their daughter Autumnâs death, and Joss Whedon (âAvengersâ) was brought in to finish the film and shoot new scenes.
The original movie made some money ($658 million worldwide) but was roughed up in critical circles, a grassroots #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign grew over the ensuing years online, and Fisher publicly accused Whedon of âgross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptableâ on-set behavior. Aside from the tumult, some toxic corners amid Snyderâs loyal following, and whether or not the world needs another âJustice League,â it is satisfying to see an artist get to complete his work that had been derailed by personal tragedy.
Whatâs âJustice Leagueâ all about?
Both the Snyder and Whedon cuts are essentially the same movie: Batman needs to recruit a bunch of heroes to take on Steppenwolf (voiced by Ciaran Hinds), a supervillain from the hellscape world of Apokolips, when the villain brings an army to Earth to unify and harness the combined energies of three all-powerful Mother Boxes. (Theyâre kind of like the Infinity Stones from the Marvel movies.) Oh, and the gang also resurrects Superman, who died at the end of Snyder's âBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.â
Whatâs the biggest difference between the movies?
Think of them as different paths of a road trip: The Whedon Cut takes a shorter, two-hour drive to a certain destination while the Snyder Cut is the four-hour scenic route. Many of the new scenes are extended versions of what came before, and a comparison of the two showcases each filmmakerâs differing style, especially in the way they view the movie's resident Man of Steel. Overall, Snyderâs vision features a lot of slow-motion action and offers a darker, solemn vibe, from character interactions to the music. Whedonâs movie is quite a bit sunnier â he reshot scenes to add a lighter quality â and the score, with bits of memorable themes from the Christopher Reeveâs Superman and Michael Keatonâs Batman films, lends a nostalgic bent not in Snyderâs previous DC entries.
Did they do anything about that horrible CGI villain?
Yes! Steppenwolf (performed via motion capture by Hinds) looks about 2,318 times better than in the original film. Recent DC projects have had kind of a rough go with their computer-generated bad guys but Steppenwolf 2.0 oozes primal, troublemaking brutality. And thankfully, thereâs no terrible digital erasing of Cavillâs mustache this time around.
Anything else fixed from the Whedon cut?
A lot of Cyborgâs backstory never made it into the theatrical movie, but his âFrankensteinâ-esque origin tale, and the family friction caused when his scientist dad (Joe Morton) saved his life by mechanizing him, is explored in detail in Snyderâs new version. It also firmly plants Cyborg as the audienceâs surrogate within this newly formed band of superheroes, with a fully formed character arc that unlocks new emotional depth by showing him coming to grips with his new heroic lot in life.
Did it really need to be four hours, though?
No film needs to be four hours because thatâs just cruel, unusual and exhausting. (âThe Ten Commandmentsâ is allowed because itâs a biblical epic.) This would have been just fine at an âAvengers: Endgameâ-length of three hours, though one also now realizes Whedon's no-win situation trying to shoehorn a four-hour movie into two.
Also, why is it rated R?
Heads literally roll, many of Steppenwolfâs alien Parademons get hacked to pieces, and Batfleck drops an F-bomb.
Do we get to meet anybody new this time?
Some new personalities who missed the Whedon Cut show up. Cosmic baddie Darkseid â DCâs version of Thanos â makes his debut, as does his chief henchman Desaad. Both are CGI characters and look pretty boss, especially Darkseid. Iris West (Kiersey Clemons, whoâs in the upcoming âThe Flashâ movie) also makes a quick first appearance as the Scarlet Speedsterâs future love interest, and Martian Manhunter (Harry Lennix), a fan-favorite Justice Leaguer from the comics, finally gets his cinematic introduction.
Wait, didnât I hear Jared Letoâs Joker is in this?
You bet, and itâs a much different, almost philosophical yet still nihilistic guy as opposed to the tattooed gangster audiences saw in âSuicide Squad.â Snyder filmed a new scene for his directorâs cut that let Affleck and Letoâs arch enemies share the screen for the first time. Heâs still no Heath Ledger, though.
Capsule review: So, is the Snyder Cut worth a watch?
It is an improvement on âJustice Leagueâ in the sense that thereâs better character development and the world building's more impressive â that's the luxury of having a four-hour movie. Snyder also attempts to throw in a lot of personalities and plot points to set up future movies so itâs a bit of a mess, too. (And if you're used to a widescreen presentation, Snyder's filming in a square-ish IMAX-ready format might drive you batty.) While both cuts have their positives and negatives, the existence of the Snyder Cut is most interesting as a fascinating study of two filmmakersâ radically different views of iconic superheroes.