This article contains minor spoilers for “Justice League.”
Director Zack Snyder’s full cut of “Justice League” dropped on HBO Max Thursday morning. And let me tell you — it is long.
The film — which features Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) teaming up to link up with other superhumans to fight an apocalyptic alien invasion — clocks in at four hours and two minutes. It also has an R rating because of the increased amount of violence and science fiction scenes (and yes, some curses, too).
This is a sprawling epic film. It’s really something to watch over multiple sittings. I doubt everyone is going to want to watch it straight through.
I’ve decided to break it down for those who don’t want to watch everything and only want the highlights. I’ve broken it down by section. I’ll explain the flaws, positives and what to expect in each section. The film is rated R — but this review won’t be. I’ll try to give you the best idea about what happens if you’re not planning to watch the film.
Part 1 — Don’t count on it, Batman
What happens: Batman and Wonder Woman assemble a team to fight the villain Steppenwolf and protect the Anti-Life Equation Boxes, which can destroy Earth.
- It takes nine minutes to get to the first piece of dialogue. That’s right. We go about nine minutes before we hear any conversation happen between characters.
- The first 30 minutes assume you understand the entire plot. I didn’t know anything about the film really, so it was super confusing.
- Ben Affleck is a demon in the role. He’s the perfect Bruce Wayne for this universe. He’s gritty, tough and empathetic. I don’t see any other Batman actor working well in this role.
- Batman and Wonder Woman dominate this section of the film. The scenes are fun to watch because they both have really good chemistry together. If you’ve watched “Wonder Woman” and “Wonder Woman 1984,” these scenes will definitely hit home for you.
Part 2 — Age of heroes
What happens: We learn the history of Steppenwolf, his master Darkseid and what might happen to Earth.
- There’s a massive Wonder Woman issue here if you catch it. It appears Wonder Woman knows all about Steppenwolf and Darkseid. But you would never have known it from “Wonder Woman.” She talked about the end of the world in that film, but she didn’t have any indication it was due to Darkseid.
- There’s a line about Steppenwolf and Darkseid destroying 50,000 planets. That’s a lot of worlds. I get that number is used for impact, but it still seems cartoonishly big. It was probably used to make Darkseid seem stronger than he is in the film, or give weight to a character who didn’t get much development until this point.
- Did anyone catch that green light that fell off someone’s hand? Was that a Green Lantern cameo? I’m not sure it was but it definitely looked like it. It’s worth noting for sure.
Part 3 — Beloved mother, beloved son
What happens: We finally meet Flash and Cyborg, who team up with Batman and Wonder Woman for the new team.
- Up until this point, the best part of the movie — except maybe for the introduction — takes place 1 hour, 16 minutes into the film when the main theme from the “Man of Steel” soundtrack plays. I definitely needed that jolt of electricity to feel alive.
- I’ve seen criticism that the origin stories for Cyborg and Flash are a little weird since we didn’t get full films of those characters. But I liked the introductions of those characters here. They refreshed the story a bit two hours in. Cyborg has a tragic story that explains his grim behavior. Barry Allen’s Flash origin story is a little more fun. His quick quips are nice (though they get a little annoying later on).
Part 4 — Change machine
What happens: The Justice League finally unites to take on Steppenwolf for the first time.
- This part of the movie starts with one of the best scenes with the team coming together — but the plot feels way off. It’s a little confusing to follow what’s happening before all of this so the payoff is weird. It also doesn’t feel complete since we’re still missing Superman.
- The fight scene that opens this part of the film is pretty awesome. It’s a comic book fan’s dream scene with stunning visuals. The problem is that it takes 1.5 hours and close to half the movie to get to an actual big battle like this one. It’s dialogue, exposition and a lot of slow-motion scenes up until this point.
- There are also some scenes that made me think this is like “The Avengers” — since it’s a team of superheroes facing a villainous threat — but worse and no context for the characters.
Part 5 — All the king’s horses
What happens: The Justice League unites to bring back Superman for its fight with Steppenwolf.
- This part had all of the moments I was waiting for the entire movie. Most importantly, it featured the return of Superman. I was waiting all movie for it. But once he came back, it made me realize it was great to delay it for so long to build hype. But it’s sort of a problem that the coolest moment happened two hours and 35 minutes into the film.
- Superman’s reintroduction is absolute fire, and it’s worth watching on its own. And it’s cool to see him face other Justice League members briefly (since he doesn’t remember who he is until he sees Lois Lane — aww). Again, this isn’t a squeaky clean Superman that you might want to see. He’s darker, a little more nuanced and frightening with his abilities.
- Now the plot begins to make sense as we barrel toward the end game. Ben Affleck is really good here as Batman as he speaks with Wonder Woman about what’s going on. Affleck can definitely rival the best of the Batman actors.
Part 6 — Something darker
What happens: The Justice League — now with Superman — fight Steppenwolf.
- Superman’s arrival in the final battle scene would have gone nuts in theaters — similar to Thor in “Avengers: Infinity War.” He drops down out of nowhere and helps the Justice League squad face Steppenwolf. Honestly, I found myself waiting for the audience to roar when it happened.
- This part of the movie featured a number of traditional superhero action sequences. The ending was epic and a masterpiece with a fun conclusion. Sometimes these endings are predictable and easy to plan out. This one had a few different moments within it.
Epilogue — A father twice over
What happens: Batman has a vision of the future where the world is destroyed and he has to team up with the Joker.
- There are a lot of setups for future films and stories, which is a sign that “Justice League” should return with a sequel. That’s really the only takeaway from the last section. It sets up whatever is coming next. And clearly, it was made to inspire a sequel.
- The end scene with Joker and Batman was really fun (save for the cursing and dark tone) because it hinted at what’s to come next. It’s especially cool because of what we see in the Lex Luthor scene moments beforehand.
Overall thoughts on the ‘Justice League’ Snyder cut
The main villain of the film — Steppenwolf — is a downgraded Thanos. — He doesn’t have as deep of a backstory. But he wears armor, has a goal in mind and has enough vulnerability that you wonder what will happen to him. Still, he’s a poor man’s Thanos from the “Avengers” films.
The film is visually stunning and glorious to watch on the small screen. — For a film available through streaming, “Justice League” really hits hard. The fight scenes are easy to follow. The bright lights and myriad colors make for a gorgeous film. Bright colors contrasted with the dark-colored suits and grim setting works so well together.
This is a film for fans. — Honestly, if you’re a fan of comic book movies or science fiction, this is the film for you. Casual viewers in need of a new movie might like it, too. But it’s really for fans.
It takes 60 minutes for us to get the exposition we need to understand the first 60 minutes. — This is my big takeaway. I didn’t understand the first 60 minutes of the movie until 60 minutes in when Batman and Wonder Woman start talking and giving exposition. So the first hour might not make sense until the second hour. Parts of it won’t make sense at all until later in the film when you piece it all together.
There are a lot of slow-motion scenes. — The film feels four hours at points because some scenes are so slow. Just be ready to watch someone walk down the street in super slow motion again and again and again.
There’s a really good mini-series in here. — I could have seen this made as a streaming miniseries that has each episode dedicated to the specific characters. I feel like a 10-part miniseries might have given characters a little more depth than what we get from one, four-hour film.
The film is different than the original cut — So the original cut of the film tried to be like “The Avengers” with slapstick comedy and funny jokes that just didn’t land. It also cut out an entire backstory for the character Cyborg, which you get with this film. There also isn’t any scene with The Joker in the original version. This version does have that scene — it’s just a little too dark for families, I’d say.