I’d always considered myself more of a DC man than Marvel, so it was frustrating to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe blossom on screen while their competitor’s characters remained mostly unexplored. With the announcement of the DCEU, though, I thought that long wait had come to an end. Then came Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and, the most disappointing blow of all, the cinematic car crash that was Justice League.
Whereas the first two felt like failed experiments, albeit ones with a distinctive style, Justice League was a dull, personality-free drudge of a movie that resembled a box ticking exercise more than a labor of love. We all know the story of the film’s torturous development and production, culminating in Zack Snyder being replaced by Joss Whedon and large portions of the movie being reshot. And now, thanks to the these never before seen stills and concept art, we’re getting an idea of what Snyder’s vision would have looked like – and I have say, it looks pretty damn good to me.
There’s a lot to pick through here, though the most notable differences are the vastly superior original design for Steppenwolf, the appearance of Ares (explaining why David Thewlis is credited in the film) and a great looking moment where Batman commandeers a gigantic Apokalyptian cannon. I can’t say with any confidence that Zack Snyder’s Justice League would actually have been a genuinely good movie, but at least it would have felt like a consistent artistic vision rather than a collection of elements decided by committee and awkwardly stapled together by Joss Whedon (who took on an impossible job).
Maybe one day we’ll get the fabled Snyder cut. We know something was screened to Warner Bros. executives back in the spring of 2017, but they hated it so much they ordered that the film be reworked. And frankly, if the executives who decided that CGI was the way to go with Henry Cavill’s face are opposed to something, then I’m for it by default.
So Warner Bros., give us the Snyder cut already!
