I’ve had my fair share of cinematic grievances with Zack Snyder over the years, but you’ve got to feel sympathetic for him right now. Not only is he still recovering from a horrible family tragedy, but being removed from Justice League prior to its release and having a fifth of the film reshot must be rough for a director.
Consequentially, he hasn’t even seen the finished project and seems in no rush to. When chatting with a fan on Vero, he noted the following when asked if he’s had a chance to watch the pic yet:
I will be honest, I have not seen the film since I stepped away. You know I love these characters. I wish only I could only finish it for you and the others who love MOS, BvS.
Having seen the malformed Frankensteinian monster that Justice League ended up as, I can’t blame him for skipping it. For my money, Snyder’s had a pretty rough ride from Warner Bros. and DC. I genuinely liked Man of Steel, which was at least palpably different to your typical Marvel fare. But Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was partially conceived in response to fan criticism to the aforementioned film, specifically addressing the much-criticized destruction of Metropolis in the climactic Zod fight.
Now, Justice League was apparently entirely reworked after Batman V Superman’s critical mauling in a frantic and ultimately futile attempt to ape the quip-heavy Marvel tone, and anyone who’s seen the film will agree that it falls very, very flat.
Playing this game of cinematic catch-up like this has resulted in a movie that was focus-grouped so hard it’s lost any identity or style it might have once had. With that in mind, I’m not surprised that Snyder doesn’t have the heart to go out and see what they’ve haphazardly grafted onto his baby. I mean, say what you like about his style, but at least he’s got a style. It might be a long shot, but I really hope we get to see Snyder’s original cut at some point, even if it’s in rough workprint form.
