Justice League: The Unity Edition

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9.6 (18)
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jlunity_front
Faneditor Name:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
2017 / 2021
Original Running Time:
240
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
136
Time Cut:
100
Time Added:
4
Subtitles Available?
Available in HD?
Brief Synopsis:
This fan edit uses the Snyder Cut as the foundational source but transitions over the course of the edit into the Whedon third act.
Intention:
I have a deep life long love for DC Comics and their heroes. And since I have been experiencing their adventures for almost 5 decades, I view DC's iconic heroes with a very specific lens. While I was initially very excited for a Big Screen adaptation of the Justice League, I was ultimately frustrated and disappointed by BOTH versions. In particular, I do not like Snyder's interpretation of Superman. Thus, I decided to make my own version by uniting the elements I enjoyed from each film and trying to give them a new tone that appeals to my Bronze Age sensibilities.
Other Sources:
Used a couple seconds of AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON.
Release Information:
Digital
Special Features
There is an 8 minute Pre-Show before the Fan Edit.
Editing Details:
My approach was story and character first, cool stuff second.
Balance drama with light heartedness while eliminating the more moronic moments.
Focus on making our characters more classically heroic instead of grimdark by lots of little trims and new underlying music.
For better or worse, I used the Arrowverse as my inspiration and model.
:)
Cuts and Additions:
I don't like to give detailed cut lists, as I think surprise should be part of the viewing experience.

But I will say this:
Almost every scene is a unity of Snyder and Whedon footage.
The entire fan edit has been given a new colour grading.
The fan edit builds towards the Whedon third act.
The first hour is completely reorganized/restructured.
There is tons of new or swapped music;
--Whedon scenes now have Snyder music and Snyder scenes have Whedon music
--new music themes for Cyborg (Tron Legacy) and The Flash (from the television series)
--there are FOUR needle drop/James Gunn style scenes. And it should be noted, stylistically I prefer the music to be loud in the foreground with SFX at the bare minimum in these types of scenes. Why do I like it this way? Blame Airwolf! lol (also, technically it makes hiding original soundtrack bleed easier)
There are Custom End Credits
There are THREE post-credit scenes
The Unity Edition Trailer

User reviews

18 reviews
 
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Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0(18)
Audio Editing
 
9.6(18)
Visual Editing
 
9.9(18)
Narrative
 
9.3(18)
Enjoyment
 
9.2(18)
View all user reviews View most helpful
Overall rating
 
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
This edit is an interesting take, grabbing stuff from both versions, it turned out really unique.

The new “You're the best" song at the end has some minor audio issues, both during the song and at its end transition.

For me, there was also a huge missed opportunity on the Mercedes car product placement, it should have been removed. I mean, any product placement in a film is terrible, but in a superhero film, it looked really wrong.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
9.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I loved it. Picked and chose the best of both films, while keeping it coherent and consistent. The audio editing was a bit jarring, but it was well done. The video changing grading every couple of scenes was jarring as well, but it showed what was Snyder, and what was Whedon. So it worked. Anyway, cheers on the amazing edit, many thanks, Juggy.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
J
Top 500 Reviewer 26 reviews
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Overall rating
 
9.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
8.0
Visual Editing
 
9.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
I thought this edit was alright, although some of the audio could use some tinkering. Namely you could clearly hear what lines were from Snyder Steppenwolf and what line were from Whedon Steppenwolf. I also fell some of the scenes could use some more smooth transitioning.
But my biggest problem though, is actually some missed opportunities.
Namely, I would've liked to see, or should I say hear, more Snyder Cut music. Can you imagine the Immovable theme playing as Superman says "I believe in truth, but I'm also a big fan of justice" and joins the final battle against Steppenwolf?
I would've also liked to see Cyborg's knightmare vision while he's trying to separate the motherboxes, explaining why he said "That's a lot" and why Steppenwolf said "Now do you see it?"

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
A
Top 500 Reviewer 7 reviews
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(Updated: February 21, 2023)
Overall rating
 
9.6
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
9.0
It's a god send edit. I had issues with both the theatrical and Snyder cut of Justice League, yet this edit was able to combine aspects of both to make a greater whole. The scenes are spliced together in clever, non intrusive ways, that allowed for most of the characters to feel fleshed out, without overwhelming the breezy, tight narrative, structure. Speaking of which, the first act in particular was reorganized in such a great way, starting things with the Amazons, then cutting to Superman's impact, and introducing the JL members made the story easier to process, made things tighter. The color grading across the board was excellent, uniting the contrasting cuts, The needle drops were well chosen, my favorite being You're The Best Around. I got a kick out of hearing that near the end, everything was excellent. Loved the little tribute to George Perez at the end, and those creative end credits showcasing DC's comic history. It's a fantastic, gorgeous edit, that will no doubt please most fans!

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
N
Top 500 Reviewer 15 reviews
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Overall rating
 
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
8.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
This was a really fun time. I only saw the Whedon and Snyder cut once in full and have seen the incredible Spence fan edit since then so my recollection of the color correction of the original footage is hazy. However, the image quality is superb, as is the sound.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of either officlal cuts of JL, though I consider the Snyder cut superior if only because it's a more consistent and seamless vision of the film. It also as more fleshed out character narratives for Cyborg and Flash. Cyborg especially sticks out as the nominal protagonist of the Snyder cut but is a complete non-entity in the Whedon cut. The main flaw of the Snyder cut is that is it overly long with padded out storytelling, sequel setups that will go nowhere and the usual atrocious overuse of dramatic slow-mo common of Snyder's work. His Superman also continues to be awful.

This edit mainly uses the Whedon cut Superman, a more lighthearted and funny incarnation. This version however also suffer from being underused by the narrative, A consequence of the character's death in BVS that can't be changed unfortunately. The infamous CGI upperlip also has to be contended with, nothing to do about it.

A good word to describe this edit is breezy. The seamless fusion of both version into a whole makes for a fast-paced and action packed adventure. Opening the film with the Amazon attack and following the title card with an amazing dream flashback to Superman's death with appropriately grim colors for that sequence was the kick in the butt both versions of the OG film needed to put the film into high gear.

I admit being baffled by the placement of "don't fear the reaper". The audio editing and the cover of the song selected were exquisite, but the song itself didn't land with me. More successful was the use of 'Hurt", "The Grid" from Tron: Legacy (as Cyborg's theme) and the fistpumping and cheestastic use of "You're the best". Sincerely, all the music mixing and tinkering bar that first example landed with me.

On the villain front, Steppenwolf was never much of a major villain in the comics and he isn't much of a villain here either. He's noticeably better than the Whedon version (though this edit uses that version) through the use of inserted dialogue of the Snyder cut to give him his Snyder motivation. Though the "Mother" talks rear its way in a bit too much for me.


BionicBob's cut has 3 mid-credits scenes. I disapprove of the first one, since there never will be a Justice League vs Darkseid film in this continuity it feels like unfulfilled sequel baiting. The second one is perfect and the third is a cheeky morsel to BionicBob's future edits.

The Unity Edition is the right name to describe this cut. Probably the best possible bridge between the two official cut and would a surely fared better than Whedon's version in theatres. Unfortunately, we will never know.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
M
Top 500 Reviewer 7 reviews
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