Review Detail

While this isn't really in line with my personal tastes (I'm a Post-Crisis Boy so I always liked Snyder's interpretations, his Superman reminded me a lot of Byrne and Jurgens. Dan Jurgens even has been a public Snyder fanboy), hence "enjoyment" being lower than the objective ones, this is by far the best "theatrical length" version of the film I've seen. Where most either become too Whedon-esque or just end up being "over-corrections" of Snyder's Cut, this finds an actually very good balance between the two that I could've bought as a version of the film Snyder might've made in 2017 had he stayed onto the film and directed/edited Whedon's rewrites himself in line with what WB wanted. Essentially, had Autumn Snyder not passed away, had Geoff Johns not been so adamant on forcing Snyder out entirely, and had Whedon not been a jerk about the movie (As he was apparently extremely hostile to Snyder in every attempt he made to talk to Whedon), this might've been the film we got. Do I like it as much as Snyder's Cut? No, but that's personal taste. I like Post-Crisis sincerity more than the "wink to the camera" jokes and campy Silver Age style Whedon used, so even a better balance of those doesn't appeal to me as much. That said, I actually don't find the needle drops too distracting from Snyder's style. I mean, Dawn of the Dead, Watchmen, and Sucker Punch all had needle drops (The first one was also written by Gunn, starting Snyder and Gunn's friendship and respect for each other. Just a fun fact), it's not like Snyder doesn't do music videos in his movies all the time. He just didn't do it in MoS and BvS (One of the many reasons I actually find those films to feel less Snyder-ish compared to other Snyder films). And plus, this is 1000x better than Josstice League or any variation thereof honestly.

On an objective level, this cut is very solid. Just know that it is definitely not for hardcore Snyder or even hardcore Whedon fans. I've still yet to see a theatrical runtime version of Snyder's Cut that really embraces his style (As in, not an alternate reality where Snyder directed and edited Whedon's rewrites, but a world where ZSJL was simply cut to ~3 hours really well) that isn't either heavily "over-corrected" or doesn't have decisions counter to the intent of the film, so hardcore Snyder fans should stick to the official Snyder Cut. And big Whedon fans who just want a less overtly ugly and more, well, "finished" Josstice League should stick with Justice League Reborn. This cut is the best "middle road" between the two, but it is still a middle road.