Justice League: The Unity Edition

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.

This is a more balanced movie, neither too light or dark, very much in line with Bronze age sensibilties as laid out in Bob's mandates at the beginning of the edit.

I loved the various choices of music for the edit, that track that plays during Arthur and Steppenwolf is a pure metal banger...the only track I didn't like was the use of "Hurt" by Johnny Cash. I just find that one of the most overplayed songs to use in anything. Doesn't deter from the overall enjoyment of the full edit, but it is a gripe I have.

I appreciated everything leading into the main feature, creating a more authentic theatrical feel and giving kudos to other editors past projects. I'd already seen Bob's end credits in the In The Works thread but it's still good to see form part of the feature, not a whole lot of comic book movies pull from this sort of thing and it'd be nice if they did, just to show the companies aren't embarrassed of where this stuff comes from.

Overall, Bob delivers on his promise and we get a great merger of both directors visions with none of their short-comings too visible or leading to difficult distraction. JL could have been the perfect movie if there was better communication between directors, this at least gives us an insight into how that process could have worked out for the best.

I have a strong feeling this edit is going to be divisive, as all Snyder related things seem to be. However. For me, this was the most fun I've had watching this movie.

Rather than work from the Snyder Cut as a base, this version of the movie really embraces what was good about the theatrical cut. It's lighter, faster paced, fun and character driven.

The reorganizing do the first act worked incredibly well for me, probably the best version that exists of this chunk of the movie. I thought all the characters played well and felt more in tone with the comic book versions.

My only gripe is the "needle drops" throughout, though I would chalk this more to my personal preferences than anything inherently wrong with the edit. I just found the insertion of known music to be a little too much for me at times. It leans into the "James Gunn" music style, which I'm not the biggest fan of. However. These moments were edited perfectly well and handled with care, so I don't knock any points for that.

Overall, I thought this was a really cool edit and a great version of the film. If you're a Snyder purist stay away, but if you're intrigued by a light, fun superhero team up movie, I think you'll be very impressed!