Critic
A New Four-Hour Justice League Is Easier to Watch Than the Original
The “Snyder cut” points a way forward for streaming-first blockbusters.
Illustration: Jo Zixuan Zhou
In 2017, Warner Bros.’ Justice League pit Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and a cast of lesser characters against an alien bent on world domination. Reviews were unkind. The New York Times called it “a confusion of noise, visual clutter, and murderous digital gnats.” Rotten Tomatoes gave it a dismal 40% score.
For a subset of superfans, this wasn’t just a disappointment, it was an unforced error. The movie’s initial director, Zack Snyder, famous for the 2006 homo-fascist bloodbath 300, had been given the keys to the DC Comics kingdom and entrusted to create its answer to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe.