'Zack Snyder’s Justice League' review: Exhausting yet engaging fan service disguised as a saga

Remember when as kids we used to throw a tantrum to eat that particular chocolate given to us in portions, and sometimes adults snapped and actually gave in to our demand, only for us to realise that portion control was better? Well, something similar happens with Snyder cut, only with every bite, the taste intensifies. 

Zack Snyder, along with Warner Bros and DC, obliged to the fans’ immense request to release his version of the 2017 debacle 'Justice League', and now we have it - an excruciatingly long four-hour saga of a story known from start till the end to all DC fanatics. So was the call required? Sitting through the film, as a fan, the answer is an obvious yes.

Snyder’s version brings back the grey tone of the DC Universe (The director himself was keen on releasing the saga on IMAX in black and white). It’s much deeper, painstakingly executed to build and develop each and every character and is more like an ode (or an apology) to all that was rushed in Joss Whedon’s 2017 version. A lot of thought, time and service has been given by Zack Snyder, and it all shows.

The film begins with Cyborg adjusting to his new form, to Bruce Wayne, trotting through Iceland to find Aquaman, It’s interesting to note that the story is not known, and you somehow know what’s going to occur, yet the excitement to see the events unfold, stays. Guess, that says more about the legacy built by the DC comics than anything else. Not much has changed since the 2017 version-  it has only added and made DC appropriate. The humour is less, the intensity of the problem is more, and that interaction between Barry and Clarke never occurs. Snyder takes his sweet time to show the broken world, and that gives you enough time to get your supplies from the kitchen to prepare for an exhilarating climax sequence, something Whedon’s version completely destroyed. The big and only comic relief in the intense saga is The Flash and his interactions with fellow Justice League members.

There’s an epilogue at the end, where new characters are introduced, jumps to futures are made and some old-familiar characters make an appearance- *coughs* Joker *coughs*. Like the narration going in the background, in the end, the epilogue is there to give fans hope. Honestly, knowing where DC is headed right now, it did feel outstretched from a viewer’s perspective, but looks like Snyder actually, and truly wanted to honour the OG fans, without leaving any stone unturned.

Barry Allen, aka, Flash is again the biggest takeaway from the film and knowing that the standalone film is in full motion, it only gets interesting. Ezra Miller is a star, and that kid deserves a fan base of his own, real soon.

'Zack Snyder’s Justice League' is a fine example of what happens when a vision as big as 'Justice League' falls in the right hands. In the climax, Clake thanks Bruce for what he has done, and Bruce replies “I just undid a mistake”, the line Snyder must’ve wanted to say to the fans of the Universe. The saga, divided into six parts, might be a long watch, but it’s still shorter than the wait the fans did to get this onscreen.

You can pick all the faults in terms of movie-making, but it never claimed to be one. It proclaimed itself to be a fan-service, an undoing of a mistake, and it does that beautifully. So if you are a DC fan, strap on and take this splendid ride. For others, watch it in parts to experience Snyder’s dedication and a story that collects and combines the fear of DC’s mightiest form of a poem. It’s slow, but it’s worth savouring.