So, I watched the Snyder cut
…. and, it was totally worth the wait!
I watched the 4 hour movie (is it still called just a movie if its >4 hours? Or we should we refer it to as an EPIC) in one sitting last weekend. And I must say I have got a new found respect for the DCU!
Till now, I did not even believe in the existence of DCU. This one film changed that completely! The kind of thought and interleaving stories told by MCU through the Avengers was impressive including the fact they sustained it for over a decade and across 23 films. But, in DCU just this one movie makes up for all the bad stuff they did with the handling of the original JL!
I was excited watching Man of Steel. I was intrigued by Batman v. Superman but Snyder’s version of Justice League left me inspired! This has never happened to me in a super hero movie before. Sure, Endgame was good. Especially when Tony does the snap! But, I don’t think you can compare these two universes now. Most of MCU was just for fun and entertainment. But, this is not! DC stories are dark by default and this cements that narrative. This is now an emotion!
I am fully supportive of restoring Snyder’s vision for DCU and would want to see exactly what Snyder had in his mind for the future. If we have a Kevin Feige in MCU we deserve a Zack Snyder for DCU! #RestoreTheSnyderVerse!
First of all, for folks in India wondering how to watch this, I watched it by renting it from Apple TV+ for ₹150 which is roughly $2! I would have gladly paid more than that if I needed to! Other options to watch in India if you are not in the Apple universe were, BookMyShow stream, Hungama Play and Tata Sky! You are welcome!
Now, onto the film itself. Note — Some definite spoilers ahead!
The film starts off very similarly to the theatrical release with Bruce Wayne searching for specific powerful members to join Justice League starting with Arthur Curry or Aquaman. But, the story diverges in the way the characters are treated by respecting their background and adding more colour to their personalities.
We are also treated with the awesome scene (with one person supposedly Zeus looking directly out of the 300 set. Now, who do you think directed 300? Hmm!) of how the old gods, men, Amazons and Altheans defeated Darkseid thousands of years ago when he first tried to take over Earth!
Superman comes in pretty late as was expected in a black suit (!) but it’s an out and out Batman film with Ben Affleck getting top billing.
I was so disappointed with the original Justice League where Steppenwolf was portrayed as the main villain. Nothing inherently wrong in this given how powerful he is with Diana even commenting she had not seen a more powerful being. But, we all know how JL ended with the heroes especially after Superman comes in beating the sh*t out of him and essentially turning the main villain into a joke.
Cut to Avengers, they were also able to defeat the stream of outer worldly things coming out of the sky with some effort (not just an easy hitting match, mind you) and the post credits scene where the actual villain was unmasked as Thanos setting the stage for the future of MCU and the glorious ride till Endgame! In the original JL, Steppenwolf just got carried away (literally!) by his minions and we were left wondering what the hell happened there! If it was so easy, what was the point. The entire point of original JL was waking up Superman!
But, now, Snyder’s JL actually shows us there was a lot of thought behind it with Darkseid pitched as DCU’s Thanos or super villain who is a much more formidable opponent than the mere minion we got in Steppenwolf who couldn’t even land one tiny blow on Superman!
Look at Darkseid in the picture above! THIS is the villain we deserve!
Darkseid coming in itself ensures the longevity of DCU with JL 2, 3 and more which we can ourselves envision! So, can we #RestoreTheSnyderVerse already?!
The part played by Cyborg and Flash were essentially stripped down in JL. Here, Cyborg is the heart of the movie who along with Flash and Superman breaks the unity and ensures the universe is saved!
The alternate ending in Batman’s dream with Jared Leto’s Joker (with the dialogue involving Harley Quinn!) and the end as visualised by Cyborg are all great storylines to be pursued if we get to see the future of DC from Snyder’s perspective. Else, we have to assume this marks the end of DCU and just look forward to disparate DC films and focus on next phase of MCU’s greatness including Eternals and what not!
With the new “The Batman” starring Robert Pattinson out in March 2022, which focuses on a much younger Batman and the Riddler as its main villain it leaves little hope of seeing the next phase of Darkseid!
#RestoreTheSnyderVerse PLEASE! For DCU’s sake!
So, I watched the Snyder cut was originally published in Pradeep Kaushik on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.