Taking Advantage of an Extensive Runtime and a Centralized Creative Vision, 'Zack Snyder’s Justice League' Delivers a Superior Experience

While I did enjoy the DCEU’s Justice League back in 2017, I also found it to be messy and uneven.  And when compared to the MCU’s first Avengers film, it objectively comes off as an inferior product.

Most of the fault for its failure is attributed to the production woes behind the scenes.  Zack Snyder, grieving the sudden death of his daughter, had to step down during post-production, and Warner Bros. brought in Joss Whedon to finish the film.  The final cut of the film released back then apparently turned out being more Whedon than Snyder.  Thus, the unsatisfactory performance of the film – which eventually came to be referred to as “Joss-tice League” – was mostly blamed on Whedon.

Soon afterward, rumors of the existence of a “Synder Cut” – a version of the film true to Zack Snyder’s original vision – spread around the Internet.  While there was skepticism, the legitimacy of the Snyder Cut only gained more traction when people that were involved with the production started suggesting that it exists.  Thus, fans began the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement.  After years of campaigning, fans got what they want as Warner Bros. finally decided in 2020 to let Snyder realize his vision of the film.  Warner Bros. had to shell out $70 million to cover the cost of finishing the visual effects and reshoots.

'Wonder Woman 1984' Is the Worst DCEU Film So Far

I first used the title above for my review of Birds of Prey.  But, as it happens, I found its DCEU successor to be worse than it.  Yep.  For me, Wonder Woman 1984 is the worst among the nine DCEU films so far.

Wonder Woman 1984 is set in, well, 1984 – several decades after the first movie.  As Princess Diana of Themyscira continually fulfills her heroic duties as Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), she also maintains the civilian alter ego of Diana Prince, who works as an antiquities expert at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.  One day, an encounter with a mysterious, ancient artifact triggers a series of events that causes Diana to be somehow reunited with her late lover Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) and to clash with supervillains Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) and Cheetah (Kristen Wiig) for the fate of the world.

'Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)' Is the Worst DCEU Film So Far

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) or just simply Birds of Prey – which is then later renamed to Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey in an attempt to encourage more ticket sales after a disappointing premiere week – is the eighth installment of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).  It’s a spin-off movie of 2016’s Suicide Squad that centers on its break out star Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and is set after the events of that movie.  On top of that, it also serves as an origin story for the DCEU’s version of the Birds of Prey, DC Comics’ iconic all-female superhero team.

I Wish 'Shazam!' Made a Gutsy "Captain Marvel" Reference

Shazam! marks the live-action, big screen debut in the Golden Age of comic book cinema for Captain Marvel.  No, not that Captain Marvel.  I mean the original Captain Marvel.  It’s kind of sad, really, that this superhero, which used to be more popular than Superman at one point in history, can’t be known now by his original name – a name that was actually first his.

'Aquaman' Rights the DCEU Ship

The DCEU is in a bad shape.  After receiving lukewarm receptions for its first three installments (for the record, I mostly enjoyed all three, despite all their glaring problems), it finally scored its first big win with Wonder Woman.  Unfortunately, the follow-up Justice League failed to continue the momentum, and seemingly negated most of the goodwill Wonder Woman earned.  Later, the state of the DCEU only became bleaker as reports began to spread that Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill had bowed out of further continuing in their respective roles as Batman and Superman.  Thus, everyone’s eyes were on Aquaman, whether it would provide a spark of hope for the DCEU or it would drive the final nail in the coffin.  Fortunately, it turns out being as good as Wonder Woman – even maybe better.

Well, 'Justice League' Could Have Been Worse

Justice League isn’t just another movie.  It’s a momentous event.  For the first time ever, DC Comics’ premier superhero team is realized in a live-action theatrical film!

The plot: with Clark Kent a.k.a. Superman (Henry Cavill) dead (see Batmanv Superman: Dawn of Justice), Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman (Ben Afleck) and Diana Prince a.k.a. Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) have to recruit the metahumans in the dossier that they recovered from Lex Luthor (again, see Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) – Barry Allen a.k.a. Flash (Ezra Miller), Arthur Curry a.k.a. Aquaman (Jason Momoa), and Victor Stone a.k.a. Cyborg (Ray Fisher) – in order to form a team that will stand against the world-threatening Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds) and his army of Parademons.

DCEU Scores Its First Real Win with 'Wonder Woman'

At its fourth try, the DC Extended Universe has finally had a movie receiving universal acclaim.  And there’s something exhilarating and amusing about the fact that it was accomplished through the solo movie of, arguably, the least iconic of DC’s “Trinity.”  In this sense, it can be said Wonder Woman bested Batman and Superman!

Kudos to DC/Warner Bros.  They managed to release a Wonder Woman movie first before Marvel could release a Captain Marvel movie (which I thought would happen first since Marvel made an announcement first, and with all the lack of vision going on with DC/WB during that time).  Getting the first major-comicbook-movie-with-a-female-superhero-as-lead out ahead of their rivals is a good win for them.  In addition, it even turned out being the best DCEU movie so far (Suicide Squad is a far second).

'Suicide Squad' Extended Cut Simply Enforces What I Thought of the Movie the First Time Around

The “Extended Cut” of Suicide Squad didn’t polish the movie as much as the “Ultimate Edition” did for Batman v Superman.  Probably because it only has about thirteen minutes of additional footage.  But I welcome it nonetheless, since one of the things I liked about the movie is the twisted love story arc of Harley Quinn and the Joker, and a good amount of the additional scenes brought by the Extended Cut are more flashbacks of this deranged couple.

However, all in all, one’s feelings for this movie won’t radically change from his or her initial reaction about it after watching the theatrical version.  Thirteen minutes’ worth of new scenes won’t really make it an entirely different, much upgraded movie.

The DC Extended Universe Starts to Gel (a Bit) in 'Suicide Squad'

I wanted Suicide Squad to surprise everybody by being DC’s breakthrough movie.  The trailer looked fun and cool.  But with DC’s track record so far, I prevented myself from getting my hopes up.  Thus, I had no expectations of it being a mindblowingly terrific film.   Which might as well because when I finally got to watch it and it turned out being a mixed bag experience, there was no sense of disappointment. 

Still, I enjoyed it more than Batman v Superman.  Man of Steel is probably the most competent and coherent of the three DC Extended Universe (DCEU) movies so far.  But Suicide Squad, for all its problems, is the most fun.

As I've Expected, 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' Ultimate Edition Is Barely an Improvement

When I saw the theatrical cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice earlier this year, I was disappointed.   Though I don’t agree with the intensity of how critics panned it (it’s a mess, but it’s not Fant4stic bad), I nonetheless think it failed of being a satisfactory vehicle for showing the “DC Trinity” together in the big screen for the first time.   It did have aspects that were genuinely exciting and entertaining, but they weren’t sufficient to redeem the movie as a whole.

When it was announced that this movie has an R-rated, extended “director’s cut”, there was an anticipation among fans that this would mightily improve the otherwise underwhelming theatrical version.  As for me, I was doubtful.  True, its problems with pacing, editing, and poorly developed plot points and character arcs would probably be remedied by a director’s cut.  However, BvS had other significant flaws that were rooted at its core, making them impossible to address without completely overhauling or changing the movie itself.  Examples are the gritty tone that doesn’t mesh with the silly plot points; the shortage of clever or powerful dialogue; the bad characterizations; the missed opportunities; and, to some extent, the inorganic scenes that don’t really fit to the narrative but are just obviously there in order to set up future movies.

'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' Is a Mess of Awesomeness

Coming to this movie, I know that it is strongly disliked by the critics.  But even without those bad reviews, right from the start, there were already elements of its production that made me worry.  No, casting Ben Affleck as Batman was not one of them.  The first red flag for me was the title.  I hated the annoyingly pretentious use of “v” instead of “vs.” Furthermore, putting “Dawn of Justice” as subtitle suggested that the script would heavily shoo-in elements that would set up the Justice League movie, potentially distracting the focus on what the movie should essentially be: Batman and Superman clashing.  Second, the trailers seemed to have revealed so much information about the plot already.

All in all, now that I’ve finally seen it, I find Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice convoluted, problematic, and messy.  My initial dislike for the implications of the title and trailers are justified.  However, I don’t reflect the brutality of the critics’ negative reception of it.   I don’t think it’s that awful.   It actually has terrific aspects as well.

First, let me discuss the negatives.  (By the way, there are going to be SPOILERS in this review.)