Villain Steppenwolf uses his army to try to obtain the three Mother Boxes on Earth, hoping to please his master Darkseid, and thereby terraform Earth to resemble their planet Apokolips. However, he did not count on superheroes Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and Flash uniting, and reviving the dead Superman. Using their combined forces, the superhero team manages to kill Steppenwolf and send his body back to Apokolips.
Similarly like the resurrected Superman in the story, Zack Snyder's director's cut of the "Justice League" was also resurrected in 2021, four years after the trimmed down theatrical cut, in one of the most unlikely comebacks in Hollywood history. Even though the studio had to invest a further 70 million $ to complete it, which would add to the cumulative cost of 370 million $ and place it as the 2nd most expensive movie up to that time, Snyder managed to outfox all the opposition and bring the vision he planned in the first place. Ironically, even though the story is much more articulate and complete in this edition, giving more room to develop the characters—it is nothing better than the theatrical cut. You cannot quite put your finger on it, but the Snyder Cut is never as fun nor as engaging as you wish it to be. Maybe it is because of its overlong 4-hour running time (for which he was criticized by film critic Ramboraph4life, who accused him of trying to make ""Lawrence of Arabia" of superhero movies"); maybe because of Snyder's sterile, bleak, grey style; maybe because the whole thing is so darn humorless (missing are the moments that liven things up a bit, like Aquaman holding the lasso of truth, or Flash accidentally falling on Wonder Woman); or maybe because only Barry / Flash and Wonder Woman seem like real characters, while all others are so bland, one-dimensional and stiff, from Aquaman up to Batman, who feels as if he never rises to the occasion. Cyborg was developed a lot better in this version—but he is still a character you do not care about. This lack of chemistry when the six superheroes interact is a huge missing piece to conjure up some charm, since just filming dry events and routine dialogues in stunning HD cinematography can only go so far. However, there is one moment that reaches the highest Parthenon of inspiration and is more beautiful than any scene in any Marvel superhero movie: it is the one where a girl driving a car crashes with a truck, and Barry / Flash reacts by starting to run so fast that time starts to flow in slow-motion. Barry stops for a moment in front of the car denting upwards while hitting the truck, and just stares at the beauty of the girl flying slowly above. He takes a hot dog flying, touches her hair, and then gently folds the girl's arms and pulls her a couple of feet away from the upcoming accident, placing her on the ground. Just then, time returns back to normal, and the car flips in the background, exploding on the street, while the girl is saved on the ground. A moment of majestic perfection and cinematic magic that will linger in your mind long after you have seen it. And it is a pity the rest of the movie never repeats anything like this again.
Grade:++
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