Woo boy. There's a lot to love here. There's a lot to hate here. Actually, you know what? There's just a LOT. And before we get into it, there will be some SPOILERS.
The Good:
Tonally, Zack Snyder's Justice League fits in so much better with the DCEU that came before it. The grittiness, the darkness, the edge. It all feels closer to the tone of Man of Steel and BvS. Cyborg and the Flash are fleshed out better than in the theatrical cut. The storyline makes more sense. The entire "family on the back of a truck" scene has been removed. Thankfully. The final battle with Steppenwolf is greatly improved and he isn't beaten by the Parademons this time. They don't smell fear and all that nonsense. Two of the three epilogues are great, especially the Knightmare scene (except for one line).
The Bad:
Too. Much. Slow. Motion. We get it. Zack Snyder likes slomo. We've seen it in all of his films. But with a 4 hour run time, we could have saved about a quarter of that just by eliminating the obscene use of slow motion.
Just like in Dawn of Justice, there are too many stories packed into this film. Too many origins on top of the overarching Motherbox plotline. We could have gotten a more satisfying story if one movie was assembling the League and a second one was the Motherboxes. Of course, it could have been better just giving them each solo movies from the jump. I like all of these characters. I like the actor's portayals. However, I'm not invested in any of them. Too much too quickly.
I loved seeing Martian Manhunter, but what the hell? He swoops down at the end and is all like, "hey Bruce, next time I got you.". Where was he when the fate of the world was on the line? Obviously it's a set up for a future that probably won't happen.
The Ugly:
With as much time and money that went into this, you'd think the CGI would be on point. We all laughed and (rightfully) ridiculed Superman's chin in the theatrical cut, but there are parts where the CGI looks no better than a PS3. There's a scene that shows Darkseid's first attempt to overtake the Earth. It looks HORRIBLE. The old Gods look like a cartoon. Darkseid looks like a cartoon throughout. Steppenwolf's design actually looks worse than the theatrical cut if that's possible. Cyborg's design looks wonky most of the time. In particular, there's a shot where his face is floating on the body like something I would poorly Photoshop. Quite frankly, it's embarrassing.
Overall:
This film is fine. It's not great. It's not terrible. There are some fantastic moments and the visuals, aside from the wonky CGI in places, are beautiful. The overuse of slow motion drags it down and stuffs an already bloated run time. I can't see ever wanting to sit down and rewatch the whole thing. Certain scenes I'll definitely seek out on YouTube to relive, but the whole thing? Never again.
I give it 2.5 reach arounds out of 5.
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