Big Picture Big Sound

Does a four-hour movie immediately constitute an epic, or is a movie epic because of its greatness? That's what's going to be discussed when talking about "Zack Snyder's Justice League."

In 2017, "Justice League" was released to poor reviews and less-than-expected box office numbers. The movie made $229 million domestically and $657 million globally, and those large numbers still constituted a failure. The movie, which is a part of the DCEU, was expected to be the brand's answer to Marvel's "The Avengers," but audiences didn't show it the same kind of passion and attention those movies get.

The production of "Justice League" has been well-documented, but the central story surrounding the film's road to screens is tragic. Director Zack Snyder had to step down while working on the film because he and his wife lost their daughter to suicide, and obviously, that is a matter much more important than any movie. In the years since "Justice League" was released, there have been loud rallying cries throughout the internet to #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, which would give back some creative control to Snyder to finish the movie he tried to make before tragedy struck.

Joss Whedon crossed over from Marvel world to step in and finish the film. As the reviews suggest, "Justice League" ended up being pretty terrible. The effects were lousy, the CGI-ing of Henry Cavill's mustache became a much-deserved laughingstock, and the entire movie felt haphazardly constructed. Fans were disappointed and they took to their keyboards to scream into the ether about seeing Snyder's version of the movie.

Now titled "Zack Snyder's Justice League," Warner Bros. has released the movie via HBO Max, giving the fandom a real victory. There's a bit of grey area in answering such crowdsourced calls, because plenty of people would like to see a different version of a desired project. When a filmmaker signs up to make a big budget superhero movie, in my estimation they should know they are making a movie by committee. There is too much money on the line for one person to have total control.

"Zack Snyder's Justice League" is a bit better than the 2017 iteration, but it's a scenario where there was nowhere to go but up. "Justice League" clocked in at two hours - which is mercifully short for a superhero movie - and Snyder's version is doubled to four hours. It's a grueling, indulgent, and entirely unwarranted runtime, broken into six parts because when the project was announced, it was going to be a four-part limited series. Ultimately, Snyder decided to have it released as a movie.

Plot-wise, not much has changed from before. Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck) and Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) team up to recruit Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Barry Allen/The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Victor Stone/Cyborg (Ray Fisher) to provide protection from the threat Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) poses on the world.

Superhero movies don't often deviate from a blueprint: One person or team must come together to defeat a bad guy, while a MacGuffin is in the mix and desperately sought after by the Big Bad. Those who saw "Justice League" will know how the basic trajectory plays out, but all the added and expanded elements are what everyone is excited for, because even at four hours, "Zack Snyder's Justice League" is a pretty basic comic book outing.

Due to the new release's expanded time, each character is given a little more room to breathe in their roles. Fisher's storyline the most effective, while Miller's additional time feels a bit more superfluous. Affleck has always seemed uninterested in playing Batman and he skulks around, rounding up the crew. Gadot continues to feel at home playing Wonder Woman and Cavill's Superman has his own prominent storyline, but like "Justice League," he feels more in the background than the others. It's nice to see that Amy Adams' Lois Lane and Diane Lane's Martha Kent have a little more time on screen. Two actresses of their caliber shouldn't be regulated to flimsy supporting roles, as they have been previously.

Out of the myriad of issues with "Justice League," Steppenwolf as the villain was one of the big ones. He's such a bland amalgamation of what these kinds of movies present as an antagonist for the central heroes. Though "Avengers: Infinity War" is a bit uneven ("Avengers: Endgame" was a nice ending to that story), it managed to flesh out Thanos as the villain, which added an unexpected heft to those movies. Steppenwolf shows up angry and wants to destroy the world - as all villains do.

Snyder's visual style doesn't change much from movie-to-movie, and he has his legions of fans but as a visualist; you're either on board with him or not. His movies have a faded color palette because they want you to know they're deathly serious and gritty, and he shoots most of his action scenes in slow motion. One slow motion scene is too many, but several is excessive. There is lack of variation in his style, which can make a far-too-long movie seem that much longer.

So, does a four-hour movie get to be deemed an epic, simply for being four hours long? My vote is no: that needs to be earned. Fans who have been waiting for this movie are likely to be pleased, but "Zack Snyder's Justice League" is an exercise in excess more than a truly epic movie. Though it's an improvement over the 2017 version there's no rhythm to the story, and breaking it up into chapters makes everything feel stilted. If making this movie and closing this chapter of his life and career brings Snyder and is family peace, the movie should be considered a success. But as a finished product, objectively looked at, the dreariness and the runtime make the movie feel like a slog.