It’s real, it got made and, against all odds, it’s here. After years of fan campaigning and hype, the Snyder Cut has arrived. Only time (4 hours, to be precise) will tell whether Snyder’s opus is a superior movie to 2017’s Frankenstein’d release, but it’s been a long and perilous road getting here. What started as its own self-contained cinematic universe in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman (and, to a lesser extent, Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad) has since shattered; where Shazam!, WW84, Birds of Prey and Aquaman sit, canonically, is unclear. It’s hard to picture the Wonder Woman of WW84, for example, later showing up in Snyder’s Dawn of Justice.
How did it come to this? Here we take a look at the positives (and negatives) of the three movies which led us to where we are now; Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Whedon/Snyder/WB’s Justice League.
1. Dynamite – Boy of Steel
The first half of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel beautifully updates the Superman mythos for a modern audience. From the destruction of Krypton to Clark’s childhood in Smallville, it’s a sharp retelling of a familiar story. As Clark slowly finds his footing as Superman, stepping into the spotlight before Amy Adams’s Lois Lane, everything is on track for Man of Steel to become the greatest Superman movie since Donner’s Superman.
Kryptonite – The Rest of the Movie
… and then Zod and Superman punch their way across (and through) half of Metropolis, levelling entire districts of the city. Sure, it’s Clark’s first proper fight, and Zod is an experienced, battle-hardened warrior, but Superman doesn’t seem too worried about collateral damage, nor try to draw his opponent away from the city. And then, the one-two punch of Clark snapping Zod’s neck and flying off to make out with Lois Lane amidst the devastation. “This is about the evolution of Superman’s no-kill rule, though,” the faithful will tell you. Except Superman obviously hadn’t learned his lesson: smashing a terrorist through a brick wall in the opening of the very next movie.
2. Dynamite – The Trinity
Superman. Batman. Wonder Woman. However one feels about the characterisation, it’s hard to argue that the heroes of Zack Snyder’s DC Universe weren’t perfectly cast. Not since Christopher Reeve donned the red-and-blues has an actor looked so magnificently super, man. Chiselled abs; a jawline that could crack a bank vault; that smile (when they let him smile) – Henry Cavill is Superman. Snyder’s eye for casting carried through to his Batman – a salt-and-pepper sprayed hulking great Ben Affleck. Affleck’s monotone growl was perfect for this world-weary, no-holds-barred Batman. Completing the Trinity, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. While she may have been underutilised in Batman v Superman, she more than proved herself with Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman.
Kryptonite – Doomsday for Lex Luthor
While the casting of the Snyder-verse was largely inspired, it hasn’t always paid off. Case in point, Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor. While this take on Superman’s nemesis has its defenders, for most viewers, Snyder’s Luthor is an irritating, unimposing little snot. The only reason his plan even works is because the World’s Greatest Detective is written as a lumbering great dope in Batman v Superman. The film’s villain problem only gets worse when it introduces the CGI trash-pile that is Doomsday, scrubbed from the DNA of a much better character.
3. Dynamite – Arkham Asylum
Batman’s big action sequence in Dawn of Justice is like an Arkham Asylum game writ large. In saving Superman’s mom, Batman drops in on a warehouse full of heavily armed goons and pounds the absolute shit out of them. Batfleck’s casual brutality is one of our biggest sticking points with the film, but the sequence is incredibly well done – The Dark Knight Returns come to life. Even if the Snyder cut is an enormous success, it’s unlikely we’ll ever see a solo Ben Affleck Batman film. Let this sequence serve as a tantalising taster of what could have been.
Kryptonite – The Dark, Dark Knight
Look, we get it. Batman is angry. His mom and dad were murdered before his eyes. Robin was brutally slaughtered. Then Superman reduced the Metropolis branch of Wayne Enterprises to rubble. Snyder gives Batman plenty of reason to mistrust and resent Superman. We’ve even seen Batman kill before, in the Tim Burton movies. However, Affleck’s Batman is more than just angry. As of Batman v Superman, he’s positively deranged, murdering swathes of street thugs (nobody is walking away from that Batmobile chase alive), viciously branding his captives, and merely beating the lucky ones to a paste. “Yeah, but this film is about Batman’s redemption,” defenders cry. He spends most of Dawn of Justice trying to murder Superman with a spear. Some things you never come back from.
4. Dynamite – Batman’s “oops” Face
For a film called Batman v Superman, there’s a disappointing shortage of Batman v Superman action. Still, when the bell rings for the big showdown, it’s a lot of fun. Batman even smashes a sink over Superman’s head. The film’s best moment comes when the Kryptonite wears off and Batman’s punches bounce off Clark without effect. Bruce holds his hands up and starts to back off, in a rare moment of levity for the Snyder-verse’s most serious film.
Kryptonite – “I thought she was with you.”
Much has been made of Dawn of Justice’s ‘Martha’ moment, so we won’t run it any further into the ground here. At least it kind of supports itself in the story, if you squint. Far more baffling is the big line from the trailer. With their differences set aside, Batman and Superman dig their boots into the ground to do battle with Doomsday. They’re not alone either – the finale introduces Wonder Woman, in full Amazon Gear. “Is she with you?” asks a bemused Superman. “I thought she was with you,” Batman replies. Which makes little sense, given that he’s spent the previous two hours or so investigating Diana and learning of her history in World War I. No, you didn’t, or you’d have tried to murder her with a spear too, not become actual pen pals.
5. Dynamite – Justice League, Assemble!
That Joss Whedon and WB were able to cobble together anything at all out of Snyder’s Justice League footage was a small miracle. Say what you will about the sloppy comic relief, horrible CGI, and awkward reshoots, the film is surprisingly coherent. And it’s at its strongest for the first half, as Batman and Wonder Woman begin to assemble their Justice League against Steppenwolf’s forces. As Batman menaced Mindhunter’s Bill Tench on a rooftop, I began to wonder whether Whedon and WB had, against all odds, pulled it off. The rest of the film proved otherwise, but it was a valiant – if doomed – attempt.
Kryptonite – Superman Returns
He’s too moody; too selfish; too serious; he straight up kills people. For many fans of the character, Zack Snyder’s Superman simply isn’t Superman. So we should have been overjoyed with the rebirth of Superman in Justice League. Kind, smiling and jovial – laughing and joking with Cyborg, cheekily pranking the Flash – Whedon’s Superman was everything fans had been clamouring for. And yet. Three films in, it was too little too late, and made no sense for that version of the character. Superman’s sudden about-turn reeked of studio interference, and was at odds with everything we’d seen before. And the less said about that moustache, the better…
Whatever one’s opinions of the Snyder-verse might be, and however the Snyder Cut turns out, the director’s return to the franchise should be celebrated.
For better and worse, this was always Zack Snyder’s story.
