Posted in: HBO, Justice League, Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: dc, justice league, WB, zack snyder

3 Kick-Ass Changes in Zack Snyder's Justice League Film

Zack Snyder's Justice League is finally here, and there are a lot of opinions about the four-hour cut of the DC superhero flick.

Feeling like an entirely new film, Zack Snyder's HBO Max exclusive project is a much more faithful telling of his initial concept, and there's plenty of fun to be had. Fans will notice just under 15 minutes into the movie. A choir of Aquaman supporters serves as a unique introduction to the filmmaker's passion project without shying away from the standards that are typically in place for a blockbuster title.

Divided into six acts, there is so much content to take in for the DC title, getting a better chance to delve into the essential character growth and necessary inclusions, or even expanding some good old-fashioned superhero vs. supervillain blowouts. You already have likely seen lists detailing every stark difference between both versions, but why don't we talk about some of the more kickass attributes of the new Justice League, shall we?

Darkseid

Darkseid is without a doubt a top-tier villain in the world of DC. His quest for power has taken him throughout the universe, and his desire to slaughter has made Darkseid a prominent role in DC comics since his debut in the early '70s. While hinted at in the first Justice League cut, the Snyder version makes everything for Darkseid.

Every action from Steppenwolf is to get back in the good graces of the dark ruler, and his presence through an altered flashback sequence, a boom tube portal, and a hellish-hologram made Darkseid dominate the film with every brief instance he was on-screen.

Without naming names, a lot of superhero films can struggle to provide a substantial villain who really lives up to the hype — or even feel like a legitimate threat, and Darkseid does just that from a distance. Steppenwolf is a character who felt very retooled because of this shift (another strong choice to follow), and by making a very physical presence cower at a non-corporeal Darkseid shows how much power a Darkseid reign can hold.

More Useful Heroes!

The combination of two directors' ideas in the first Justice League felt like it left plenty of storylines dangling without real resolve, but Zack Snyder's Justice League made an effort to resolve some of those issues.

For one, Batman was a more passive role in the first film, not really feeling pivotal to the success of the team outside of his recruiting efforts. In this version, Batman brings much more emotional impact to the film with every added scene for Ben Affleck to eat up, and his action scenes feel much more reminiscent of the unpredictable, resourceful hero we know Batman to be.

Another hero that benefits is the Flash, who gets to scrap the family escape scene for a much more important time-bending moment that showcases why he'll be receiving a solo film. Flash brings a lot more intensity to the crucial moments in the resurrection of Superman and rewinds the union of the mother boxes, making two phenomenal ways to handle a character with such on-screen potential for copious power.

If anything, Flash currently holds the key to the future of the DC film slate, so let's hope to see something grand!

Altered Action Scenes

I don't think there's a moment in either version of Justice League that impressed as much as the newly crafted Steppenwolf demise in Snyder's adaptation.

When we watched the battle, it was able to enlist the help of others like Aquaman and Cyborg, but his attempted escape as Wonder Woman decapitated the former leading villain through the boom-tube was nothing short of epic. Of all the slow-motion scenes (and there was an abundance), that moment, followed by the aesthetic of the team staring down their future foe, was enough to make me dedicate a lot more hours to more Justice League in this incarnation, especially now that the Bruce and Lois idea has (thankfully) been squashed!

There's also something admittedly gratifying about getting to see a gorier version of the league, with this R-rated DC film giving a chance to show off some bloodshed and no-rules fights for all to enjoy. It really isn't often that a studio greenlights something so rebranded like this, and that just makes the payout feel worth the wait.

What were your favorite changes/moments from Zack Snyder's Justice League?

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