Joss Whedon didn’t ruin the Justice League movie….there, I said it. I can’t tell you the wave of endorphins and relief that wafted over me even as typed it. I’m suggesting that what Snyder handed Joss to work with wasn’t going to be good even if he’d finished it himself. You can’t totally blame either of them for it, although many MANY people try. It’s the whole reason the #releasethesnydercut tag even exists. Be careful what you wish for.
We’ll get back to all the reasons in a moment, but let me explain before you finish sharpening your knives. I’ve tried to like many of the DC movies with the same fervor I digest, obsess, and pour over Marvel movies and shows, but with a few exceptions, it’s incredibly hard to jump on the DC wagon. Man of Steel was a good submission albeit lesser than after the Dark Knight Trilogy, but you can hardly blame Christopher Nolan for setting the bar so high or anyone who came after that masterpiece of cinema. It would’ve gone well had Wonder Woman and Shazam followed thereafter, but alas, they did not. Batman vs. Superman showed up and then Suicide Squad and the taste in my mouth was just too awful to cover up with Wonder Woman and Shazam at that point. I wonder if Geoff Johns woke up in a cold sweat screaming “Maaaarthaaaaaa!!!”
Then came the retooling with “Worlds of DC,” as if that would somehow wipe away bad movies and usher in all the success of the tv shows in the same swoop. To me it came off like a poor excuse to cover up that they rushed out a product to compete with Marvel.
“SAAAAVE…..MAAAAAARTHA…..(and please overlook the poor dialogue and focus on the shiny explosions and costumes)
SUPERMAN (Paraphrased)
In my opinion, the tv shows are really good. DC has the rights to almost all their stuff and they’ve taken the time to create unique shows and then cross them over in unique ways. The movies rely on the vision of one director, who, in my opinion (good as he may be), peaked with 300 and Watchmen and thinks that’s the only way to make a movie. It’s not all dark, but it doesn’t have to be Marvel-style campy.
When we FINALLY get to Justice League, it’s too many unknowns thrown together that we suddenly have to love. The villains’ introduction was rushed and the rush to have Superman return and a resolution to the story made it all the more unrelateable. There’s a meme that made the rounds comparing DC to Marvel saying that DC characters are Gods who want to be men and Marvel is all men who want to be Gods. Seems like a jab but DC fans don’t realize that’s the very thing that makes Marvel (among other things) so accessible. People can relate to regular people trying to be something more than they are. What we have a hard time connecting to is some OP alien who pretends to be human in a way that’s offensive to humans. (Not all the time, but you get the idea)
All this and more is why Zack Snyder fell to fan pressure to think that he can somehow complete his opus and release the “correct” version of Justice League to the masses and it will make all things right. DC is certainly hoping so. I don’t think it’s going to happen for one main reason. When all this started the assumption was that Whedon left a lot on the cutting floor and that Snyder in his infinite wisdom would rescue the movie from the floor and give the world a masterpiece. And it better be, because aside from reedits and finishing CGI, Snyder has gone through a mountain of reshoots and inclusions of characters that, back in the day, weren’t even suppposed to be part of the movie. By my count, Snyder is going to increase black suit Superman’s screen time and add not one or two, but at least four more unintroduced characters to the story.
Zack Snyder’s vision was a four hour movie from the get go but Joss Whedon stepped in and ruined it? I don’t think so. Was Whedon’s take great? No, but remember, he brought us Avengers and Age of Ultron (I’ll fight anyone with an army of androids who says that movie isn’t good). And even if you DIDN’T like Age of Ultron, I bet you’ll concede it was better than Justice League….and that’s the problem.
I’m going to give ZSJL a chance, but my money’s on a 4 hour trudge through CGI darkness with no character development in sight.