It took years of debate but the ending of the discussion between the quality of the original Justice League and the potential of the Snyder Cut is finally over. With the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, fans can rest well with the knowledge that the director’s version is now available for everyone to watch.
All things considered, even the original Justice League had a few plus points that were even better than those found in the Snyder Cut. Of course, the latter has its own many advantages over Justice League, making it most appropriate to weigh these out to judge which version is the best.
10 Story Set-Ups: Snyder Cut
The Snyder Cut does justice to the arcs the superheroes have. It has the right details for the characters, setting up the events that eventually take them where they’re meant to be. For instance, Aquaman getting the quindent came out of nowhere in Justice League, but the Snyder Cut explained that Vulko had told him about it.
The same goes for Cyborg’s arc, as his tragic past is actually detailed in the Snyder Cut that sets up the storyline of his dissension with his father. The director’s cut lays out the backgrounds for the characters to explain why the Justice League make their decisions in the movie as they play out.
9 Pacing: Justice League
Poor pacing is something that plagued other works like Suicide Squad, where things seemed rushed. The Snyder Cut suffers from being too bloated to the point where scenes are extended more than necessary and a good hour could have been chopped off.
Justice League is better in this regard as it contains the story within two hours. The pacing is also a notch quicker since scenes don't linger too long and the movie explains the purpose of each moment without dragging along the way the Snyder Cut does.
8 Character Quality: Snyder Cut
Something that was probably borrowed from DCAU movies was making the characters fully layered. Justice League was severely weak here, making The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman feel like they had little involvement.
Snyder Cut fixed this problem by making these characters the heart of the story, as they had their own struggles and issues that made them relatable. Each protagonist had a balance in the Snyder Cut that truly makes it a team-up movie.
7 Music: Justice League
This one can be argued in either version’s case but the edge goes to Justice League due to each scene containing a specific and consistent soundtrack. It also had homages such as the original Superman movie’s theme and kept the pacing of the music even from start to finish.
Snyder Cut featured a distinct soundtrack that was also impressive but it suffered in places where the music didn’t accommodate for the change in tone and seemed to be on repeat. Simply put, Justice League’s score was edited far better.
6 Better Villain Portrayal: Snyder Cut
This one should really go without saying considering Justice League had the flattest antagonist one can think of. That Steppenwolf came out of nowhere, had no distinct goals, and was a generic bad guy. The one in Snyder Cut displayed his emotional range better, and the movie laid out his mission to redeem himself well.
It also has Darkseid in clear context, placing the ruler of Apokolips as the tyrant he is and leaving no doubt of the threat he poses. The inclusion of his pursuit of the Anti-Life Equation also plants the seeds for Darkseid to be the overarching villain of the DCEU.
5 Editing: Justice League
This is another area that killed Suicide Squad’s momentum but was avoided by Justice League. While the move was clearly cut around other scenes, it still told a coherent story that, while not the best, still retained a sense of self and told the gist of the plot.
Snyder Cut opted to go for everything that was filmed, resulting in scenes that looked mashed together in a relatively unprofessional fashion. It meant there was a lot happening at the same time, which could be confusing.
4 Thematic Quality: Snyder Cut
Zack Snyder has always been a director who’s gone for allegorical takes in his story. As a result, every protagonist in Snyder Cut is worthy of their own spin-off since each got a thematic quality. This was seen with Cyborg, whose arc was allegorical of the journey young people take in life. Superman also had various references made to prophetic connections.
Justice League was too basic here, as it overflowed with juvenile jokes that left no room for a deeper look into the art of filmmaking. Snyder Cut even had an aesthetic that went along with every setting, whether it was signaling doom or the heroes’ incoming battles.
3 Action Sequences: Tied
There’s not much to distinguish between the two versions, with the only real difference being the designs of the characters. Apart from that, the action sequences were along the lines of other DCEU movies where a lot of slow-motion sequences and explosive moments were highlighted.
The fight choreography was certainly unique in either film, with the Snyder Cut going for more balanced contributions from the heroes while Justice League had Superman do the most damage. Visually, the two did a good job in their own takes on these scenes.
2 Dialogue: Snyder Cut
There’s zero competition at this point, with Snyder Cut being far ahead of Justice League. The former’s dialogue gave care toward the characterizations of the protagonists, as each hero’s dialogue stayed true to their personalities.
Justice League’s dialogue predominantly contained a lot of jokes, but those that just didn’t suit the kind of characters that were uttering them. Snyder Cut had more engaging and complex conversations taking place, with the comedy arriving only when the timing was right. Even the flow of the words is far better to listen to in this version.
1 Winner: Snyder Cut
Zack Snyder’s vision for the film ultimately prevails in all the areas that matter the most. By making most of the potential of the characters, the Snyder Cut ends up being a complete movie that ticks all the boxes to make the heroes worth rooting for.
Justice League was far too mellow to have a lasting impression since there were no high stakes involved nor long-term impacts. The Snyder Cut sets up potential sequels while also closing out several storylines established here. It might be overly long but it’s the version that offers the most depth.