When a Series Would be Better than a Film
4/5
Spoilers
During April's film frenzy, Mrs. C. and I took up a free trial NOW TV. Generally, it seems like a lesser streaming service amongst the deluge we are being pummelled with at present. The cost-benefit ratio skews against spending on it, especially when compared to the glut of quality programming on platform likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+. This subscription was a week-long affair, just enough time to watch The United States vs. Billie Holiday and Pieces of a Woman; get in and get out again, hopefully with our financial dignity intact.
As you may have guessed from this rather dry introduction, someone forgot to cancel the trial. I won't say who, as it will embarrass Mrs. C.
No, I won't budge, no matter how much you ask.
Quit asking!
Stop it!
Oh fine.
It was me.
With the shackles of a full month locked metaphorically around our wrists, now seemed the ideal time to catch NOW's longest fish, Justice League. For those of you less au fait with the trials and tribulations of the DC comics Extended Cinematic Universe, allow me to summarise:
Marvel created the MCU with Iron Man in 2008. By 2012's The Avengers it was becoming one of the most popular and successful franchises in existence. It also create the concept of a cinematic universe, a series of films operating in one fictional reality where the characters not only co-exist but can cross into each other's films. Warner Bros. realised that they owned the cinematic rights to DC comics, Marvel's big rival, and thought they could give this 'extended universe' idea a go. Clearly they though that as Superman and Batman had always sold well at the flicks, they should be able to easily turbo charge this MCU rival.
Whereas The Avengers, Marvel's big team up movie, came as picture number six in their films, after establishing each hero independently, Warner Bros. wanted to go quicker. So, Zac Snyder made Man of Steel, a new Superman film which was met by a critical shrug, then moved straight onto Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice which was released to a critical scowl. With little set-up, we were already crossing over. Via Wonder Woman (who was in Dawn of Justice) and the abomination that was Suicide Squad (completely unrelated to any of the other films) they went straight to Justice League. This would team up six major DC character, three you hadn't met yet.
Now here is the big plot twist: Zack Snyder had to drop out of the Justice League's director's chair due to a personal tragedy. To lead the film to its promised land of financial riches, Warner Bros. hired The Avengers' Joss Whedon to take over. He stripped back the dark tone, added some jokes, simplified the story, and released 2017's version. And low and behold, much like most of the DCEU's previous entries, it tanked. Critics were unimpressed, audiences stayed home. I, for one, thought it was 3-star fine. Not quite The Avengers though.
It may surprise you to learn this, but there are actual fans of the DCEU. No, I'm not joking, there really are! And these gluttons for punishment learnt that there was still in existence the original Snyder cut of the film. They believed that, in spite of Snyder's previous form, this may be a better Justice League than Whedon's. All wrongs would be righted and Whedon could be exorcized to a dim circle of hell (although he seems to be doing a pretty good job of getting there by himself). So, with some 'fan pressure', Warner Bros. allowed Snyder to shoot a few extra bits and release this non-canonical Justice League to streaming services. Phew! That backstory is nearly as long as the film...
With the NOW TV incentive, we settled down to something we assumed would be a long rehash of the same nonsense. I was surprised to discover that these madcap fans were oddly correct: the Snyder cut is noticeably superior to the original product. The final film is a quietly enjoyable romp. The dark tone is lighter than one would expect, Ezra Miller's Flash retains his jokes. But the bad-guy is different, with original villain Steppenwolf now being a vassal of DC's Thanos, Darkseid. Rather than a conquering monster, Steppenwolf has been developed into an almost pitiful figure, conquering worlds to seek Darkseid's never availing forgiveness. He is broken.
In many ways, this is the major theme of the film, fixing what was broken. Superman is dead to begin with, broken in Dawn of Justice, and it becomes imperative to resurrect him, to fix him. Batman is broken, guilt ridden for his hand in Superman's death, desperate to fulfil his legacy to repair what he broke. Aside from repairing his position with Darkseid, Steppenwolf's aim is to reunite three motherboxes destroyed by an alliance of Amazonians, Atlanteans, humans, and gods centuries before. The world is broken, partially through some grief for the man of steel, but mostly seen through the breakdown of this ancient alliance. The Amazonians and Atlanteans are now enemies, humanity has forgotten them both and is viewed with disdain, and the gods are gone. This break must be repaired to save the world, a cheque only the formation of the Justice League can cash.
Alongside this, we see a series of broken relationships between parents and children. Martha Kent has kept her debt from Clark. Aquaman wants to avoid his birth-right, rejecting his mother's throne. Wonder Woman feels guilt for leaving Themyscira and her mother for the world of men. The Flash's father is guilt ridden for his incarceration affecting his son's life choices. And, key to the whole movie, is the relationship between Cyborg and his father, a man originally more interested in work than his family, who rebuilds his dying son into a Frankenstinian monster. This depth, which plays relatively well, is completely absent from the official version. But it is crucial to the film's narrative structure.
Let's talk about length though. 232 minutes is definitely too long for a film. Unless you are Sergio Leone and are trying to make the quintessential gangster movie as your swan song, no film should ever reach this length. In reality, had Snyder remained with the picture, we would not have been given this cut in 2017 as the studio would have pressured him to get it down to 150 minutes. At that point he would have had to have made the same choices that Whedon made, attempting in vain to fit all of this plot in. The answer: cut the character growth, focus on the final fight.
Yet such cuts would have been, and was, to the detriment of the final product. It's not the best superhero movie ever made, but it makes a good stab at being a quality film. It's character work is good and integral to the film. Giving a picture such space to breath, whilst also trying to make it a blockbuster cross-over, would have been nigh-on impossible. Marvel only manage it as their other films do the emotional set ups for Avengers movies. But such a narrative is possible, but through a different medium. A streamed series, six episodes or so, would have worked much more successfully. Snyder himself splits the film into seven 'parts', labelled with an almost oblivious level of clichéd panache. Would the studio have backed this? Unlikely. But a nearly four hour film is not something most audience members will tolerate, and neither was a two and half hour edit.
Zack Snyder's Justice League
Director: Zack snyder
Writer: Chris Terrio
Composer: Tom Holkenborg
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Ciarán Hinds
Currently available to stream on NOW TV
I think a NOW TV subscription and 232 minutes stand between me and the possibility of me watching this film. I'll suffice for reading your thoughts and passing them off as my own, should the opportunity ever arise 😂