The media ratings for "Zach Schneider's version of Justice League" were lifted in the early hours of this morning. As of writing, metacritic has included 33 media reviews with an average score of 55. The film will air on hbo max on March 18 and will be 4 hours long.
It has the same fuzzy form and some specific key scenes as its predecessor, but it's different in every place: characters who were previously hollow or comical now have real determination and depth, while previously incoherent, lightweight, fancy action scenes are now the most spectacular in their kind.
There is no doubt that it is a new movie. It doesn't just prove Schneider's original vision. It's a grand, flexible, immersive piece of entertainment, a classic and traditional hero team origin story that is now presented in an intoxicating childlike and dark fairytale spectacle. It takes you back to what the Golden Age of comics has always been dedicated to: making you feel like you've seen the gods of earth alive.
"Zach Schneider's Version of Justice League" is an unexpected rehabilitation of the director and fans who believe in his ideas. Zach Schneider's Version of Justice League saved the film from the dustbin of history with its superhero plot maturity, better restoration of the villain, and improved action scenes.
The cut won't win anyone's support — it's a serious self-evangelism to converts, and it doesn't care much about getting the audience to like their characters. But it all went much smoother than the theatrical version, which in comparison felt fancy and uneven.
What Schneider designed in the film doesn't feel like reinvigorating the form, it's more like a dull tour guide to the museum to see the well-known superhero movie plots and conventions: come and see this, come and see that, try not to look at the watch. For example, the Flash, Schneider wants time to slow down, deconstruct every gesture, and impose his obsessive-compulsive disorder on you. He wanted the film to last forever. He did it.
The soul of the film remains unimpressed, and 242 minutes of time rarely provides a little pleasure, which is almost unbearable as a one-time experience. If you look at it in several parts – with 6 chapters and 1 epilogue noted in the film, and rumors have been made that the film will be launched as a series – the show doesn't offer the balance that audiences expect, watch, and pace today, like a qualified TV series.