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One director’s original vision for a 2017 live-action movie that brings together DC Comic’s strongest heroes moves from HBO Max to ultra-high-definition disc. Zack Snyder’s Justice League (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, R rated, 1.33:1 aspect ratio, 242 minutes, $49.98).
Mr. Snyder (director of “Man of Steel” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”) was more than ready to wrap up his DC Entertainment trilogy in 2016, but Warner Bros. His managers were disappointed with his effort, and his daughter’s untimely death forced him to leave the project.
To put his stamp on the project, director Joss Whedon (“The Avengers” and “The Avengers: Age of Ultron”) came along and was encouraged by Mr. Snyder’s “Justice League” along with Hollywood executives.
A rabid DC Comics fanbase rebelled against this cut of the film and aggressively tricked Warner Bros. into allowing Mr. Snyder to come back, reshoot, reassemble and deliver his masterpiece.
The main storyline of the movie remains pretty much the same as the 2017 plot, except that Mr.
It begins after watching Superman (Henry Cavill) save the planet, but eventually dies in a battle against Doomsday. In his honor, a grieving Batman aka Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) devises a plan to team up with a group of metahumans and protect the world from a new interdimensional threat.
With the help of Wonder Woman aka Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), Batman sets out to stop the world conqueror Darkseid, aka Aquaman, aka Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), Cyborg, aka Victor Stone (Ray Fisher) and The Flash, aka The Flash. He hires Barry Allen (Ezra Miller). Uncle Steppenwolf, his henchman DeSaad, and his army of winged parademons collect three Master Boxes (indestructible living machine cubes) that will destroy the world.
The result is a movie packed into two 4K discs with over four hours of runtime, and as expected, it has as much bloat as awe and hilarious geekdom moments.
For example, the back story and the transformation of Cyborg and Flash into heroes are very important in this movie. Also, scenes of Martian Manhunter, Henry Allen (Flash’s imprisoned father), Lex Luthor, Granny Goodness, and the Joker will satisfy the fandom.
Under the great action, viewers will love Wonder Woman stopping a group of dumb terrorists in London, the first battle against Darkseid in the Golden Age of heroes (with an appearance by the Green Lantern Lying Gur), and a stunning slow motion Flash save sequence. Iris West (a synopsis of the entire movie).
All in all, Mr. Snyder’s “Justice League” will give fans everything they hoped for, and I found that a guilty pleasure. However, the average viewer caught up in the opera saga might see it as a sweeping, too serious, and too harsh tribute to DC’s popular heroes.
4K in action: Home theater audiences are paying the price for Mr. Snyder’s surprising artistic decision to broadcast “Justice League” in his preferred IMAX vision for the movie, with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
Essentially when watching a 1970s television show with better resolution, we get thick black bars on either side of the screen and a pretty square box to watch this epic saga.
Obviously, to devote that much time to a massive superhero movie, we hope to watch the action in the largest and boldest aspect ratio available, 2.39:1, or 1.85:1 screen fill.
Mr. Snyder’s selfish plan to fill IMAX screens with film has yet to materialize due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and declining demand.
And considering that the movie will always air first on the streaming service HBO Max and will be viewed on a widescreen monitor, it makes the decision even more confusing.
Mr. Snyder may want to follow the strategy of director Christopher Nolan. He got in the habit of presenting mixed aspect ratios in his movies using a great IMAX presentation, but once he understands home theater formats, the IMAX ratio is cropped, not square, and fills a widescreen monitor.
However, what the audience witnessed in Mr. Snyder’s little box is still impressive.
Exceptional clarity and shading are available when viewing Main Boxes, Aquaman’s tattoos, or Batman’s grizzled chin.
Standing in the outstretched arms of the Lady Justice statue in London, Wonder Woman is a reference quality moment that casts a stylish shine on both her armor and the statue’s slightly tarnished gold.
Watching a pair of waves consume Aquaman (so detailed you can count the water droplets); Victor Stone is quarterback for the high school football team in the middle of a snowfall; and Batman standing atop a death monster with storm clouds behind him.
Some of the panoramic views of Themyscira and Atlantis are impressive, albeit constrained by this maddening 1.33:1 format.
While the director’s choice of a desaturated color scheme makes for the high dynamic range enhancements normally used to make color tones lighter, they can sometimes be as stylish as an Alex Ross painting.
The best extras: On the first 4K disc, viewers get a 24-minute movie overview where Mr. Snyder discusses his early career, creative process, storyboarding process, filming, supplemented by clips from previous films and lyrics from the main cast and film. wife and producer Deborah Snyder.
An optional piece of commentary that Mr. Snyder must have completely shattered his motivations for the new version of the film is dreadfully missing.
The director had no problem offering a piece for the 4K re-release of “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Ultimate Edition” earlier this year, and he has no excuse for not offering a piece here. His fandom would enjoy it.
Equally frustrating is no code included to own the movie digitally. This is pretty much a standard in today’s home entertainment technology world and will solidify the purchase of a 4K disc package.
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