I have watched the movie and, I have to admit, I'm slightly disappointed with the final result. Is it better than the TC? Undoubtedly, but it shares many flaws with it (more than I thought it'd share) and even does some things that, dare I say, the theatrical version did better.
The Good:
- Cyborg. Full Stop. Normally, when actors and directors say that something is "the heart of the movie" or complain because the unreleased version of their work is much better, you expect a little bit of hyperbole. Not this time. Cyborg goes from a forgettable secondary player to what's arguably the main character of the entire movie, and probably the most important given his arc is directly connected to the villains machinations. He's relationship with Silas is now emotional, his journey to become a hero feels natural and earned and his story is what gives the movie a human element thorughout all the narrative.
- Steppenwolf. Same with Cyborg. His motivation feels much more human now and, depending on the scene, he could badass, scary and even a little pitiable at times. He and Cyborg are the two things the TC desperately needed.
- On a purely techincal level, this movie is superior in almost every way. Visually is very pleasing (and helps Zack Snyder has a much, much better eye for composition) and the direction is stronger. The 4:3 felt unnecessary, but not displeassng (to me). It also has some of the best scenes in the entire DCEU, like Flash traveling in time.
- The Moments. Like the aforementioned "Flash-time traveling" scene, there are many moments that, taken individually, I felt were great, like Superman's talk with his fathers or the complete history lesson. My personal favorite in terms of direction (it helps it's also very important to the plot), is when the team realizes they can resurrect Superman, and Zimmer's score steals the show for a second before we cut to black.
The Same:
- Flash is, great visual climax aside, pretty much the same character here. The jokes don't really flow any better or worse than in the theatrical and he's still weirdly pervy towars Wonder Woman. I thought some of this was exacerbated or outright invented by the reshoots, but apparently it's simply the version they wanted to go with from the get go. Not a fan there, not a fan here.
The Bad (or, at least, disappointing):
- Aquaman is a non entity. He was dull in the TC, he's as dull here. Momoa isn't the best at acting, but he isn't even allowed some human moments. He feels like he's there because he has to be there.
- Wonder Woman has nothing to do in this film. She's, dare I say it, worse utilized than in the theatrical, objectification notwistanding. Her scene beating the terrorists serves no purpouse, she no longer has an arc of trying to adjust to this new world of super-people or even a personality and mostly serves as an exposition machine for the plot to work.
- Superman is wasted. All the stuff he lacked in the TC, he lacks here. He barely interacts with anybody in the team, in his fight scene against the league he feels like a drone (and loses the one genuinely good line the TC gave him) and in his fight against Steppenwolf he's little more than a blunt instrument. I was sorely disappointed with how he was used here.
- Martian Manhunter is shoehorned and ruins two scenes that would have worked much better without him. Bruce meeting him at the end feels techincally disjointed, and I'm not sure if it was originally supposed to be a Green Lantern or something because it feels like they cut any line that came from Affleck's mouth that could be specific to any character to try and put MM there (come on people, this could have been solved with ADR, just give him a real interaction, I'm sure Affleck would be willing to dub some more lines). His scene with Lois feels unnecessary, it turned a wholesome scene between two grieving women into fanservice, they should have left Martha alone.
- The Pacing.This didn't need to be 4 hours. You could cut this to 3-hours or, dare I say it, 2 hours and 45 minutes and it'd be a much better movie for it. Many scenes are superflous, gratuitous or downright boring and don't contribute to the plot or the characters.
What an oversimplification, given how she did have connection to her heritage here and showed tremendous kindness and consideration to others, where was that in the sequel? The shoe-horned legend to explain golden armor? Or the plot device now being used to call her a rapist?
