My fiance took off work on the release date of the Justice League: Snyder Cut. My fiance is a big DC fan. While I didn’t hate the original Justice League, the movie felt like a mess. There were rumors of a “Snyder Cut” however, with DC’s movie track record, I didn’t get my hopes up. After my fiance finished watching the movie, he came into the office where I was working and couldn’t stop talking about how good this film was. I was still skeptical, but I agreed to watch it with him the following weekend. I was pleasantly surprised because Justice League: Snyder Cut was amazing. It was way better than WW84.

My expectations into watching the Snyder Cut was Joss Whedon’s movie with more scenes. To be blunt, this was a completely different movie. Cyborg (aka Victor Stone) in this full version had much more of a character arc than in the theatrical release. In this film, Cyborg’s origin story is told on screen. The relationship Victor has with his parents, how Victor’s father ends up helping the League, and Victor listening to a recording from his father saying how proud he is and how he is fortunate to be given a second chance. Ray Fisher (who plays Cyborg) has been the most vocal about Joss Whedon and his abuse of power behind the scenes. I can understand Fisher being upset after the theatrical release because his character’s backstory was erased. Cyborg is easily the MVP and his role in splitting the mother boxes was crucial to prevent Darkseid from coming to Earth.

The return of Superman is so much more satisfying in the Snyder Cut. As Cyborg is pulling apart the mother boxes, Steppenwolf comes up behind him about to deliver a devastating blow when Superman appears blocking the attack in his black suit. Superman pummels Steppenwolf buying more time to assist Cyborg. I could feel myself getting amped at seeing Henry Cavill back in action at just the right moment.

Another surprising moment for me was the role of the Flash (aka Barry Allen). In the theatrical release, Barry seems a bit incompetent and immature. In the Snyder Cut, Barry is much more aware of his powers and the speed force. In the final battle, Cyborg isn’t able to pull the mother boxes apart in time leading to the Justice League losing. However, Barry notices this and can run back in time to produce the energy needed to split the mother boxes. This moment was special to watch because, without Barry’s help, Darkseid and Steppenwolf would have won. In this version of the Justice League movie, each member of the League has a role. Without one of them, they would have failed at various steps of their plan. In the theatrical version, this wasn’t laid out.

If I would have been told months ago that I would have liked the Snyder Cut better than WW84, I would have laughed. The Snyder Cut was everything I would have hoped for from a film adaptation of the Justice League. Unfortunately, Warner Bros. was trying to control Zach Snyder’s vision leading to the theatrical version. Justice League Synder Cut was amazing and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was my favorite movie of 2021.