Disastrously, Justice League's Early Cut Was "Unwatchable"
Uh-oh.
Just when you thought Justice League was going to be the tonic Zack Snyder's vision for the DCEU needed, there's more news that things aren't all well with the ensemble.
The film should have been an opportunity to build on Wonder Woman's success and bring the famous super-team together for a billion dollar earning spectacle that directly addressed some of the issues of the other three more problematic DCEU movies.
From the earliest days, we were told Snyder was changing his vision to bring in more levity and more light, and the first footage did seem to suggest as much. But Snyder is now gone, Joss Whedon is in charge and there are some pretty big reshoots happening that might even change the entire end of the movie, Ray Fisher's performance as Cyborg and the tone.
On top of that - and those issues with Superman's moustache - Batman-On-Film are now suggesting that what Snyder put together was even more problematic than initially thought:
“These reshoots – which are still taking place – are not standard pick-ups/additional photography. Why? Apparently, an early cut of the film was deemed “unwatchable.” Thus, substantial changes to the film were ordered.”
That's one of those words you really don't want to hear as a fan or a studio. It might as well be the reddest of red flags. And sure, while the hyperbole might make dismissing it a little easier than if they'd used a less loaded term, it's hard to ignore the ominous chimes of doom hanging on the air.
Let's just hope that whatever Whedon is doing to "fix" this situation doesn't lead to a disparate marriage of wildly different parts where the seams are all too obvious. Because in a certain light, that's exactly what Ben Affleck's comments could sound like, no matter how positively he spins them:
“[It’s] an interesting product of two directors, both with kind of unique visions, both with really strong takes. I’ve never had that experience before making a movie. I have to say, I really love working with Zack, and I really love the stuff we’ve done with Joss.”
It might be a good thing to have multiple talents at once, but when one of them is as idiosyncratic and personally invested as Snyder, can that really work?
Are you excited to see Justice League? Share your reactions below in the comments thread.