Zack Snyder's Justice League

Plot

Thousands of years ago, Apokoliptian warlord Darkseid and his Parademons attempt to invade Earth using the combined energies of three Mother Boxes to form "the Unity", an event that would instantly devastate Earth and xenoform it into a copy of their homeworld. This would allow Darkseid to harvest the Anti-Life Equation, a secret power capable of controlling all sentient free will in the multiverse, from the planet unchallenged. However, the invasion is foiled by an alliance of the Old Gods, Amazons, Atlanteans, humanity, and extraterrestrial beings. The Mother Boxes are then separated and hidden in different locations.

Millennia later, Superman's death following the battle with Doomsday reactivates the Boxes. This attracts Steppenwolf, Darkseid's disgraced lieutenant who seeks to regain his favor. Steppenwolf reaches Themyscira through a portal and fights to obtain the Amazons' Mother Box. Diana Prince informs Bruce Wayne, as the two seek to form a team of metahumans to protect the planet. After failing to recruit Arthur Curry, Bruce locates Barry Allen, who joins enthusiastically.

Diana locates Victor Stone, who joins after his father, Silas, and other S.T.A.R. Labs employees are kidnapped by Parademons seeking humanity's Mother Box. Steppenwolf kills Atlantean guards and takes their Mother Box, forcing Arthur to join the group. Victor retrieves the last Mother Box, which he had hidden. He reveals his father used it to rebuild his body after a car accident, explaining that the Boxes can rearrange matter. The group realizes they could resurrect Superman using the Box. The team exhumes Clark Kent's body and places it in a Kryptonian ship. They successfully resurrect him, but Clark fails to remember who he is, so he attacks the group. Lois Lane arrives and placates him, then they go together to Clark's family home in Smallville, allowing him to regain his memories. Steppenwolf retrieves the last Mother Box, but not before Victor's father sacrifices himself to supercharge it with laser heat, allowing Victor to track it. Without Superman, the five heroes travel to the abandoned Russian city of Pozharnov, where Steppenwolf aims to form the Unity.

The team fights their way through the surrounding Parademons, with Superman arriving in time to subdue Steppenwolf. However, Victor fails to prevent the Unity, so Earth begins to be destroyed. To reverse time in order to provide Victor the necessary charge, Barry enters the Speed Force, allowing him and Superman to prevent the Unity. Working together, the team kills Steppenwolf, but Darkseid vows to return to Earth for the Anti-Life Equation. In the aftermath, Bruce and Diana make plans to set up a base of operations for the newly formed alliance at the desolated Wayne Manor. Clark resumes his double life in Metropolis, with Lois implied to be pregnant with his child. Arthur meets with Nuidis Vulko and Mera before going to see his father, and Barry informs his erroneously convicted father in prison that he has acquired a job in Central City's police department. Victor is inspired by a message left by his father to realize his purpose in life.

Cast

Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne / Batman:The co-founder of the Justice League dedicated to protecting Gotham City as a proficient vigilante, director Zack Snyder described Batman seeking redemption in Zack Snyder's Justice League, feeling guilty due to his actions in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).

Henry Cavill as Clark Kent / Superman:A Kryptonian survivor with superpowers based in Metropolis, he serves as the inspiration for the Justice League, later becoming a member of the team. In 2018, Cavill described Superman as he appears in Snyder's Justice League as coming closer to completing his character arc that began with Man of Steel (2013) and becoming the "true" Superman as depicted in the comics. Snyder said while he loves the traditional portrayals of the character, he wanted Superman to have a realistic arc and develop as a character, and not be a "one-dimensional Boy Scout."

Amy Adams as Lois Lane: A reporter for the Daily Planet and the love interest of Clark Kent.

Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman: An immortal demigoddess princess and Amazon warrior. She is a co-founder of the Justice League.

Ray Fisher as Victor Stone / Cyborg:A former college athlete who, after being cybernetically reconstructed after a nearly fatal car accident, is turned into a techno-organic being enhanced by adaptive biomimetic alien technology. Much of Cyborg's character development was removed in the theatrical release, and Snyder described Cyborg's role in Zack Snyder's Justice League as "the heart of the movie." Fisher also stated Cyborg's arc is emotional and allegorical of "the journey that Black people have taken in [America]," as well as representative of people with disabilities. According to Fisher, the only Cyborg scene directed by Snyder in the theatrical release was that of Cyborg meeting with Batman and Commissioner Gordon at the Gotham City police rooftop.

Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry / Aquaman: An Atlantean half-blood with aquatic and telepathic powers.

Ezra Miller as Barry Allen / The Flash:A Central City college student pursuing a degree in criminal justice in the hopes of exonerating his father of the murder of his wife, Barry's mother. He is capable of moving at superhuman speeds and entering the Speed Force to time-travel.

History

Production of Justice League

Following the release of Man of Steel in 2013, director Zack Snyder outlined his vision for the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), consisting of a five-film arc including Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and a Justice League trilogy. Snyder's original intention was for Batman v Superman to be the darkest in the franchise, and have subsequent films become lighter in tone. However, Batman v Superman was poorly received, with criticism for its dark tone, slow pacing, and lack of humor. Distributor Warner Bros. Pictures and Snyder re-evaluated upcoming DCEU films, particularly Suicide Squad (2016), which had already wrapped principal photography, and Justice League, which was a month away from filming. Thus, Snyder and screenwriter Chris Terrio rewrote Justice League to change its tone. Cinematographer Fabian Wagner said Snyder wanted to "get away from the stylized, desaturated, super-high contrast looks of other films in the franchise."

Principal photography for Justice League began in April 2016 and wrapped the following December. Months later, multiple cuts of Snyder's Justice League were shown to Warner Bros. executives, in addition to friends and family of Snyder. A final run-time and picture lock were achieved, though the cuts had incomplete visual effects shots and partial audio mixing. Snyder said his multiple cuts were essentially "done," only requiring "a few CG tweaks" for completion. Forbes contributor and film screenwriter Mark Hughes reported that Snyder's cut was more than 90% complete, while The Daily Telegraph cited a visual effects expert estimating that Warner Bros. would need another $30–40 million for completion. Snyder began screening his rough versions of Justice League by February 27, 2017, with studio executives disliking it as they felt the plot was too complex and decided to pivot.

After disapproving of Snyder's direction, Warner Bros. hired Joss Whedon, who directed the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films The Avengers (2012) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), to rewrite the script and help with extensive reshoots. Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara mandated that Justice League's runtime could not exceed two hours. Warner Bros. decided not to delay the film partly due to concerns that parent company AT&T might dissolve the studio in an upcoming merger which would later happen in 2022. Snyder was expected to film scenes that Whedon re-wrote, and they were working together to meet Warner Bros.' requests when Snyder's daughter, Autumn Snyder, died in March 2017. Though Snyder was initially open to Whedon rewriting the script, he eventually became more resistant as Warner Bros. began granting Whedon more directing privileges. However, he did not directly challenge it as he and his family were dealing with Autumn's death.

#ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement

After leaving the project, Snyder subsequently saved the rough version of his cut on a hard drive, which had not undergone the post-production process at the time. He kept it as a "memento," so that he could show people or for "snippets" of footage to be included in a documentary, as he thought his version would not be released. Snyder sent an editor in to retrieve materials related to the film on a hard drive. However, he was asked to return them as they were considered to be studio property, but refused to do so as he said it was his "personal use." Sources said that though security was notified, no action was taken as the studio did not expect Snyder would "begin tinkering with an alternate cut of the film."

Immediately after the theatrical release of Justice League, fans created an online petition to release the "Snyder Cut" that gained more than 100,000 signatures. The movement, which used the hashtag #ReleaseTheSnyderCut on social media, began before fans had any knowledge that Snyder's cut of Justice League actually existed. The movement had gained traction following the theatrical version's mixed reviews, with fans particularly disliking the film as they assumed Whedon created an inferior film. The circumstances were compared to that of Superman II (1980): Richard Donner was able to complete his version of the film, which was released as Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut in 2006. Commentators assumed an alternate cut of Justice League was inevitable as some of Snyder's previous films had been re-released in extended cuts for home media, such as Watchmen (2009) and Batman v Superman, which critics considered an improvement to the theatrical version.

Members of the Justice League cast and crew showing support for the Snyder Cut's release included actors Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ciarán Hinds, and Ray Fisher, photographer Clay Enos, storyboard artist Jay Oliva, cinematographer Fabian Wagner, and Affleck's stunt double Richard Cetrone. Deborah said executive producers Nolan and Emma Thomas encouraged them to make the Snyder Cut. On the second anniversary of the theatrical release, the cast and crew voiced support through social media. Other film- and comic book-industry figures not related to Justice League also supported the release of a "Snyder Cut," including filmmakers Kevin Smith and Alan Taylor, television producer Steven S. DeKnight, and comic book writers Rob Liefeld, Robert Kirkman and Jerry Ordway. Members of the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement engaged in acts of fan activism to promote it, with a few fans even contacting Warner Bros. officials.

Revival

By March 2019, Snyder stated that a cut of Justice League did exist and that it was Warner Bros.' decision to release it. That November, an insider claimed Warner Bros. was unlikely to release Snyder's cut, calling such hopes a "pipe dream." Snyder later confirmed by that December that his cut was approximately 214 minutes. Robert Greenblatt, then chairman of WarnerMedia and head of HBO Max, stated that discussions surrounding the release of Snyder's Justice League began in late 2019, and lasted a few months. He emphasized Snyder's cut was not finalized, and that Warner Bros. would have to fund its completion while also clarifying issues with film unions. The studio first approached Snyder to release his unfinished cut, but Snyder rejected the option and insisted on either completing or not releasing it, leading Warner Bros. to decide if they would proceed across the next few months. According to Snyder, WarnerMedia chose to release the Snyder Cut in February 2020, after chairman Toby Emmerich acknowledged the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement and contacted Snyder.

The Snyders invited executives from Warner Bros., HBO Max, and DC to their home to watch a then-assembled black and white version of the Snyder Cut. Snyder also proposed various ideas for its release, including releasing the cut in an episodic manner. Impressed, the executives decided to proceed with the project. Snyder began to collaborate with the film's original post-production team for completion. Despite the process being compromised by the then-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which was escalating around the time, the Snyders insisted on completing it. Snyder notified the original cast of the undertaking from April and May 2020; according to Snyder, he contacted Fisher first, who initially thought that Snyder was joking. On May 20, 2020, Snyder announced during a Q&A after an online watch party of Man of Steel that his cut of Justice League would be released as Zack Snyder's Justice League on HBO Max in 2021. Greenblatt said WarnerMedia tried to get the news out "as quickly as possible" before HBO Max launched on May 27.

Snyder described his cut as "an entirely new thing, and, especially talking to those who have seen the released movie, a new experience apart from that movie." The Snyders felt that being able to finally finish Justice League would bring them closure, and were excited by the prospect of expanding the film's character development. Greenblatt indicated its completion would be "wildly expensive" and estimated it would cost more than $30 million. In June 2020, Sandra Dewey, president of productions and business operations for WarnerMedia, stated in an interview that they are aiming for an "early to mid-2021" release. By January 2021, Snyder had completed his cut.

Additional filming

While initial reports indicated that no new material would be filmed, in September 2020, it was revealed that Snyder was preparing to film additional footage, with Affleck and Fisher reprising their roles. As a result, the budget was estimated to have increased to $70 million. Filming began on October 6. Later that month, Amber Heard, Jared Leto, and Joe Manganiello joined the cast to reprise their DCEU roles as Mera, the Joker, and Deathstroke, respectively. Henry Cavill later confirmed, though briefly considered, he would not film any additional material for his DCEU role Superman for the film, and any "new" scenes would just be previously unused footage removed from the theatrical cut. Snyder also directed an additional scene with Ezra Miller as Flash over Zoom, who was then filming Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) in London. Snyder sent the film's crew drawings and diagrams of how he wanted the scene to look. His video feed played through a stand on a table, enabling him to direct Miller and the crew, who filmed the scene on his behalf. He estimated that only four to five minutes of footage was shot. Heard stated that filming for reshoots had wrapped by that December.

The final scene was originally filmed with John Stewart / Green Lantern portrayed by Wayne T. Carr, but Warner Bros. rejected it as they had other plans for the character. Previous variations of the scene included characters such as Kilowog with John Stewart, Kilowog with Tomar-Re, and Stewart with Martian Manhunter. Snyder opted to change Kilowog to Martian Manhunter, while rejecting the second idea during post-production in 2017. Ultimately, Snyder chose the third idea and filmed the scene in August 2020. Warner Bros. did not want Stewart to be in the scene, so Snyder decided to compromise with the studio and reshot the scene to only include Martian Manhunter by October 2020. He reshot Affleck's side of the scene as the previous footage was unusable due to lighting issues. Snyder originally wanted to include Ryan Reynolds, who previously portrayed Hal Jordan in Green Lantern (2011), as an "additional lantern... to fill out the corps a bit," but did not contact him.

Differences from the theatrical version

While the basic framework of the story is the same, numerous scenes that were removed by Joss Whedon are restored to expand upon the characters, mythos, and worldbuilding elements. Teases for upcoming films are also present in Snyder's version. Snyder's version does not use any of the scenes shot by Whedon for his version of Justice League. Former Warner Bros. executives Jon Berg and Geoff Johns, who oversaw the production for Whedon's version, had their credits removed for Snyder's.

Snyder stated that his version is not set in the same continuity as Whedon's, which would remain the canonical version of the film. However, Jason Momoa said that Aquaman (2018) takes place after Snyder's version, rather than Whedon's. Similarly, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins said that no DC director considers Whedon's Justice League canonical, and that she had worked with Snyder to ensure Wonder Woman maintained continuity with his film. Despite these sentiments, commentators noted various contradictions between Aquaman and Zack Snyder's Justice League relating to Mera's backstory. Additionally, The Flash (2023) acknowledges the events of Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Follow-up movements

Following the release of the film, fans expressed their appreciation on social media. Fans soon began a new movement, #RestoreTheSnyderverse, advocating for Warner Bros. to allow Snyder to complete his originally planned Justice League trilogy. Another movement, #ReleasetheAyerCut, also started trending as well, with fans advocating for Warner Bros. to release director David Ayer's original cut of Suicide Squad (2016). In July 2022, DC artist Jim Lee, who assisted Zack Snyder in the creation of the initial five-film plan, confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con that there were no plans to make more DC projects with Snyder or develop sequels to his Justice League cut.

Music

Tom Holkenborg, also known as Junkie XL, composed the film's score; he had previously worked on the score for the theatrical version of Justice League, before being replaced by Danny Elfman following Snyder's departure and Whedon's arrival. When Holkenborg was rehired to score the film in early 2020, he decided to restart and make a brand new score for the film, which consists of fifty-four tracks and is three hours and 54 minutes long. The length of the score surpassed that of Ben-Hur (1959) by nearly a full hour, becoming the longest musical score in film history. Holkenborg described the score as "fully electronic [at times], and at other times fully orchestral," incorporating elements of rock and trap. The album was released via WaterTower Music on March 18, 2021, the same day as the film's release.

Two tracks from the film's score, "The Crew at Warpower," and "Middle Mass," were released as singles on February 17, 2021, and March 12, 2021, respectively. The soundtrack also makes use of a couple of songs; the beginning of the movie features a traditional Icelandic song "Vísur Vatnsenda-Rósu" by Yong Aus Galeson, while later scenes use the songs "Distant Sky" and "There Is a Kingdom" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds; none are included on the soundtrack. Allison Crowe's cover of the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah" plays during the end credits as a tribute to Autumn Snyder.

Marketing

Alongside the announcement of Zack Snyder's Justice League, HBO released posters depicting the six members of the Justice League. Although these posters had previously been used for the 2017 marketing campaign, the HBO ones featured a black-and-white filter and strongly emphasized Snyder's name. Chris Agar of Screen Rant called the filter "a stark contrast from the colorful Justice League posters that were prevalent in the buildup to the theatrical release, which is most definitely an intentional choice to separate the two versions of the movie." Rolling Stone stated that film expenditures had risen from $73 million to over $100 million after accounting for marketing costs, indicating WB spent at least $27 million in marketing.

On August 22, 2020, the first teaser was released during the DC FanDome event, which featured a remix of the song "Hallelujah" (1984) by Leonard Cohen. It was considered to be a highly anticipated part of the event, and well received by audiences and critics. The trailer had leaked hours prior to its planned debut in the DC FanDome event. Julia Alexander, writing for The Verge, had remarked that those desiring a "more Snyder vibe to the film overall should be pleased," while Alex Abad-Santos of Vox observed the inclusion of scenes not included in the theatrical version, such as the death of Cyborg's father and Wonder Woman receiving the signal from the Amazons. Critics also enjoyed the presence of Darkseid, Superman's black suit, and the inclusion of Iris West's scenes, which was omitted in the theatrical version, in the trailer. In early November, the original teaser was temporarily removed from HBO Max's social platforms due to the expiration of the rights to "Hallelujah." On November 17, the third anniversary of the theatrical release, an updated version with new footage was uploaded in black and white on Snyder's Vero account and in color on HBO Max's social media accounts. In July 2023, the trailer was delisted from YouTube again after a music licensing issue. It had by then gained over 31 million views, making it Max's most-viewed trailer.

Warner Bros. also announced a tie-in meal kit product based on the design of the film's Mother Boxes and menu items inspired from the characters it had developed in collaboration with Wonderland Restaurants, a DC Comics-themed restaurant operating in London. On February 14, 2021, the first official trailer for the film released. Snyder had previously been releasing sneak peeks for the trailer on social media, including showing the Batmobile and Jared Leto's Joker. As such, Abigail Covington from Esquire had said that the trailer "expands on those earlier previews" and highlighting the action sequences, Darkseid, and Superman's black suit. Charles Holmes of The Ringer highlighted Leto's appearance as Joker in the trailer, particularly his line, "We live in a society," and felt that the trailer "doubles down" on Snyder's aesthetics, but was skeptical if the film would be superior to the theatrical version. On March 14, the final trailer for the film released, with Daniel Kreps at Rolling Stone writing that it featured "many of the hallmarks that made Snyder's version of the blockbuster so mythic in the first place." Two days later, DC published three variant covers of the film in the comic book issue, Justice League #59, written by Brian Michael Bendis, penciled and inked by David Marquez, and colored by Tamra Bonvillain. The covers were drawn by Lee Bermejo, Liam Sharp, and Jim Lee.

Release

Streaming

Zack Snyder's Justice League was released on March 18, 2021, in the United States. It was initially going to be released on September 5, 2021. It is also available to stream on HBO Max in 4K, HDR in both HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos. Unlike the theatrical version which was rated PG-13, this version received an R rating for "violence and some language." Ten days prior to the scheduled debut of the film, HBO Max accidentally released the film to some viewers that were attempting to watch Tom and Jerry (2021). A week after the film's HBO Max release, the Justice Is Gray Edition was released on the platform, and in the UK through Sky Cinema on April 30.

The film was released internationally on several platforms: on HBO Go in select Asian countries; Binge in Australia; Crave in Canada; HBO services in select European countries; on digital services such as Amazon Prime Video and the iTunes Store in France; on KinoPoisk HD in Russia & CIS countries; digital services such as BookMyShow, Hungama Play, Tata Sky and the iTunes Store in India; Neon, Sky Go, and Sky Movies Premiere in New Zealand; and on Now and Sky Cinema in the United Kingdom. The film was also released on HBO Max in Latin America when the service launched on June 29, 2021.

Limited theatrical release

While the cut was originally planned to release as a four-part miniseries in addition to a single film, Snyder said on Vero in January 2021 that the cut would be released as a "one-shot." WarnerMedia later confirmed this in a press release, describing Zack Snyder's Justice League as a "full-length [HBO] Max Original feature film." The film is dedicated to Autumn Snyder's memory.

Snyder expressed his interest in screening his film in IMAX theaters once they were safe to re-open during the COVID-19 pandemic. A black and white version of the film, titled "Justice Is Gray Edition," had an exclusive theatrical release on July 19, 2022, with three IMAX screenings in New York City, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas. Proceeds from the event were donated to a charity for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. For the theatrical release of the film, Snyder added a 10-minute intermission into the film accompanied by the score track "The Crew at Warpower." The film was released in an open matte 1.33:1 aspect ratio alongside IMAX 1.43:1. The film was screened in full color for the first time on IMAX on April 30, 2023, as the last film in a "Snyderverse Trilogy" three-day event to benefit suicide prevention.

Home media

The film was released May 24, 2021, on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD in the United Kingdom. It was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray in Hong Kong, Australia, Germany, and Italy on May 25, May 26, and May 27, 2021, respectively. A limited edition SteelBook was announced for the UK by HMV with pre-orders starting March 22. According to Warner Bros UK, pre-orders for the home media version sold out in the first 20 minutes of releases. It was released in the United States and Canada on September 7 on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K, and a week later on those same platforms in Canada. The film was digitally released on July 19, 2022.

Reception

Audience viewership

Following its opening weekend, view-tracking app Samba TV reported that 1.8 million American households had watched at least the first five minutes of the film between March 19–21 (only counting smart TVs, not devices). The total was behind the three-day total of DCEU film Wonder Woman 1984 (2.2 million). Samba TV also reported that just one-third of households watched the film in its entirety in a single sitting. Over its first full week of release, the film was watched by 2.2 million US households, with 792,000 (36%) finishing it in one sitting. Over the same timeframe, the HBO Max app was downloaded 64% more and opened 8.9% more than in an average week. Later, Samba TV reported that it was watched in 3.2 million households over the first 17 days and 3.7 million US households after 39 days.

In Canada, the film became the most-streamed content of all time on Crave, with 1.1 million viewers in one week. It also allegedly led to the service growing in subscribers by 12%. In the United Kingdom, where it is streaming via Sky Cinema, the film was viewed by 954,000 households, with 458,000 (48%) watching it in its entirety. In India, where it was released on BookMyShow Stream, about 100,000 homes watched the film in its first weekend. The film went on to become the most rented film of 2021 on that service. In Spain, the film became the 3rd most viewed release of 2021 on HBO Max España. In Germany, it ranked first during its first full week of release on Netflix and spent seven weeks in its weekly rankings for top 10 most-viewed films.

According to Whip Media, who track viewership data for the 19 million worldwide users of their TV Time app, the film was the eighth most-streamed-film of 2021. In January 2022, tech firm Akami reported that the film was the second most pirated film of 2021. Variety stated that the film was the fourth most-streamed film of 2021.

Home media sales

The film ranked first on the "NPD Videoscan First Alert" chart for home media sales in the United States during its first week, as well as in the Blu-ray sales. Overall, it sold five times more than the second-ranked The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. In addition, the trilogy consisting of all three DCEU films directed by Snyder was ranked fourteenth on the Blu-ray sales chart. According to The Numbers, the film sold 107,489 Blu-ray units and 33,820 DVD units in the first week for a revenue of $4.1 million. The Numbers reported the film had made an estimated $15.96 million from domestic video sales, as of May 29, 2022, with 439,547 Blu-rays and 92,599 DVDs sold.

In the second week, the film was ranked second in home media sales as well as the Blu-ray sales, being displaced by Black Widow, which outsold it by four times overall. It sold 71,682 units overall for $2 million according to The Numbers. By the end of September, it ranked third in overall disc sales according to NPD. After dropping to the 29th rank in overall disc sales and the 24th rank in Blu-ray sales by the ninth week, it returned to the top 10 rankings by acquiring the second position overall the next week amidst discounts offered ahead of Black Friday, while also selling the most number of Blu-ray units. According to The Numbers, it sold 51,027 Blu-ray units for $1.4 million during the week. In the United Kingdom, it ranked first on the Official Film Chart for five weeks. It was the second-highest-selling Blu-ray title of 2021 in the country, selling nearly 26,000 units during the year.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 71% of 314 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Zack Snyder's Justice League lives up to its title with a sprawling cut that expands to fit the director's vision – and should satisfy the fans who willed it into existence." According to Metacritic, which calculated a weighted average score of 54 out of 100 based on 46 critics, the film received "mixed or average reviews." The scores of the film are higher on both sites than what the 2017 film received (39% and 45, respectively).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, critics praised Snyder's direction and characterization, but criticized the film's length. Variety later noted that most critics felt the film was superior to the 2017 version, a sentiment The Hollywood Reporter and TheWrap also agreed with. However, Total Film reported that critical response to the film was mixed, with critics being "divided" on whether or not it was superior to the theatrical version. Rob Harvilla of The Ringer felt that the film is "A Zack Snyder film that 'critics enjoyed', or at least 'grudgingly appreciated'." He further opined both fans and critics "respect" the film due to the nature of its existence.

Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph awarded the film a full five stars, praising Holkenborg's score, action sequences, and characterization, which he felt was superior to the original. Collin went on to opine that Snyder's creative vision for the DCEU had felt unique. Jenna Anderson from ComicBook.com, who rated the film a 4.5 out of 5, also praised the increased characterization, performances, and Snyder's filmmaking techniques, believing Snyder created the film out of love for both his daughter and fans. She went on to describe it as being "well-executed, entertaining story about the power of human connection and inspiration, one that feels both timeless and timely." Writing for Variety, Owen Gleiberman enjoyed Snyder's direction, which he felt "exudes a majestic sense of cosmic historical evil," and compared it to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003), in addition to highlighting the visuals and the characterization. Gleiberman and Variety's Peter Debruge later ranked it as the eighth best film of 2021. Matt Zoller Seitz from RogerEbert.com, who gave it a 3.5 out of 4, felt the film was superior to the theatrical version, and described Snyder's vision as being a "brazen auteurist vision." Though he felt many scenes were protracted, he also felt it was used to improve characterization and create a "sense of space and place."

Accolades

In February 2022, the film was named one of the five finalists for the new Oscars Cheer Moment Twitter Sweepstakes as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' "Oscars Fan Favorite." The scene "The Flash Enters the Speed Force" finished in the first place.