The time had come to 2019.
On January 30th, Aquaman concluded its global theatrical run.
Its final North American box office was $342 million, and its global box office reached $1.287 billion.
Meanwhile, Zack Snyder's Justice League premiered in early January.
It still had a dark tone. Aquaman and Cyborg made appearances, while Wonder Woman, due to her immense popularity, held the C-position on the poster.
For Zack Snyder, he couldn't afford to lose this Justice League.
Superman had failed, Batman v Superman had failed. Thankfully Wonder Woman turned things around, but he didn't direct that.
If Justice League failed again, he would truly have to leave this series.
Martin attended the premiere and watched this two-and-a-half-hour film.
To be honest, he was somewhat disappointed.
It felt worse than Batman v Superman.
Zack Snyder could previously attribute box office failures to the dark style. While Justice League still had a dark tone, this darkness only seemed superficial, perhaps just in the visual style. Yet the characters were made overly cheerful.
In the entire world-saving process, The Flash, as the comedic relief, chattering and being humorous was fine; the always-serious old man Batman even cracked a cold joke; Superman even started acting naive.
The superheroes in the film didn't seem particularly tense about the apocalyptic sense of crisis. Between major battles, one could consistently see the characters joking and interacting.
For instance, during the final battle, Superman says to Batman: "I finally understand you brought me back not because you like me."
Batman then replies with an embarrassed expression: "I don't not like you."
The entire film seemed to become a stage for showcasing each superhero's abilities: The Flash's super speed, Wonder Woman's divine gauntlets and lasso, Aquaman's Trident, Cyborg's hacking tech, Batman's monetary strength, Superman's omnipotence.
By the time these superheroes finished showing off their unique skills, the villain Steppenwolf was pretty much done for.
"Zack Snyder doesn't seem very suited for directing ensemble cast films. It feels like all the characters are just skimming the surface, and the chapter narrative is too fast, giving me a feeling of watching a PPT, flipping slide by slide quickly," Sofia whispered, covering her mouth.
Martin felt the same way.
Zack Snyder didn't have the ability to vividly portray multiple distinctive characters within a 2-hour runtime. Perhaps given 3 or 4 hours, he could have expressed the film better (like the director's cut in the original timeline), but which theater would give you that kind of leeway?
The runtime of one movie, the duration of two or three films—no cinema would let such a lengthy film occupy a screen long-term, and production companies wouldn't let a director be so self-indulgent.
So, let's not talk about any so-called director's cut.
...
The next day.
The film received a 39% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a simple warning slap for Zack Snyder. Although the early box office wasn't terrible, he began to worry if the film's box office would lose momentum like Batman v Superman did.
In fact, a 39% rating is utterly miserable for a superhero ensemble film.
Judging from the comments below, Wonder Woman and The Flash received audience approval. The worst off were the big, bulky bat and the guy with a bunch of money-made armor, Cyborg, who received a tidal wave of criticism.
The terrible storytelling was also a reason the film wasn't well-received by audiences.
Actually, professional film critics didn't have a bad view of Justice League. CinemaScore gave it a B+, and film critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave it 85%. These results were still acceptable. Unfortunately, film critics don't represent audience word-of-mouth. All sorts of criticisms began to spread rampantly on new media channels.
In the original timeline, Zack Snyder handed over the directorial reins midway due to family reasons, so the failure was somewhat explainable.
But in this timeline, Zack Snyder was involved in the project from start to finish.
Let's look at the mainstream media's evaluation of this film:
Variety: "This is one of the most visually captivating comic book films in history. The combat scenes won't make you feel tired; they'll give you a strong CGI feel because they (the Justice League members) are more like The Seven Samurai brought together by a supreme belief, rather than because they are super invincible. Steppenwolf and his evil Parademons are the main enemies, though he seems a bit weaker than in the comics. This time, he's portrayed as an emotional, towering giant covered in glowing lines, a humiliated assassin groveling for an indescribable object."
Total Film: "Zack Snyder's Justice League is clumsy, self-indulgent, and impenetrable. New guests and continuous short musical cues hold little significance for DC fans. The overall narrative structure is dull and unchanging: still gathering DC heroes to stop the villain from destroying Earth by uniting three Mother Boxes. The minimal emotional expression feels more like an excuse for the pieces to move around the board."
CNN: "Simply put, no one loves depicting superhero action more than the director. He recreates the comic book feel of 30* transferred to the screen; the visual effects are dazzling, and more heartfelt than the previous installments."
Empire: "As expected, this two-and-a-half-hour, 7-chapter film isn't all effective. Firstly, the Mother Box narrative is unclear. If you're not a hardcore DC fan, prepare to be confused by multiple new plot points, especially concerning Darkseid and his subordinates. As for Cyborg, [actor] and [actor] fail to unearth anything distinctive beyond his brute force. If you hope for an explanation of the costume changes within the story rather than 'It looks cool, this is what the 430 fans think the 430 wants,' then good luck. If this is Snyder's final DC film, it's not a satisfying farewell."
Entertainment Weekly: "I keep saying it's a film, but I think it's more like a limited series with many episodes. Even compared to the glacial miracle that is The Ice Adventure, Zack Snyder's Justice League is a chore. At the end of the rainbow, the audience is promised that the real cool stuff will happen next time, but can we really expect a next time?"
The Hollywood Reporter: "Justice League shows some specific improvements over Batman v Superman. Its plot and musical cues are more aligned, though sometimes still confusing. The visual effects show substantial improvement, although some parts remain very fake. Overall, the cinematography is better, even if viewers might find the nearly square aspect ratio jarring, as it was designed for IMAX, not widescreen TVs. The film's soul remains unimproved; within 172 minutes, it hardly provides much fun, unbearably feeling like maintaining a single posture."
The Playlist: "In many ways, this version of Justice League is still a bit messy, not a perfect work. Fortunately, there are fun characters providing many enjoyable moments, definitely worth the ticket price!"