Zack Snyder is one of those directors with a vision that is innocent enough, but star-crossed from the get-go. He attended art schools after being inspired by his mother’s background in photography and painting. Out of high school, the Heatherley School of Fine Art in London, England taught him to paint while the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California started his filmmaking career in 1989. His fondness for comic books and horror have become passion projects since then. Snyder’s devotion to remaking Justice League without pay was a commendable labor of love.

While the director has embraced and revamped the DC Comics characters in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), going back to, or moving forward with them won’t be the best decision.

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James Gunn is leading the way as a DC Universe executive for DC Studios. Matt Reeves and Todd Phillips hold the reins for the flagship characters Batman and Joker, respectively. Snyder is the contrast to these completely serious vehicles, preferring an absurdist seriousness instead. His use of slow motion almost glorifies the violence and destruction in his films. A niche audience welcomes this chaotic wrestling match that is a Snyder comic book adaptation, but it’s time for a new direction, not another return.

One-Dimensional Characters

     Warner Bros. Pictures

Man of Steel was the reboot for the Superman movie franchise and the first film that created the DCEU. Snyder was given the script by fellow director Christopher Nolan, who had finished The Dark Knight trilogy. It would have been a different universe had Nolan directed the Son of Krypton, but let’s face it, Superman isn’t exactly an easy character to write for. The approach for Nolan was to treat the superhero as the only superhero in the world. That didn’t last long.

Humanizing the superhero is a serious task. Assimilating himself into a world similar and different from his own. Hiding his powers and braving the abuse to not raise suspicion or condemnation. Loving and protecting another planet like it was his own. Kryptonite isn’t the only thing that can make Superman vulnerable. His other weakness is Snyder. Between the performance of Henry Cavill and the direction of Snyder, both were out of place. The acting was wooden and took itself so seriously, it’s unintentionally funny. Superman ironically becomes a precarious Christ figure or godhead savior who levels an entire city (and neck) to do it. Against a save-the-day-save-the-world cliché, there wasn’t much else for fans to expect.

Passive Action

     Warner Bros.

An action scene from Snyder is akin to a group of action figures having an imaginary fight come to life. This exciting prospect is a chance to be faithful to the characters. Instead, a gratuitous amount of slow motion extends action sequences longer than they need to be. After the first few times, the technique gets mundane, tiresome, and distracting. When the screen isn’t exploding, the dialogue is imploding with think-it-but-don’t-say-it embarrassing moments. In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) shakes hands with Clark Kent, saying his grip is so strong that no one should pick a fight with him. Literal concessions like this aren’t as clever or self-aware as they think, or say, they are.

Snyder’s action scenes come off as passive, trite, and overly choreographed, yet remarkably filled with a let’s-see-what-happens uncertainty. Following the lead of the panels of the graphic novel 300 and Watchmen may have served the director well in the past, but with the DCU, it’s a peak and valley effect that rivals the inconsistency of a polygraph and heart monitor combined. Not every action scene has to be drawn out with tracking shots and close-ups to keep one’s attention. Action doesn’t need to be at break-neck speed without notice most of the time either. Snyder seems to think he can have the best of both worlds, but he can only have it in a comic book fantasy, not a comic book reality.

The Snyderverse

Dark, muted colors also make the normal passage of time feel slower and the eyes wearier in the Snyderverse. Batman’s black is brighter than Superman and Wonder Woman’s costumes in broad daylight. Everything in a Snyder project either falls flat, goes over the top, or both. His own original concept films like Sucker Punch and Army of the Dead are derivative distractions that delight with their familiarity. The first is an anthologized, horror-themed Sailor Moon, or according to Snyder, “Alice in Wonderland with machine guns.” The second, a heist in Las Vegas during a zombie apocalypse, follows the plot of Aliens beat for beat. Snyder is one of the most polarizing directors with no rhyme or reason other than to use blunt and stunted cinematic language. The DCU doesn’t need Snyder to put any more of his words in its mouth.