the fact that this film sees the light of day at all has everything to do with petitions from loyal fans, lobbies of committed actors and the power of the public. what was that again? in 2017 'justice league' was released in theaters. after a tragic family accident, director zack snyder retired and left the editing and directing to joss whedon. the latter was immensely popular thanks to his work for 'the avengers'. whedon decided to use only part of snyder's film and chose a new course. under his direction, the original story as snyder envisioned became a milder, less depressing ensemble film. however, whedon's magic was gone and his 'justice league' was not the success he had hoped for. years later, a number of cast members announced that the filmmaker behaved like a tyrant on set and that snyder's version was worth it. after years of campaigning by fans and cast members, snyder was finally allowed to make the film as he envisioned it. in his own words, he did that for nothing and did not want any money for it. four years after 'justice league', 'zack snyder's justice league' finally appears: a film that has been talked about for years and has almost a mythical status. can this film live up to the sky-high expectations? in his own words, he did that for nothing and did not want any money for it. four years after 'justice league', 'zack snyder's justice league' finally appears: a film that has been talked about for years and has almost a mythical status. can this film live up to the sky-high expectations? in his own words, he did that for nothing and did not want any money for it. four years after 'justice league', 'zack snyder's justice league' finally appears: a film that has been talked about for years and has almost a mythical status. can this film live up to the sky-high expectations? the answer is 'yes'! this movie is everything whedon's version was not. 'zack snyder's justice league' is a dark ensemble film that continues to fascinate despite the ridiculous running time of almost four (!) hours. that has not so much to do with the action, but with the acting. the cast is on a roll and all characters get the depth they deserve. that gives the film a completely different look. especially cyborg (ray fischer) benefits from this. in whedon's version he was a footnote, while the character in snyder's film is the beating heart. the motives of the flash (ezra miller) also come out more clearly. 'zack snyder's justice league' is a more balanced film, in which all heroes are given a background story and clearly have one common denominator: the lack of a father figure. lack of affection, loss, direction and inspiration are the common thread in the lives of all heroes. this aspect comes to the fore in snyder's view, while it was not an issue in whedon's film. now whedon also had a more compact playing time and snyder gets double the playing time. what is striking is that with this film snyder really wants to tell something about the heroes and their past, while whedon just canned a simple popcorn movie. what makes 'zack snyder's justice league' so special is that it is snyder's best, most personal film. he deviates from his tricks - the number of slow motion moments has been drastically reduced, he also uses more humor in this film and tries new things. the acting is passionate. ben affleck is great as a broken batman, wonder woman is played both strong and vulnerable by gal gadot, ray fischer portrays cyborg's quest for self-acceptance and jason momoa gives depth to the closed aquaman. ezra miller provides the comic, but is not overly present as he was in whedon's film. the special effects clearly come from the computer and are unlikely to age nicely. it is also clear that some tricks are a bit older, so that the difference in digital quality is obvious. thanks to the acting, the film remains fascinating and not because of the stunts and special effects.