It’s frankly stunning how engaging Victor Stone is here compared to the robotic (sorry), bland iteration in the theatrical cut. There’s no one that exemplifies that better than Ray Fisher’s Cyborg, who saw the vast majority of his backstory cut in Justice League’s 2017 release. Nearly every character in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, from the top down, has a clearer journey and more dimension. Where the theatrical cut raced from action scene to action scene, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a methodical slow-burn and has a much deeper interest in exploring its characters and lore than you may expect. But with double the runtime to spend on establishing context around key events, how that story is told this time around far more coherent and engaging. The set-up of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, in broad terms, remains the same as the theatrical cut: after Superman (Henry Cavill) sacrifices himself to kill Doomsday, Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) resolves to put together a team of heroes to defend Earth from an oncoming alien threat. The fabled “Snyder Cut” elevates Justice League into something well worth watching. What was released as a sloppy, lighthearted team-up of quippy heroes rises like a dead Kryptonian from a Genesis Chamber… ready for a second chance (you know, after trying to murder his Leaguemates). That goes triple for Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
If you’re a fan of the Lord of the Rings film franchise, odds are that after you watch the Extended Editions there was no going back to the theatrical cuts after seeing how the additional material enriches the story.