Following the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League in 2021, the director saw massive growth in his fandom and a significant increase in the amount of hate and criticism he received. While some of these criticisms stem from a place of personal preference, the majority of them seem to be unfounded hate. And yes, ‘hate’ is an extremely strong word to use when it comes to something like an opinion of filmmaking, but there is no other way to describe the intensity of the backlash the director has received since then. But the real question is why this is the case. And what are the reasons behind the backlash? Does Zack Snyder deserve any of the hate he is given, or is it unnecessary?
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Like Michael Bay, the director is often criticised for his take on Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). But, according to most people who hate or dislike Zack Snyder, that film is where it all began. And the Snyder Cut for Justice League just saw a bigger buzz around the DCEU. By no means is Snyder a bad director considering he has some decent films under his belt, but when speaking to someone who dislikes his film style, you would think he has no talent. This article will look at all the bad things said about Snyder and attempt to debunk whether they are true or not.
The most important thing to remember is that he is human, just like all of us, and while having an opinion is fine, hating and insulting someone because their view/styles differ from what you prefer is not.
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“Zack Snyder is just an Edge-Lord Who Enjoys Darkness and Violence.”
This is a recurring comment that you can find on any thread discussing the director. The accusation is mainly based on his work in Watchmen (2009). Fans of the comic book series argue that he included way too much graphic violence and collectively agree that his violent portrayal of various comic book characters has bled over into the DCEU films he worked on. Watchmen fans have pointed out that Snyder misses the nuances of the characters from the comic and instead went for an angle wherein he portrays them all as ‘badass, violent superheroes’. While he got the visual aspect of the film right, fans believe he missed the story’s point and tried to make characters who are supposed to be unlikeable more likeable.
Of course, this sparked a lot of controversy around the film, which was only fuelled when he took on further work on comic book adaptations. However, calling him an ‘edge-lord’ because of this seems a bit far. While many of the criticisms mentioned here are not baseless, people must remember that the film still received decent ratings, standing at 7,6/10 on IMDb and 65% on Rotten Tomatoes, with 73% of Google users liking the film. This means it is an above-average adaptation, and while some may find issues, the majority of audiences enjoyed the movie.
And then there is Snyder’s work in the DCEU. Surely, everyone was made aware that the director was opting for a darker, less family-friendly version of the popular DC Comic heroes. However, when Man of Steel (2013) first dropped, many fans were shocked at the darker themes explored in the film. One major criticism is how Clark (played by Henry Cavill) gained his moral compass. People hated the cynical advice he received from Jonathan Kent, specifically the scene where he not-so-subtly tells Clark that it’s okay to drop a bus full of school children occasionally. While yes, this is a messed-up piece of advice to offer someone who can use their powers for good, saying Zack Snyder is a bad person because of a character’s line in a film is a bit silly.
Another considerable argument used is how Snyder portrays Batman’s character in all the DCEU films he appears in. People hate that Batman goes around killing criminals, which is a huge criticism of the film. However, did Christian Bale’s Batman not kill anyone? In fact, which Batman outside of George Clooney didn’t kill people? Let that simmer for a second. Batman’s character is dark regardless of how one looks at it, and what else can you expect from a traumatised man who is taking his anger out on the criminals of Gotham City? The only reason Zack Snyder’s version of the character receives so much hate is that he has the characters in the films acknowledge the fact that Batman is, in fact, a murderer.
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“All of Zack Snyder’s Work Lacks Substance and Nuance.”
Scrolling through any thread that discusses a Zack Snyder film on platforms such as Reddit and Quora will warrant at least one similar comment. Likewise, looking through reviews of his movies, there will be at least a handful of people who have this outlook on his films. But, again, people are entitled to their opinions, which is another purely subjective aspect. So let’s start by looking at one of the most significant issues people had with Watchmen (2009): the nuance that came with Rorschach’s character. The comic book has a very meta way of storytelling, but it also urges readers to read between the lines.
And when it comes to storytelling in a comic book or novel, a great tool to utilise is nuance, as it adds much depth to your characters. And this is precisely what we are given regarding Rorschach’s sexuality within the comics, with it, left up to the reader to interpret whether he is gay or not. It is not directly implied, but it is hinted at with no direct answer given by the end. This aspect is made a bit more evident in Snyder’s film adaptation, especially with the inclusion of gay pornography on his computer. This makes his sexuality explicitly clear, which did not sit well with many fans. And fair enough, it was part of what made the comics good, but did the inclusion of this scene really make the movie that bad?
The short answer is no; it did not. It seems people tend to forget what the definition of ‘adaptation’ is because that is essentially what Snyder did with the film. He took the source material and tried to adapt it into a movie suitable for audiences who have read the comic and audiences who have not. But, of course, this means numerous changes will have to be made, and some nuanced plot points from the source material would have to be made more explicit for people who did not read the comic. And this is beside the fact that anything that may work to make a book great might not work when adapted to the big screen.
Could he have executed this in a better way? Yes, of course. But does Zack Snyder deserve the hate he is getting for it? No, not at all. Are fans allowed to disagree with his method of storytelling? Definitely. But it is unfair to criticise someone for wanting to make a film that would please various audience members, not just the hardcore fandom.
Another prevalent film where this issue is prevalent is Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). First, fans had a massive problem with Snyder’s parallels between Superman and Jesus Christ. Understandably, this might be offensive to religious people, but most of the complaints revolve around his parallel falling flat. However, it is a bit obvious that it was less about parallels between Jesus and Superman and instead a nod at how people saw the hero. They worshipped him (not in a religious way), respected him, and later when he died, you could feel the public’s genuine sadness at the loss. He was a hero in a world of heroes, and they liked him best. Simple.
Another criticism is the whole ‘Martha’ debacle. Many fans do not see how that caused the fighting between the two heroes to stop. This is understandable, though, and as silly as this scene was, it does not warrant people attacking Snyder the way they do. Each film has at least one silly flaw or one silly line, and this was not the worst in cinematic history.
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“Zack Snyder is Selfish for Making the Snyder’s Cut of Justice League.”
There are just no words for the absolute disaster this argument is. While yes, Snyder should have known that a four-hour film was not something that was generally accepted in the film industry, how do people conclude that he was selfish? He explained that the four-hour version saw better character development and fleshed out the overall story better. But by no means was the director throwing tantrums about the fact that it was not released. Despite this, his fans pushed for the extended version and were very happy with the result.
However, complaints are rolling in to this day, and audiences call the man selfish for releasing a film that he had no problem initially scrapping. And this is beside the circumstances under which he left Warner Bros. With someone close to him having developed a deadly disease; it’s crazy how people have no sympathy for him and attack him over his filmmaking decisions. It was well-deserved that he could see his film reach his fans and have them praise him for it. People who got upset over this need to understand that he is not the Devil, and it is childish regardless of how you look at it. At least some of the other comments made here were founded in reality, but this comment is just unnecessary hate.
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