If I could select one director who has been polarizing audiences for decades, my first and only choice would be Zack Snyder. Love him or hate him, he’s a filmmaker that is hard not to talk about.
Regardless of whether or not you like Zack Snyder as a director, you can clearly tell the man has a vision. Whenever he approaches a project, he always gives it 100% and is uncompromising in his view. He will go so far as to make movies that are over four hours long just to stay true to the ideas in his head. He did it for Watchmen, famously (or infamously depending on your perspective), with Justice League, and now he’s at it again with his latest passion project, Rebel Moon. When you watch any of these movies, you know exactly that it’s a Zack Snyder movie. But here’s the kicker – what makes those movies identifiable when compared to virtually every other action director? The simple answer? Zack Snyder doesn’t know when to stop.
All of Zack Snyder’s movies are the definition of excess. They’re incredibly busy movies with too much going on and an egregious runtime that’s meant to give Zack Snyder anything and everything he wants. While I was once a fan of his work in the late 2000s and early 2010s with creative films like Watchmen and Sucker Punch, I feel that Zack Snyder has slowly but surely been enabled and emboldened by studios to do whatever the hell he wants out of this misguided notion that he’s some kind of action golden boy. And that would be a true statement if only those studios could remember that nearly every movie he’s made since that godforsaken dive into the DCEU has been various degrees of bad.
There’s no real sugarcoating how fan perception of Zack Snyder has only served to increase this maximalist idea that Zack Snyder now ascribes to in his films. Understandably, Zack Snyder had to leave Justice League and was unable to complete his vision of the film and I’m glad he was able to go back and eventually finish it, but this was through self-inflated deification.
Bots were used to push this idea that the “Snyder Cut” of Justice League would somehow fix the problems of the DCEU and put the franchise back on the right path, something that Snyder himself acknowledged. To do this, Zack Snyder fans will argue that he NEEDED four hours to perfect his vision. That’s neglecting to mention that Zack Snyder dug the hole that Warner Bros. fell into with the collapse of the DCEU. Warner Bros. attempted to make him work within this framework of what they wanted their shared universe to be, but by giving Snyder too much leeway, it only served to put them in a losing situation when they had to jettison most of his work in an attempt to salvage the best parts of the DCEU.
That failed, but it had the unintended side effect of making Zack Snyder into this infallible figure wronged by studios and denied his vision. It pushed forward the idea that he’s a legendary auteur who can do no wrong. But without a studio to reign him in and keep him in line, Snyder has effectively become lost to his worst impulses. He makes unnecessary decisions to impart his vision and needs to stuff every frame with details, whether it be world-building, character development, or something to help progress the plot. And that’s fine and all, but people do neglect to mention that Snyder’s films aren’t exactly known for having strong stories. His stories are, again, at their best when he’s working within a framework, like when he adapted Alan Moore and Frank Miller’s graphic novels and couldn’t deviate too much from the source material. Without some kind of supervision, he becomes lost in the details that he thinks are so deep and meaningful but lack any depth.
Rebel Moon is a perfect example of what’s wrong with Zack Synder’s maximalist approach to storytelling. When you break it down to its barest essentials, Rebel Moon isn’t really about anything, but it certainly doesn’t seem that way. It’s a generic sci-fi action movie that you can clearly tell was meant to be a knock-off Star Wars movie but doesn’t have any of the meaningful mythology associated with it. But it’s hard to tell that at first glance because everything comes across as important. Whether it be the role of robots in this world, the blind militarism that the Motherworld imposes on its soldiers, the complex guilt that Kora feels over her failing to protect the princess, or the amount of time spent introducing each mercenary that joins the good fight. All of it sounds important and is given the pageantry to boot, complete with grand special effects and visual flairs, but it all comes across as hollow because there’s no time given to explain to the audience why this is important.
That is, unless you watch the R-rated Director’s Cut version that drops next year!
And that practice, more than anything else, is probably the biggest flaw with Zack Snyder as a director; the need to have these mammoth-sized Director’s Cuts to properly convey his vision. Too much of one thing can be bad, especially when there’s no variety to differentiate. Snyder caters to what his fans want, which are oftentimes dour setpieces with pretty special effects and a gruff cast of characters. What you won’t find often is comedy, vulnerability, or intimacy. His most recent films are usually monotonous in the purest definition of the world. So when you’re exposed to nothing but those same feelings for hours on end, it drags down everything alongside it.
Take this year’s Killers of the Flower Moon. For a movie that is three and a half hours, Martin Scorcese was able to weave in tons of different themes and ideas in the film all bundled together with a variety of emotions. I can remember the mood that was being conveyed at certain scenes in the movie and how despite being a chore to get through at points, what Scorcese did with the scenes within it all feel distinct and varied. Snyder’s films don’t have that variety.
On that same note, if you, as a director, feel that you need four hours to fully explain your vision, then you’re not great at conveying it. Godzilla Minus One was able to effectively tell its drama about post-war Japan and the treatment of veterans in less than two hours. Barbie examined feminism, commercialism, and toxic masculinity in less than two hours. In over two hours, Rebel Moon couldn’t even weave together a sci-fi action movie. So why in the world would I want to watch a four-hour version of something I didn’t like? And don’t say because it has more tentacles.
That release model itself just boggles my mind for so many different reasons. Rebel Moon isn’t getting a theatrical release, so why do a neutered release and then an extended one? It can’t be because of studio interference since Netflix gave Snyder a blank check to make a two-part sci-fi epic, so why bother restricting him on his vision? Why release a PG-13 version followed by an R-version? What is there to gain by intentionally releasing an inferior version of a film? The only reason I can think of is that either Zack Snyder or Netflix wants to tap into the same fervor that his fans had over the Snyder Cut of Justice League and hope that equates to further engagement. But that’s also completely ignoring the fact that one version of the film is going to be completely disposable not even a few months after it releases.
But Snyder can no longer be contained to just a simple film. Now each film has to be the start of a major franchise with tie-ins like video games, a TV show, or sequels to further explore his worlds. But again, you actually have to make good movies and good worlds that people want to see more of. I look at Zack Snyder’s plans for cinematic universes the same way I look at something like Universal’s Dark Universe project that died almost instantly because it put the cradle before the horse. You can’t have these massive projects without quality behind them, but Netflix seems to be banking on Snyder’s rabid fans to just enjoy and engage with anything and everything he makes.
And maybe that’s enough. Rebel Moon seems to have done well in terms of views during its first week. I can’t say the same for how it’s faring critically since it’s being mauled on virtually all sides, but I would imagine that eventually, someone is going to realize that this maximalist approach to filmmaking can’t work forever. You can’t enable a director’s worst tendencies and expect there to be no problems.
Eventually, the excessive tendencies of Zack Snyder will push away audiences not only because of how his films are bloated without any meaningful substance but also because his acolytes will praise his work and not challenge or criticize it. Again, I did like Zack Snyder, but now the status surrounding him does nothing but repel me. If Snyder is now all about grand epics that promise the world and back, then I think I’ll be fine never watching another one of his movies.
