Just finished watching it. I liked it a lot. I can certainly understand the issues some folks have with it. Some of the "lists" of issues I've seen in here make me chuckle a bit, thinking did I see the same movie? That happens more often than not for me though. My take usually doesn't follow the popular vibe in here.
For me, it caps off the other two DCEU Snyder movies really well. As someone else commented quite a while back, it's Snyder at his most Snyder...and one either loves it or hates it...he doesn't have many middling fans. The action was better, some of the updated designs looked really cool and I like the dark tone and color adjustments that were made. This really looked like a graphic novel come to life. I really liked how some of the characters came across in this as opposed to the Josstice version. Gone is the surfer dude Arthur, along with the bumbling Batman. Flash still had humor, but it didn't feel hokey or forced.
The four hour run time didn't bother me...it gave the story a chance to breathe more and really helped with more character moments. The chapter breaks helped too. I broke up my viewing utilizing them but plan to watch it again in one sitting sometime soon.
It is interesting that Snyder went ahead and gave us all of these loose ends and interesting places to go at the end, more than likely knowing this was it. HBO Max didn't do this for any artistic reason...it's been a social media sensation that they could exploit to garner attention and new subscribers for their streaming platform. Can't fault them for that, but it's best not to get hopes up for any more. It is pretty well known that Snyder hoped to make two (maybe three) parts to his Justice League opus. Doesn't guarantee we'll ever see them.
I loved the last Knightmare scene and while short, I thought Leto's take on the Joker fit in the world Snyder has created here quite well. More dynamic and interesting than what we saw from him in Suicide Squad. Definitely makes me want to see more of them together. In fact, the whole kitchen sink approach to the multiple endings made me think of all of those comics with extra art and concept drawings in the back with commentary from the artists. Just throw it all in there for the fans to parse and enjoy.
Who know? If this generates some long-lasting heat for HBO and WB, maybe the Snyderverse could continue on HBO Max. I'd love the see the two last chapters of his Justice League and a Batman movie with Affleck's Bat, Deathstroke and the Joker could be cool.
