Next week, Zack Snyder’s Justice League will release on HBO Max. That sentence either made you groan or cheer. The fact is as soon as it releases, there is going to be a war on social media. There will be those who will blindly sing it’s praises unable to find any faults in it and attacking those who do. There will be those who think it’s an abomination that should never have been willed into existence. These two groups of people will fight. They will spew toxicity in all directions in the hopes of one-upping the other side. Both of these groups of people are wrong.
Now, I’m not saying that if you think it’s a masterpiece or an abomination then you’re wrong. That’s all up to personal preference and taste. But if you believe that your opinion on it is the right one, if you have the inability to see the other’s perspective and if you attack those who feel differently about the movie than you do, then yes you’re wrong and should think about reevaluating your life.
The fact is that fighting about this movie is simply not worth it. It’s not going to be what anyone believes it will be. It’s not going to be a masterpiece. It won’t be a complete train wreck either. It will probably be better than the Joss Whedon version but how much better it is will vary person to person.
I make fun of the Snyder Cut on Twitter a lot. I do this for two reasons. One, because I make jokes about lots of movies and two, because the reaction to jokes about the Snyder Cut are so ridiculously over the top it makes it funnier. Why? Of all the movies for people to get so worked up over is it this one. I liked Man of Steel. Batman v Superman had a lot of good stuff in it but overall was not very good. The Whedon version of Justice League was aggressively mediocre. Why is there so much fighting about a movie that is the culmination of such a wildly uneven series of movies.
The circumstances behind Zack Snyder’s exit from Justice League were tragic and it’s great that he got to finish his version of the movie. I’m happy for him and you should be too, even if you have no interest in the movie. It’s nice that after everything he went through, he gets to finish what he started but that doesn’t make it immune to criticism if it doesn’t turn out well. It doesn’t mean that everyone has to like it. It doesn’t mean that people deserve to get attacked over whether they like it or not. If you’re a fan of it then be a fan. Being a fan of something doesn’t mean others aren’t allowed to not be. Being a fan doesn’t give you the right to attack people who don’t like it. Stop it.
Conversely, if you don’t like it then fine but that gives you no right to attack people who do. People are allowed to like movies you might think are bad. Hell, I like Spider-Man 3, and I’m sure there’s a movie you like that maybe didn’t get great reviews or that other people don’t enjoy. Just let people enjoy it. If you want to criticize the movie or make jokes about it, go right ahead but leave the people who enjoy it alone. They are allowed to enjoy it. People who like Cats don’t get harassed about it, people who like Michael Bay films don’t get harassed, why do Snyder fans? No one should be harassed for what movies they like, so why do Snyder fans get harassed? Stop it.
If you don’t like it, that’s fine, you’re allowed to say that and even makes jokes, but you shouldn’t be attacking people online who do like it. What do you even think you’re accomplishing by attacking people who like it? You get no prize except letting all the rational people of the world know you’re an asshole. If you absolutely love it, great, but that doesn’t give you the right to attack those who don’t. Zack Snyder appreciates his fans but do you really think he appreciates his fans being bullies? No he doesn’t, so you’re not doing it in his honor. You’re just being an asshole.
No matter how this movie turns out, chances are the main thing it will be remembered for is the terrible online discourse that will forever surround it. That’s a shame because regardless of how it turns out, no work should ever be overshadowed by toxic losers with an opinion and nothing intelligent to say. Zack Snyder’s Justice League is not going to be a masterpiece that must be defended at all costs and it’s not going to be an abomination that must be mercilessly insulted at all times. It’s going to be a movie, neither the greatest thing ever nor the worst thing ever. It’s going to be a movie that people should be allowed to like or dislike and feel safe about stating that opinion. It’s not worth fighting over, no movie is. Except maybe Kazaam.
Rongo 