Zack Snyder's Justice League - Part 2 - Favorite Shots + Breakdown

 What's good Everyone! 

I'm back to breakdown Part 2 of Zack Snyder's EPIC Justice League. If you missed out on my posts for the intro & part 1, be sure to check my "old posts" section to go through those if this kind of thing intrigues you!

Now lets get through this because there's a LOT to unpack.

Can't express enough how much I love these title cards and how it's broken into parts. Feels like a graphic novel come to life. 

I love the imagery of an astronaut and stars on the tarp, in combination with the boom tube. It was probably in a child's room to serve as a kid fantasy, so it's quite the duality in showing what that concept really is with the arrival of Steppenwolf.

Steppenwolf is seriously a work of art. I've said it in all of the last posts, his design is eye candy on it's own. The VFX are insane! You see all the colors in the scene bouncing off him making him more than just another, "Big grey villain."

I watched one of those YouTube videos breaking down director's styles, and one description of Snyder was, "Endless shadows."  This shot speaks to how great he is at manipulating the light to create extensive black levels in a shot. Throw in those windows, which I'm sure have lights shining through, makes for a cool shot. 

I love how the scoutship location in Metropolis looks at night. Beautiful shot of the city. 

It's amazing what can be done when you simply change the lighting. In BvS, this entire area was painted with white bulbs to give off a sterile sci-fi look. Here, the blue almost looks dreamish which is a nice setup leading into the next sequence.

What a nightmare of an image. Fam, if you see red and a figure bathed in that color, you leave immediately! Don't check on it!

So happy to see the design from the BvS knightmare brought back. These things are hideous and terrifying. I also love the color choices used in the background to help outline the dark figure. This allows us to see it just enough, but keeps it hidden within the shadows. 

Legendary! Mythical! Zack channeled his 300 roots with this one. Which is one of the things I Love about this movie. It feels like an amalgamation of all the films he's done. I see and hear glimpses from all of the films and this is definitely 300-esque. 

I love the birds eye view to give you a better gist of the where this is located. 

Aside from the gorgeous color pallet, there's so much weight in this one frame. You can see the concern all over her face. She knows what Steppenwolf can not only do to the world, but to her beloved daughter & there's nothing she can do about it. She knows they failed. 

What a frame! If I hung this on a wall without any caption or context, someone would think this is from a book covering mythology. Everyone's position, their stances, the fire burning as Hippolyta stares into the darkness. Just legendary. 

The other side of the above frame displays their formation even clearer. I just love how seriously Zack takes this comic book lore, even though it is actual mythology. I just don't see this level of care in many other comic book films.

The other side of the above frame as she stares out hoping to reach Diana. Love how the color from the fire pops on her golden hooded jacket. 

Again, a black woman covered in mythical armor will never not be a vibe as far as I'm concerned. 

The framing of this shot brings me back to the same shot of Lex walking up to the ship in BvS. It's almost identical. 

This scene is missing in the theatrical cut (shocker) but with it still being left in this film, we have context as to where the drawing came from when Gordan receives it. I also really love the color blocking of the warm orange against the other cool toned colors.

Endless Shadows again! I love that red coming from Cyborg's eye to color block the scene. 

In this one shot, you know everything you need to know about Victor from a glimpse. So when his story continues later, a sense of familiarity will already be present. 

Zack dropped this still before the movie released and I thought it was a photograph he took while blocking the scene but no... It's really in the movie! Beautiful shot. 

Zack blocks and frames his shots so well. You're always given a lot to look at. He doesn't waste one frame and that is lesson I've take from him with my own filmmaking. The columns being parallel to the spear, the angle upwards making Diana match the height of those pillars to look larger than life. It all makes for an interesting frame. Chef's kiss. 

A lush set design makes for a layered & textured image. We're in mythology mode for what follows. 

The First Justice League.

The Unity.

The Priests. 

The Demons. 

What is there to say about this collection of images that hasn't been stated already? The original Darkseid invasion laid out on the wall for all to see. Kudos to the artists that created and crafted all of this for only a few minutes of a scene. 

Such a cool shot. Again, the mythological feel is spread throughout the film. It's amazing how they were able to capture being in the middle of the sea on a set. The color is better than the other version too. 

THAT'S an introduction to Arthur Curry. I love the camera work here. The shot starts on the man as he holds on for dear life and view pans up to show his silhouette.  The way the score explodes as the waves boom against him is amazing too. 

As someone who loves that "Icky Thump," track, the change to "There is a Kingdom" is a much better fit for this sequence. It no longer feels so, "Bro-ish," like it did in the theatrical release. It feels royal and aged. This is his path to destiny.

Incredible VFX. The team seriously deserves an award for finishing all of this in 7 months. 

Not a wasted frame. Is this a real sign? I've never been to a pier like this so idk but it's a great shot! 

Starring out into what we consider to be the abyss but for Arthur, it's his second home. 

This entire sequence is Zack flexing his muscles. "Too much slow motion," guess what? I don't give a f***. This is beautiful. This is impactful. This is cinema. The blocking, the framing, the music, the water. It's everything! This scene in particular has MAJOR Watchmen vibes. 

I've loved this shot since it was released back in 2017 for the bullsh*** version. 

Arthur starring at destiny. He is the rightful king of the throne. 

Now I know this is the king from the history lesson but is this Atlan? Surely he isn't the only king to exist. It very well could be though. You don't have to have the same actor to play such a minor role in the Aquaman movie. Anyway, great shot. 

Love this shot of the Trident.  Foreshadowing to the Aquaman film when he finally becomes king. 

Vulko looking G'd all the way up with that armor. I love Wan's Aquaman but this armor looks a lot better than what he wore in that movie. He looks like he could actually throw down if it came to it. He looks war ready. He looks like a mythical being. This is a panel straight out of a comic book. 

Another shot straight out of a comic book. So much layered imagery and texture here. The water gushing over the old withered steps, the quindent and suit lying together, the sea crab just walking by. This is how you create beautiful cinematography with VFX work. 

Steppenwolf looking photo realistic. Again, the VFX team needs a nomination to have done all this within a years worth of time. Every frame he's in is a literal work of art. 

This is another comic panel brought to life. I love this stance with him pointing. Not to mention how cool their form of communication looks. That Black metal with molten lava to light the figure makes for a sleek terrifying image. Like, imagine seeing this fr. 

You don't get a better image of the Old Gods than this. Zeus handing Ares his battle axe as they prepare for war, accompanied by the other old gods and beings of earth is a sight straight out of a history book. Love the color pallet, love the texture of the land. It's beautiful. 

What a shot! A literal story to be told in one single frame. If you didn't know better, you'd think this is some futuristic sequel to 300 no one ever knew about. 

This really speaks to how many Atlanteans they are. I can't say enough how gorgeous the color is during the history lesson. The desaturation & warm color tone reminds me of vintage gold. It feels luxuriously weathered and triumphant. 

Two more gorgeous shots from the Atlanteans/Amazonians (Irony that they're paired together since they don't trust each other) view of what's coming their direction. So much detail and every inch of the frame. It's seriously just eye candy that I gawk at every time I watch. 

HELL OF AN INTRO. This ain't Thanos just sitting his purple ass in a chair talking *Shots fired*. This Uxas jumping off of his ship ready for ALL THE SMOKE. One of the best introductions to a big bad I've ever scene. The door opens up, you're met with that silhouette, and you already know who it is. 

He's straight up claiming the death of earth is going to happen by doing this. Not to mention, this is a call back to Lois doing the same thing at Clark's funeral. Outside of those double meanings, this hand is quite the scary sight. 

One of the money shots in the first teaser but it looks 100x better being finished. So much detail in Uxas' design from this textured skin to those creepy glowing orange eyes. I still can't believe Zack had the gall to open the teaser up with Uxas staring us down. Great way to set the tone and he did NOT disappoint. 

Every time Uxas is on screen, it still baffles me that we finally have a live action depiction of him. Look how epic this shot is! The large amount of details makes everything pop. I also dig how the ship almost makes it look like wings are sprouting from Uxas. Like he's the angel of death. 

Another money shot from the very first teaser. This could be a f***in comic book cover titled, "Uxas Invasion." The fire burning from beneath him, the ships behind him, the dark sky, his stance, the steam, all of it is SO DAMN GOOD!

How f***in dope is this shot of the Apokoliptian Priests? The illuminating light from behind as the ship door opens provides a nightmare-ish ethereal atmosphere to this particular spot. They look Godly but what makes it terrifying is these Gods are on the other side of what this light usually represents. 

Another shot from the teaser that looks even better now that it's fully finished and also within context of the rest of the history lesson. I like that they're pretty much terraforming the world like the kryptonians in Man of Steel did but instead of it looking ultraviolent and destructive, it's happening pretty calmly. 

Not sure why such a money shot of a Green Lantern (Yalan Gur) was cut. His time is already limited in the film, why not at least give him this shot? Well, I know why it was cut thanks to a source of mine but it's ridiculous. 

Uxas raising his staff with a warriors chant is unreal. I still can't quite believe we got this film! This is some Lord of the Rings s*** no lie. God vs God, God vs Man, Creatures vs Creatures; Whatever combination you can think of... Fight Night!

The scale of this war (yes I call it a war) is crazy. You really get a sense of how many bodies there actually are on the field going toe to toe. 

"Darkseid didn't do anything in Justice League." Really? Looks like he's about to crush a dudes skull right here. Looks like he's beating all types of ass. Not sitting his ass in a chair for like 12 movies. Yes, I'm being petty because I saw someone tweet this (Still got love for Thanos though). 

"Darkseid didn't do anything in Justice League." Really? Mans just KILLED a Lantern. 

Can you imagine what would happen if Uxas snatched this ring and absorbed the omega force? I think it would be something like that time he became the entity of Nekron but possibly worse. That ain't good. 

Fortunately for Earth, Uxas is defeated. I've seen people question, "How can he lose? He's Darkseid?" No, he's UXAS in this battle, which mean he took on all of the Old Gods & all the protectors of earth without the omega force. There's a reason he was shown later in the film as the fully formed Darkseid.

A queens rage! As I've said, Black women in armor, swords, & shields are a VIBE that we need more of. I get chills every time I see this little moment!

Idk what's happening here but again, that mythic s*** is in full effect. 

Love how the box looks like a boom tube coming down as they watch the King put it in it's place. So much texture in this shot. 

I've seen people bash the women's outfits for being "too sexy," and honestly, all I see is strength. I don't think the average person realizes how much work women have to put in to get his ripped. That shit is motivating to me. 

The detail, the detail, THE DETAIL! I just love it. 

So, these are my favorite shots from Part 2! Do you have a favorite shot that wasn't on the list or do you have a different interpretation of a shot? Let me know in the comments & thank you for reading!

Peace!

*I do not own any of the photos scene. All images belong to Warner Bros Pictures*