Zack Snyder: The Rant...

I hate Zack Snyder... Not HATE hate, mind you, but I hate him as a director.
*Cue the butthurt DC fanboys*
It's not about liking Marvel or DC. It's that Snyder isn't that good as a director.
*Cue the Snyder fanboys*
Yes, Watchmen is pretty looking. 300 too, even Batman v. Superman had some stunning visuals that seem ripped straight out of the comic book pages. That's it...
Visually speaking, the man knows how to make a scene pop. Yes he also loves to cram in allegories, references, metaphors in his movies, but that alone a good movie does not make.

Zack Snyder is the same thing as Michael Bay.
*Cue the angry DC, Snyder, and Bay fans*
Both directors tend to use a style that is all about flash over substance. Both seem to be hell-bent on ruining everything that 80s kids and nerds hold dear. Both seem to like being "edgy" and have a more "grown up take" on the properties they butcher.
The main difference is that Michael Bay loves to use assault vibrators as his Steadicam handles.
The other difference is that Michael Bay KNOWS he's making the Taco Bell equivalent of Cinema. Snyder thinks he's a Michelin 3 star restaurant, but in reality he's another Taco Bell.

Also, Snyder is not that great at directing actors. He seems to have an issue with toning down hammy performances.

Let's take 300 as an example.

As you can see, the Original Graphic Novel has Leonidas say: "This is Sparta." Period. No exclamation point. Meaning he simply says: This is Sparta, with a subdued and subtle rage, based on the context of the scene. What Snyder did was have Gerard Butler deliver the line in a way over the top manner that has become the stuff of memes. (Seriously, the Japanese dub, of all versions is the most subdued one)

Or let's talk about MARTHA!!

Here's what Snyder was trying to do.
We have Bruce hell-bent on killing Superman because reasons. We have Superman who is fighting Batman, because Luthor took Martha... Kent. Instead of straight out of the bat telling Batman who the real villain is, Superman acted like a douche and was goaded into the fight with Batman. Now with the Kryptonite, Bruce has the upper hand and is about to kill Superman, when Clark pleads for mercy; not for himself, but for his Earth mother. This selfless sacrifice by Clark is supposed to snap Bruce out of his single tracked desire for dark justice and realize he has become the same thing he was supposed to be against. He also sees that the Alien is human... (I mean as in his humanity shows up and makes Bruce, an actual human be more inhumane than the alien)

What went wrong? First let's look at the script. No, not the actual script, but WHO wrote it: Chris Terrio and David S Goyer...
DSG, the man responsible for Ghost Rider 2, Blade Trinity and Jumper just to name a few. I could mention the time he pretended to be a woman to get a script made...
Goyer is hit or miss, but when dealing with comic book stuff, he oozes some disdain for the genre.

Now, Here comes Snyder. As I mentioned before on the 300 example, Snyder seems to be allergic to subtlety. That's why he had to beat us over the head with the whole MARTHA!! Thing. If he had simply had Bruce realize as he stood over Clark's windpipe and about to deliver the killing blow, what he had become; it would've been a little bit better. (Also, Mother and Martha sound very similar when speaking hoarsely with a blocked windpipe. If we still wanted to have a Mother/Martha connection thing.)
It was a great idea, but the execution was off. That's why the scene is derided and mocked. Pretty much everyone understood the scene. The only people who didn't are imaginary strawmen on the minds of Zack Snyder and DCEU fans.

Want to see how stupid this Martha thing is:
What if Clark's mother was named Bianca, Barbara, Irmarie, Michelle, or anything else that is not Martha. Based on what Snyder WAS DOING, that bit of serendipity WAS NEEDED. If Clark had said: "Save Bianca!" That wouldn't have snapped Bruce out of his rage and killed Superman, then Doomsday would be released and Game Over, man!
*Cue the Snyder fanbois and DCEU fanbois*
This is Zack Snyder we're talking about. He wanted Batman to be raped in prison, cause that shit's dark. Having a big mindless monster to use on an epic final showdown is not going to remain unused. If Batffleck had killed Superstache, the Zodsday security measures would fail and the monster would've been unleashed. The massive destruction left by its path and with Bruce and Diana being unable to stop him, would've forced Barry, Arthur, and Victor to show up and help stop that thing... After they find a way to stop him, a repentant Bruce decides to form a League to protect the Earth from threats from inside and out. To carry on Clark's legacy.
I know it's very similar to what Snyder wanted to do. (Probably it WAS what Snyder wanted to do and WB told him, NO. Batman can't kill Superman.)

So, back to the little line about prison rape and Batman.
I understand that he's trying to "ground Batman in the dark and gritty world we live in" with that idea. (And his background with Heavy Metal magazine shows that he's inclined towards darker, grittier comics. I personally feel like he doesn't understand darkness. More on that later.)
OK, so Batman/Bruce is raped. As a character, what does he gain from that experience? Feeling Powerless? Um, that's been done already... The death of the Waynes... That thing that drove into his mind the idea that NEVER AGAIN he will be powerless. The idea that he would do whatever he can to avoid more people feeling how he did, when Crime took his family away. What does emasculating Bruce contribute to his character arc?
Batman gains NOTHING from it. Snyder's idea is just being dark and gritty for the sake of darkness. Especially Superman.

Yes, the idea of the Big Blue Boy Scout can be a "bit boring" but that IS SUPERMAN. He does the right thing, because it's, pardon the redundancy, the right thing to do. Sure, he has all these powers, but what does he do with them? He humbly helps the weak. Not for money, glory, or fear. He just does it because it's the right thing to do. From saving a kitten stuck on a tree, to stopping an airplane from crashing. Nothing seems to be a job too small for Superman.
The quintessential goody two-shoes.

Yes, his unbreakable moral compass and willingness to put others above himself makes our flaws seem bigger. Some resent him for that. Others strive to become better... Kinda like a "Modern Jesus". And this is what most modern filmmakers get wrong about Superman. It's not as easy as having him "sacrifice himself for humanity", stab him with a shared shared of Kryptonite (or make an actual Kryptonite spear, et tu Bat-Longinus). Or having him float on the sky as the sun creates an angelic Halo, or the Jesus on the cross pose. Sure, you can use some of those, but it's better to have a montage of Supes doing good deeds with a big smile on his face as he is delighted for doing what's right.

THE \S/ STANDS FOR HOPE IN KRYPTON. Show me that it stands for Hope here on Earth!! In Man of Steel, every time there was a glimmer of Actual Superman about to show, Snyder came and beat it to a pulp with his darkness for darkness's sake.

In order for BATMAN and SUPERMAN to be Imperfect Mirror Versions of each other, there needs to be a balance.

The recent Batman 36 illustrates this much better than I can. Had Snyder's Superman been that "Light beacon of hope" against the "Dark Knight of Gotham" The clash would've been more impactful. But Snyder chose Dark on Dark and we heard Bob Ross's. To deconstruct, you need to construct first.

Now for the last part: pacing... Like this rant, Snyder has terrible pacing. One could say that his style of slowing down action scenes and then speeding them up to normal speed is echoed throughout the movie. Action scenes flow pretty well, but then the movie grinds to a halt in order to deliver the plot. Not to mention that his movies only work when you have the 4-6 hour version instead of the theatrical release. 

He's not an idiot. He overthinking things, tries to be deeper than the ocean with imagery, but is too blunt and tends to beat the proverbial horse with his symbolism. He has some passion for comics, has decent knowledge. Can lift imagery from the comics and make it look good, but his thirst for darkness smothers some Characters.

Guess why Wonder Woman is the best DCEU movie? It's the one with the least involvement from Snyder.

In conclusion: from a technical point of view, Snyder is excellent with visuals. His storytelling NEEDS a lot of work.

Wait... Asshole overpowered protagonist... Darkness over darkness... Wanton Gore and sex... Visuals over story... He's the perfect director for a God of War movie!!