Bro this mans star wars series is one of a kind, probably my favorite video essays on youtube. It really opened my eyes on how much of a masterpiece star wars is.

This was nothing short of incredible. I’m by no means a huge fan or apologist for Snyder, but this was a rather refreshing, concise, and neutral look at the man’s filmography and what he likes to bring to his films narratively/philosophically. That open-ended nature is frustrating, but it is undoubtedly different. Love that you’re branching out to other content, please keep up the great work.

What I have always enjoyed about this channel is that it came out of the blue and dropped the hardest star wars analysis videos on the internet. Then continues to make amazing videos

film critics calling anything “politically naive” just sets me off in a way I didnt know existed

When people try to assume Snyder's political leanings from his movies, they often fail to consider how much of his work are adaptations from various sources of different political leanings. Yes, he has brushed with the right wing Miller in adapting '300' and has expressed a desire to adapt the Fountainhead, but he also adapted the anti-fascist owl books and 'Watchmen', which was created by the anarchist Alan Moore. Looking at his original work (such as his DC films or Sucker Punch), it's clear that Snyder is more of a generic liberal, not the quasi randian/fascist/nihilist that people claim him to be

I know lots of people laugh at how hyper-masculine the Spartans look in 300 but, having literally just come back from a holiday in Greece, I think that also ties into the propaganda at play by Delios. In all of the Greek artistry on vases and statues, the strong men are depicted with abs. It's the Greeks portraying (in a romanticised sense) their own idealised version of a male body. The Spartans in 300 also bare those abs, as if taken straight from the marble carvings of a statue of Zeus. It's a glorification of the Greek body through their own propagandistic lens.

I love how you chose to focus on Snyder. I feel that him and Lucas are similar in the way they are willing to be stylishly vulnerable... and how their audiences tragically reject it.

I do like how you did something similar (and quite meta if I'm honest) for the video itself - is it pro-Snyder or anti-Snyder? Neither - it merely presents the two sides just as Snyder does in his own work

The Martha scene in BvS is not about Batman and Superman becoming “best friends” because they realized their moms had the same first name. That scene is about Superman reminding Batman of Bruce’s own humanity, and after self reflection, Batman realizes the error of his way. Bruce Wayne is coming to the brutal realization that he has become a villain to stop someone else from maybe becoming a villain, and his and Clark’s Mom’s name are completely coincidental. While we can argue about the execution of the scene, the purpose of it is extremely important to Batman’s character arc in the movie, and i find it quite absurd that people genuinely believe that Bruce’s ptsd flashback is actually just him and Superman turning into the super friends because of a stupid meme.

"What is Zack Snyder's Justice League rated R for? I think it's rated R for violence and nudity - no, not nudity. That would be cool" - Zack 'Based' Snyder

You've heard of death of the author where meaning of art is completely divorced from the intent of the author, this is its contraposed : the resurection of the author where you derive your own meaning by first understanding who the author is.

I see what you did there, not giving us a resolution or picking a conclusion, and forcing us to actually contemplate Snyder's motivations. From someone who hates his interpretation of Superman... well done, you just forced me to tackle this from a completely off-balance perspective that short-circuited my usual response. While I believe Superman is best interpreted through a traditionalist perspective, with the core heart being the inherent clear goodness of Clark and the Kents, and that is my biggest criticism of Man of Steel, I will at the very least now find myself wrestling with Snyder's vision with fresh eyes. I may be due for a rewatch of his filmography. This isn't the first time you've done it either, providing an incisive take on the Prequels that resonated with me as well. This was all just a long way of saying thank you, once again.

Zack Snyder is like George Lucas. Everyone praised him for his early works, then criticized him for the more philosophical approach, and now we all want both of them back.

The only other UKposts channel that has the same upload schedule and content quality as Vsauce! (Keep up the good work.)

Your practice of posting high quality, thoughtful videos every couple months is an inspiration

I loved your Star Wars videos, and was beyond elated when you teased one about Snyder -- and you didn't disappoint.

Beautifully done. As a person who's been preaching the gospel of "Snyder's movies have a DIY interpretation" for years now, I teared up a bit towards the end of this. Thank you for making and sharing this with the world.

I do find his work to be highly fascinating for the reasons you listed -it presents us with two sides of the same coin concerning a conflict: - 300: Inspiration or propaganda? - Sucker Punch: Exploitation or empowerment? - Man of Steel: Salvation or destruction?

I was reluctant to watch this as every other Snyder video decides that he’s either the worst or the best and offers nothing of substance more but I’m so glad I watched this as it offered more insight than I could have ever expected

I have loved snyder much longer than I thought. I never knew he did the Guardians of ga'hoole. That movie is so freaking good. The ending being brothers battling because of their differences. I just remember seeing the imagery and being wowed. Gosh, I know what I'm watching tonight. When it comes to movies if they do not explore ideas, they're not doing their jobs. I appreciate the thinkers and ones willing to discuss ideas. If you could not create a video that is two minutes or less discussing the general concept and idea of a movie and think wow "I should watch that" the movie sucks.

One thing I love about Snyders movies is that if you take random clips from all his movies and put them together like you did at the end of this video, it seems to create one universe

I greatly enjoyed _300_ and _Sucker Punch._ I also greatly enjoyed the director's cut of _BvS._ And the _Man of Steel._ And _Watchmen._ And _Synder Cut: Justice League._

I sure know Snyder isn't perfect and has some writing and executing problems, but I love his depth and symbolism and how his movies aren't following Hollywoods philosophy of only money. His movies are art that does exactly what it's supposed to do: split the opinions and tastes of the people. And pitifully the mainstream isn't on board.

I have been waiting 6 months for your next release and I was not disappointed. I am much less familiar with Snyder than Stars Wars, but your same artistic and clear way of breaking down directors and their vision was as keen as ever. I appreciate how you do not even give an opinion but instead, like Snyder, present a story that allows our own interpretation.

Wow I just finished rewatching all of your videos for the 3rd time and realizing sadly that there are still no new videos and thinking you quit and then this masterpiece pops up. What a timing

I wouldn’t say the Martha scene is clumsy. I think its actually pretty realistic tbh. Bruce goes into shock when he hears that name and then comes to the realization that superman might be more human than he previously thought

This is a perfect summation of Snyder's impact on the industry, his films are meant to be divisive and more layered than your typical Blockbuster. It's nice to see an objective view of his work, because as you mentioned, people go way overboard with the hate and serious accusations he receives. Some people push for the narrative that this man is a facist, and that's fucked up, especially when everyone who has worked with him has nothing but nice things to say about him.

Snyder’s movies are my absolute favorite. I still haven’t seen Sucker Punch - but I can’t rewatch BvS enough. Ironically, that movie had a very real life example of how this story plays out with WB cutting 30 minutes from the film and two sides completely hating each other without trying to see eye-to-eye. I hated the theatrical version, but I am awestruck by the Ultimate Edition. I have seen that film no less than 15 times and it gets better every rewatch.

Suckerpunch was definitely anime inspired. So if things are a little off, like in the combat scenarios, yeah that’s why. Anime can be quite crazy

Well at least one thing we can all agree on is how cool it is that every person who worked with Snyder has nothing but praise for him. Both Emily Browning and Gal Gadot were about to leave the acting business but working with Snyder changed their minds

A great take. Snyder’s basically a maker of Rorschach inkblots. Idk if that makes his movies good, but it does make them interesting.

It really feels natural for you to tackle a filmmaker like Snyder after your videos on George Lucas & Star Wars. I consider them both as some of the greatest auteurs of our time, but at the same time a lot of their work seems to be the most controversial. For that reason, I would love to see that video on Avatar next. Despite a lot of the praise and success of James Cameron in the past, I feel like he's a filmmaker who's sparked a lot of controversy with his upcoming Avatar sequels. It would be an interesting topic to explore, because it's undoubtedly one of the most ambitious projects we've seen from a single filmmaker since the Star Wars prequels, but on the other hand there's a lot of people out there who think it's a massive waste of time trying to build off a film like Avatar to such a degree. But in many ways I think Avatar is very comparable to the original Star Wars in how it tells a familiar story in a new way, and so it doesn't surprise me why James Cameron would see the potential for what it could do next. After all, as you explored in your How Empire Turns Star Wars On Its Head video, Cameron shares a lot of similarities to Lucas with their approach in how they continue to explore ideas in their sequels.

8:32 ish perfectly describes zack's work. it says "eh, why not" to every interpretation. sometimes it gets in the way of the movie, but he wouldnt be zack snyder if he didnt do it

AMAZING FILM REVIEW! Finally a critic who understands Snyder’s style of storytelling. Also in a time where movies and entertainment is constantly preaching to us and telling us what to think, this essay GETS why I love him as a filmmaker/ storyteller. His film always stir interesting debates which is something that can’t be said about most of Hollywood’s Directors.

Awesome video. So well edited. And OMG you mentioned GUARDIANS!! I was watching the whole video imagining what comment I can make about Guardians, my favorite Snyder film (Ikr) and then bam you put it in at the end. ❤‍🔥🦉

Impeccable work my man! Thank you for commiting to low volume and excellent quality!

I do find it interesting that Snyder's next big project, Rebel Moon, is going to apparently be influenced by Star Wars to a large extent

thank you for making an honest and unbiased analysis on snyder

When it came to 300 I always thought we were being shown the legend, partly because none of us know the truth of what happened, and partly because few of us actually want to know. As for Suckerpunch, when you actually look at the protagonists, the only innocent among them is the one that leaves/escapes, and each of them comes to the conclusion during their escapades that she is the only one who deserves it. The bus driver at the end, and his face showing in all the fantasy scenes, suggests that there is a supernatural element encouraging them to redeem themselves, and they do so by sacrificing themselves for her, but that's just a pet theory of mine.

Awesome video! I was certainly taken aback by the mentioning of the Guardians of Ga'hool. Seemed like it was an incredibly movie that is rarely mentioned nowadays. I look forward to seeing your next video!

It's funny, the order of the videos you have been making has been tracking almost exactly with the movies I have been watching or thinking about at the time. Always great to hear your insights

Martha scene is breaking down Batman’s idea that Superman was an alien/god that was detached from humanity. When Superman was about to die his only plea was for him to save his mother. It wasn’t the name Martha that spared Superman but Lois Lane explaining that it is “His Mother”. In the scene you see that Bruce becomes more aggressive after hearing Martha but drops the spear when he realizes he was wrong about Superman. Batman was a villain in BvS that blamed Superman for what happened in Metropolis. Blame it on PTSD or Survivors guilt, it’s definitely a different take on Batman.

I just love love love that you're branching out to different movies now. Your Star Wars breakdowns were all amazing, and I'm glad you have the freedom to cover whatever you want. You really captured my own feelings on Zack Snyder as a filmmaker. Everything about him is so contradictory yet somehow works, and it works in a way that nobody else could pull off.

Great to see you making videos again. You 100% have the most intelligent, sophisticated and interesting breakdown and analysis videos on the internet. Incredible work! I hope to see more soon

This was your first video I've watched that analyzed movies I (mostly) hadn't seen myself, and I want to say, it was still fascinating, entertaining, and thought provoking. So now you and I have some evidence that I didn't like all your previous stuff just because I'm a glutton for Star Wars. Nice work!

Zack is kinda of a thinking man's movie? If that's what I'm interpreting. I really do enjoy his DC stuff. It doesn't come off as "Goofy" like Marvel. I enjoy most them also. I'd love to see what Zack would do with Spawn.

I feel like not including Dawn of the Dead takes away from Snyders obvious stylistic touches that he's built on with every subsequent film. A lot can be seen in it that he refined later, it's almost bizarre.

Snyder made me love superman,he is the reason why I started reading superman comics and loved wholesome superman(all star superman) so without him I would think that Superman is boring

300 was written from the perspective of a witness to the battle of Thermopylae, and explorers in ancient times were known for exaggerating things they saw on their travels. Not only that, the story is deliberately embellished to hype up the other Greek city-states to fight the Persians.

I’d more than argue that he is more like Christopher Nolan then some realize :-)

Some of my favorite movies are Watchmen, Sucker Punch, 300, Man of Steel. Shame on me for never realizing those movies have one thing in common, Zack Snyder. And after watching this video, it's pretty darn obvious. The way narrative is told and the cinematography. Pick a random timestamp from any of those, take a screenshot, and odds are you'll get a really cool desktop background. You made me make a decision to re watch every Snyder movie. Owl thing will be a new one for me. Big thanks, big like and a new sub. Keep up the great work

i really hate that idiots bash synder for no reason, he is just a director that loves his job and puts alot of passion and care into his projects. it's like what happened with george lucas. diffrence is that lucas was only being bashed by false star wars fans, synder was being bashed by the wb and false dc fans.

Amazing video, I'm a big fan of Snyder's films, but even I didn't see some of the things you mentioned! I didn't appreciate 300 and Sucker Punch as much as I probably should have. I have always loved how his movies don't preach or bang a message on to the audience, but rather allow us to choose how we view a scene, and allows for lots to infer, especially BvS.

Bravo! Love that you’re interested in snyder’s work ! Can’t wait for the next star wars video though 💙

I have a problem with a statement like "critics couldn't decide if it was good or not," based on an average rating. The truth is more that some liked it and some didn't. A lack of consensus among critics doesn't mean they were undecided. It just means the opinions of several individual critics weren't agreeing on whether it was good or bad. I doubt any of those critics wrote or said "I don't know if this was good or bad." That nitpick aside, great video!

I love your channel, not only it has s tier content but your relaxing voice and your script makes your videos a relaxing movie lesson.

Your comment about the womens sexuality in Sucker Punch being both exploitative and empowering reminds me of what the Worms Hole said about how many women in nerd culture portray this dual nature. Like with Wonder Woman or any other female comic book character - are they feminist icons or just there to titillate the senses? Both can be true. Snyder is taking that point and extrapolating it onto women in culture as a whole. Throughout history, their bodies have been preyed upon and exploited by men, but have also served as an empowering tool to get by in society.

i neither love nor hate a dude that directs movies. you have hits, you have misses, and unless you're a creative that has gone through that and been judged by many, you won't understand.

17:57 « Snyder seems less interested in telling you what to think, than to give you things to think about ». It’s what defines a storyteller, as Brandon Sanderson said in The Way of Kings. Powerful quote, perfectly used here in this video !

The fact he presents questions about really complex ideas and leaving you to answer them for yourself with the pieces he's presented is a big reason why I like pretty much all of his movies (I still haven't seen Army of the Dead tbh). In a lot of ways, he's very antithetical to the mainstream of Hollywood these days, which I think is partially why he's so divisive. Honestly, I think the media in particular has had it out for the guy ever since Sucker Punch for all of the reasons you described. Is it accurate or fair? No, but good on him for taking it all in stride (even if he does have some off moments). I don't think he's perfect at everything he sets out to do, amd I can always find some specific creative decision I don't particularly love, but he always knows how to leave an impression that keeps me mulling his movies over in my mind well after I see them, which is something I always love when a director is capable of doing that. He puts more thought and consideration into everything he does on a subtextual level than most big name diriectors imo, which is why he's definitely one of my favorite directors working today.

I feel like despite some clunky delivery and a clumsy attempt to introduce the Justic League, BvS was an absolutely underrated masterpiece.

the thing is... EVERYTHIING HE MAKES BECOME A CULT CLASSIC.... WATCHMEN-300-BVS-MOS-JL.... AND TO ME... THAT WHAT MAKES SOMEONE A GOOD STORY TELLER... WRITING A GOOD STORY.... STORY THAT EFECTS DIFFERENT PEOPLE DIFFERENTLY..

Great video, I think this may become one of my favourite video essay channel honestly.

Can't say I liked Sucker Punch. In fact, I kind of hated it. To me, it felt like the work of a man who fell in love with visuals. No matter the underlying _meat_ of it, the message-that-be was something that could have been condensed into a thirty minute short film. The idea that the movie also wasn't exploitative because it lampshaded itself... That never quite flew with me either. The promotional material was quite clear on this, and coming out after the fact that I was in the wrong for seeing the movie based on that? Nowadays, I'm used to promoters spitting in the face of potential consumers but back then that was quite the slap. Really soured everything.

I was somewhat reluctant to be convinced, but I can see Snyder from a new perspective now. I think you could do a follow up, though, because I think he reveals more of himself than you give him credit for, in the way he presents both these dichotomies themselves, and the respective sides of them.

Sucker Punch blew me when I finally watched it last year. It revealed to me that there was a lot more to Snyder than I thought. I wish he'd do another completely original idea.

Also! Gotta mention. The title is really clever and ironic. I almost didnt click on it bc yt Snyder takes r so dull and redundant, but your Anti- Sequel one that I watched first made me consider what u had to say. Took only a few seconds to let go of that instinctual barrier I have to put on when searching for anything mos/bvs. The title makes me laugh now. Great job!

Happy to see my favorite video essayist getting sponsors lol. Great video as always!

As someone who loves Sucker Punch, it always saddens me how it was torn apart. It really suffered from the execs trying to force it into a teen rating. A lot of context (darker themes) were removed from the realities closer to the real world. I know we got the extended cut, but I would have loved to have seen the movie if it wasn't made to be accessible by a broader age range.

Does anyone care what critics think, anymore?

This was great. The calm, concise perspective of this channel is not just persuasive but eye-opening. Thank you for this!

That incredible insight with that purposeful editing! Your analysis never fails to inspire!

I've never seen any of Snyder's films, but I've heard no shortage of opinions on them, heh. It was really cool hearing you talk about his work~ I hope you'll do more stuff like this in the future, and continue to tackle films and directors and etc outside the Star Wars universe. :)

I like Snyder's films. Good video! Thanks!

This is an underrated channel. You make some of the best video essays. Keep it up!

It is finally here! Thanks for posting, your channel is so underrated 👍👍

People are completely oblivious about 300 i swear. First of all it’s based on the graphic novel first, not historical accuracy. Secondly, the reason there are strange monsters and giant elephants and such is because of who narrates the story throughout the movie. The guy missing an eye, like most other Greeks have never seen or heard of much outside of Greece. When he describes the elephants to his soldiers he’s doing it from the perspective of someone who had never seen/heard of elephants before. To the Greeks the elephants are giant and monstrous because they’re new, and this goes for everything that is portrayed as monstrous. It’s all exaggerated because it’s a story being retold by someone.

It's odd how much I hated him then suddenly fell in love with his work. Getting the brief chance to work with him, was one of the coolest moments of my life

Amazing work! What I love about Snyder movies is that they’re so thought-provoking and you can rewatch them many times and still find something new every time.

man you are a master piece, love your work you do this kinds of videos of anime like hxh a story thats to well put for a naked eye to understand fully...

Brilliant video. You really nailed down the core idea of every Snyder movie is about exploring ideas bigger than the movie itself. And yes some of the points he makes in his films are more for us to discuss than him resolving themselves, but it's why his movies are always interesting to watch.

Glad you make this, shows you can competently speak of movies aside from Star wars and your analysis is on point Personally I don’t like BvS but I like Snyder, he keeps is dreams but isn’t an ass to those who dislike him which is too rare in Hollywood Again, congrats for the vid

I love how you've branched out beyond just Star Wars, I'd be very interested with what you have to say about many other films and directors.

Welcome back! I really missed your videos.

While I’ve always loved his sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant symbolism, I’ve also always appreciated how most of Snyder’s movies really make you think. They don’t force a narrative or message down your throat, but that doesn’t mean they are devoid of meaning. He doesn’t treat his audience like idiots who need everything spelled out for them, which I think has unfortunately become commonplace in movies and TV.

Gets asked why did you dress the girls like that Synder: you did that Me: lol bro I wasn’t on set that day

This was brilliant!!! The best art always asks questions rather than provide answers. Great stuff!

This honestly puts Snyder into a perspective that I could never explain, and I feel like the world should see this. He complicates things, but the complication can be misunderstood, and I think the best way to understand it, as you mention, is to find the contradictions at play within each film’s narrative. The film narratives themselves aren’t contradictory, but it’s the contradictions they propose through the way they’re pointed out when viewing tools of a story. Man of Steel did this masterfully based on how you put it, and I applaud you for it. I genuinely do think Snyder gets a bad wrap for many reasons, but this video helps clear things up a lot. Side note: I think the real flaw behind the drama surrounding 300 is that people think it’s based on the actual battle, and it helps if people know it’s really based on a COMIC BOOK DEPICTION of the battle. The characterization and narration by Dilios should put that into perspective. Aside from Dilios’s own story, it doesn’t seem to put it into a propaganda mindset, and to put it bluntly, it’s really made as a wild comic adaptation that seeks to elaborate more on the 300 spartans’ complex themes in a better way than the book. Is it 100% perfect? No. But I think it comes back to that slight misunderstanding of the movie’s motivation and directive purpose. Oh, and the criticism of it relating to Hitler was just flat out dumb.

Just finished the video. I love how you contrasted the shot of darkseid holding up his arms when on earth and Superman healing from the sun above it. It’s very true that Zacks pure cinema is off the charts, with so much being said and asked in every frame. You see his special talent when other directors really can’t copy his lighting and richness, let alone conveying ideas on this level. I was ten when Batman vs Superman came out, and I remember watching the comic con announcement years before and knowing what it was from (I had seen the dark khight returns animated films). Me and my dad literaargued years about who could Win. I remember my parents friends trying to be nice to me by asking me who I thought would win. I was a Batman evangelist. I specifically remember having dreams about going to the movies in a giant theater with ramps to get to different levels and talking about it with the people I was going to see it with. But I got to be honest, that was the first time I really didn’t like a movie. The action was fun, it was jaw dropping to look at especially from my mere decade old eyes, but I hated it. (Of course this is my reaction/ my opinion). I felt just depressed because I felt no hope, and when Superman does believe in himself again, I felt like it was rushed and that he just had to believe. When the extended version came out I asked my parents to buy it for my birthday, maybe I would like it more. My mom commented how she though it fleshed it out more, and I agreed but I still am left empty to this day. I do believe BvS is a master peace in its own right, and I understand that he is using the characters more as vehicles (while they are still pretty fleashe out) to dicsuss the idea of human identity and fear of not knowing, but as a child who needed hope and seeing Superman not have it himself, even if the was a lot to offer besides that, left he empty. I always have like DC more than marvel, and always felt sad that my friends always trashed on the dc movies. But I wouldn’t trash them as well, I would just say I understand, because I know why they loved Marvel. Even if they are a amusement park compared to the museum of snyders work, it felt like his museum was an art gallery that could have been a walk through exhibit to teach and inspire. Ironically he explores the fine line between the latter and propaganda, which I appreciate. I have made It my mission to fully educate myself on everything that could be deemed offensive in Superman’s history, but also everything that inspires. From him saying buy war bonds and promoting slap a nap (I know the context), to him saying to school Children that Americans come in all variation in the 50s. What I have found is a idea so powerful yet so layer when explored that I can say I love Superman more than someone loves Shakespeare and his intricacies. As you would have guessed, I still Find that BvS while very literate itself, does not have this. I like the Snyder cut, but still didn’t get the wonder that up in the sky provides. I just wish that Zack believed more in Superman (I think he does a lot), in the aspects that we NEED to see overcome our darkest days, and him flying the spear in his doomsday was not enough for me. I would love to have discourse about this.

One of these director video essays would be great for Christopher Nolan

Hey, just wanted to pay tribute to the great work you in pacing this stuff. Lots of movies to go through without repeating yourself. Top job ;)

bro the way this guy edits his videos.. I absolutely love it.

*"In the world of the blind the one-eyed man is king."*

Another layer to the onion that is sucker punch, the whole thing feels like him going back to homebase, in the sense that he started out doing music videos and the whole movie feels like if a music video was 2 hours.

The fact you don’t have over a Million subs is an absolute crime. Keep up the great work man!

Very interesting and well though, the quality your video never fail to amaze me

I never noticed your southern accent until now. I'm only a few minutes into the video, my question is whether you'd been hiding it previously or brought out a thicker version for this video..? specifically.

Thanks for clearing this up mate, I'm unironically going to look at Snyder's movies from a whole new perspective from now on

One of my favorite UKposts channel made a video essay about one of my favorite director, life is getting better

6:18 Exactly! Any time this movie comes up, I wait to see if someone is going to acknowledge this point.