Director Profile: Zack Snyder

There are many people out there who will heartily disagree with me when I make the statement that director Zack Snyder is one of the most talented men in Hollywood right now.  It’s rather unfortunate, but most of his films have received poor reviews for one reason or another.  While the recycled garbage of MichaelBay and the Fast and Furious franchise continue to draw in audiences, Snyder’s work is overlooked.  Much of this has to do with the fact that Snyder sticks primarily to adapting works from comic books and graphic novels - one of the surest ways to have armies of fanboys rage at you.  More so, he takes on movies that are high-profile, igniting that rage even further.  But to me, Snyder is one of the most innovative directors out there and, eventually, he will prove it by creating something so good that even the traditionalists can’t argue against him.

Already far outclassing the Bays of the world, Snyder takes a unique approach to the way he puts his films together.  He uses a blend of traditional cinematics with the innovations that have come through new mediums, particularly video games.  When I watch one of his movies, I feel drawn into it, as if I had a controller in my hand and my every thought dictated the outcome of the story.  And though he may not make the best decisions when it comes to casting or certain script choices, it is this willingness to go outside of the standard that is one of his greatest strengths.  Whereas most directors attempt to make a film from the written word, it’s almost as if Snyder instead views his films as paintings, the literary nature of them less important than the pure stimulating effect they have on visual portion of the brain.  Unfortunately, this leads to many problems, the least of which is people not “getting” what he’s trying to say.  Here I’ll be breaking down a list of his movies and elaborating on what I think to be the good and the bad of each of them.  Read on to endure my fanboy obsession with Zack and his many adapted worlds.

Dawn of the Dead (2004) -

Snyder’s big move into the movie world began with a remake.  I can’t say much about this, as I am such a die-hard Romero fan that any attempt to remake his films leave a bad taste in my mouth.  Still, with a moderate 75/77% at Rotten Tomatoes, he must have been doing something right.

300 (2006) -

The Spartan kill-fest known as 300 is the flick that really put Snyder in the spotlight. Shot with a style that many compare to a music video, we see the full extent of how Snyder does business.  He concentrates on the visuals, using lots of slow motion and stylistic effects to convey action scenes unlike anything we’ve seen before.  Some may claim he ripped off The Matrix with its “bullet-time” effects, but Snyder really brings that now-cliché style of shooting action to the next level.  In the end, this movie proved far more popular with audiences than with critics, ranking a split 60/89% over at Rotten Tomatoes.

Watchmen (2009) -

Many people had criticisms over Snyder’s adaptation of The Watchmen.  In truth, this was a suicidal project to take on.  This comic series is loved by many passionate fans and anyone that made this film would have received a healthy dose of hate.  The series never should have been turned into one less-than-three-hours film, but Snyder does the best damn job he could have.  Personally, I can’t think of anyone that would have done a better job given the circumstances.  It only ranks at 64/70% over at Rotten Tomatoes, but I would guess that much of that has to do with fans of the comics being dissatisfied.  Even being a huge fan of the original series and of its creator Alan Moore, I still enjoyed The Watchmen.

Sucker Punch (2011) -

This is the Snyder movie that receives the most hate.  Rotten Tomatoes has it ranked at 23/47%, a huge plunge from his previous flicks.  Personally, I love Sucker Punch.  I know I am one among about 10 people in the world, but this is my second favorite Snyder film after Man of Steel.  Although the movie suffers from a healthy dose of bad acting, the visual effects are amazing, the action scenes are fun to watch and there’s a multi-layered complexity to the film that most miss due to its many other flaws.  I would say it’s the most underrated of Snyder’s movies.  Of course, I’m probably alone in that belief.

Man of Steel (2013) -

Though many lamented at the darker version of the Superman mythos, Man of Steel is probably my favorite super hero movie ever, easily on-par with The Avengers and the first Iron Man.  We can see how Snyder has matured in his storytelling, stepping back from the usual slo-mo and concentrating more on bringing in good actors and having them put on their best performances.  And while some may scream bloody murder at the fact that Superman isn’t the Boy Scout they grew to know and love as kids, Snyder takes a bold step in portraying a new incarnation, one that will, I believe, be justified when he continues the franchise with the 2015 Batman vs. Superman.  Rotten Tomatoes has this movie rated at 56/77%, though from reading the reviews it’s obvious that most of the hate comes from people comparing his movie with their own personal visions of what Superman should be and not from the movie as a whole.  I mean, when the recycled mess that is Fast & Furious 5 beats out Man of Steel by 21% from the >critics<, you know something is awry.

While the RT scores stand against what I’m preaching here, I do believe that with the upcoming Batman vs. Superman flick, people will see a side of Snyder that will truly impress them.  He’s matured as a director quite a bit during his 10 years in the business (minus some very minor projects a long time ago) and with Christopher Nolan’s hand on his shoulder he should be able to learn the lessons he needs to excel.  I may just be a big fanboy, but I do believe I shall be justified come summer of 2015.  Then I get to waggle my finger at the haters and say “I told you so!”

Photo Credits -           

Zack Snyder courtesy of hollywood.com

300 courtesy of bubblews.com

Watchmen courtesy of popgoestheweek.com

Sucker Punch courtesy of fanpop.com

Man of Steel courtesy of sciencefiction.com