The aspect ratio of Snyder Cut is a confusing visual for a four-hour high-budget superhero epic. As seen above, the film displays large black bars on either side of the screen. Yes, the film is not in 16:9 (or even widescreen). Instead, it is cropped to a 4:3 aspect ratio, which makes it appear boxy.

And there is a surprising reason for this change. Unfortunately, it is also a reason that has little merit, given that it will be released exclusively on streaming platforms. Nevertheless, I can confirm that this is not a major issue. Having seen "Snyder Cut" (check out my review of "Snyder Cut"), I can safely say that the film has bigger problems than its seemingly archaic format.

In July 2020, two months after it was announced that "Snyder Cut" would be released in May 2020, the director explained his intentions at a Justice Con online distribution panel. It turned out that while editing the IMAX scenes for "Batman vs Superman," he became enamored with the format and, in his words, "obsessed with the big squares."

And when he began shooting "Justice League," he did so with that aspect ratio in mind. Of course, Snyder himself did not have the final say on the theatrical release, so we had to wait for the Snyder cut to see the film in the framing the director intended. That said, I don't know of anyone who will be streaming the Snyder Cut in IMAX theaters this weekend.

This unmodified press image of Steppenwolf, the shiny, chrome-plated villain of the Justice League, just looks wrong. It looks as if something was done to destroy the original image.

This took a little getting used to, but eventually I stopped thinking, "Wow, this looks weird." I am sitting not too far from the screen, so perhaps this was not a major distraction. But the film's four-hour length is a much bigger hurdle to overcome.