Zack Snyder
272 connections found
Filmography
Sucker Punch 2011 
Man of Steel 2013 
Justice League 2017 
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 2016 
Watchmen 2009 
300 2007 
Zack Snyder's Justice League 2021 
Dawn of the Dead 2004 
Army of the Dead 2021 
Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver 2024 
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire 2023 
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole 2010 View:
Connections, in both directions
Excalibur (1981)
Directed by John Boorman
influenced Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver (2024)
There are nice, smaller touches, too: A poster for John Boorman’s Excalibur in the opening scene finds a sly echo in the climax.
The story does take an epic, rangy perspective, as the long setup jumps from one far-flung locale to another to establish pockets of evil while also dramatizing Bruce Wayne's backstory, here conceived as seeing his parents gunned down in the street after emerging from a theater showing Excalibur.
Not only are these time-shifts audacious (movie marquees announce the 1940 The Mark of Zorro and the 1981 Excalibur — implying the evolution of history), but so is Snyder’s proposition about the nature of heroism and vengeance: Both stem from the way individuals react to and comprehend their experiences.
References to Copernicus, Nietzsche, Nabokov are topped by two homages: a recurring shot of a theater advertising John Boorman’s Arthurian riff, “Excalibur,” as backdrop to street crime, foreshadowing a gleaming sword fashioned from kryptonite that is haphazardly plunged into a wretched pool and later retrieved from it as if only to validate the allusion.
Besides another run-through of Bruce Wayne’s tragic backstory (including an odd nod to John Boorman’s Excalibur ), Dawn Of Justice strains to both set up a plausible conflict between the two superheroes, and shift pieces into place for future sequels and spin-offs.
We open on familiar ground with the young Bruce Wayne being orphaned yet again, this time in the shadow of a movie theatre pointedly playing Excalibur .
Immortals ends up being sort of like 300 meets The Matrix in its best moments.
There's a battle sequence that ends the film that has some zest to it, if only because it's shot in "300" Vision, where the action freezes and then speeds up so we can feel every THWACK and GOOOSH.
The more satisfying is to compare it to its two most obvious antecedents, 300 and Clash of the Titans , and think to oneself, "Holy balls!
But if you can’t tell your Medea from Medusa — but love the Frank Frazetta musculature and slo-mo, blood-splattered violence of films such as “300” — buy your ticket now.
Not since "300" has so much Greek flesh been bared in service of such gratuitous carnage.
The movie "300" was important because it was one of the first films to fully embrace the idea that action movies are all about style over substance.
World War Z (2013)
Directed by Marc Forster
influenced by Dawn of the Dead (2004), Army of the Dead (2021)
Themes Plot Music Characters Visuals
There's not a thing in World War Z that hasn't been done better in another film from these apocalypse-minded times-- the science angle evokes Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the zombie terror Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later or Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead, and the scenes of city-wide destruction could come from virtually any recent summer blockbuster.
At different points in the story, “World War Z” strongly resembles Zack Snyder’s “Dawn of the Dead” remake and Steven Soderbergh’s “Contagion,” and I suppose Danny Boyle and Alex Garland should be flattered by the Vulcan mind-meld level of rip-off perpetrated upon their 2002 near-masterwork “28 Days Later.”
Add in a soundtrack full of ominous droning and some Dawn of the Dead sleazy-keyboard noddling, and by Romero, we’ve got ourselves some seriously overwhelming spectacle.
Like the zombies of Zack Snyder’s remake of “Dawn of the Dead,” these are not the plodding creatures we are used to.
But star and producer Pitt is the general manager of this enterprise, and he shrewdly ripped a page from James Gunn’s revisionist playbook for the 2004 remake of “Dawn of the Dead.”
Even Zack Snyder‘s refried Dawn of the Dead managed to squeeze that in between head-choppings.
Batman (1989)
Directed by Tim Burton
influenced Justice League (2017), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Sucker Punch (2011), Man of Steel (2013), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
Plot Themes Music
In Gotham, Bruce uses his vigilante Batman alter ego to plot revenge against Superman.
Snyder is the face of one of the biggest franchises in movies, and it is now time to marry the Superman name to a new version of the other big DC franchise, Batman.
Later, when Wayne encounters an inquisitive Clark Kent at a fundraising dinner, the two politely argue over the danger of each other’s secret alter egos – it’s hard for Clark to accept the legendary “Batman” as a crusader of justice when he is so violent against his criminals, and Bruce rejects the notion that the Superman is “godly,” especially when his very existence so frequently spells disaster for all those he claims to protect.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the second feature in DC Comics’ Extended Universe, as well as the second collaboration between director Zack Snyder and screenwriter David S. Goyer after 2013’s underwhelming Man of Steel. 1 Not content with simply rebooting their wildly successful Batman franchise for the third time, Warner Brothers have banked on Snyder’s Dawn of Justice to both solidify Ben Affleck as a viable candidate to regularly don Batman’s signature cape and cowl and, more importantly, to ensure an influx of other licensed DC intellectual properties (cinematic, comic and action figurine-based).
As such, "Justice League" stands on "Wonder Woman’s" shoulders to leap into infinity, and you’ll leave it believing "Aquaman," "Flashpoint," "Wonder Woman 2," "Cyborg," "Green Lantern Corps," "Batman," "Man Of Steel 2," can take the DCEU into the beyond.
Kudos to Danny Elfman, who went back to basics for his score, drawing heavily on his own theme from Batman (1989) but not ignoring the previous work of other composers (both recent and not-so-recent).
Seven Samurai (1954)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
influenced Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)
Plot
Co-written by Kurt Johnstad ( 300 ) and Shay Hatten ( John Wick: Chapter 4 ), Rebel Moon is obviously borrowing a lot from Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai .
The story is blatantly inspired by Seven Samurai as a group of “space fascists” with wardrobe so clumsily obvious, it’s like a spoof of a satire ( Starship Troopers ), descend upon a farming community on some distant planet and force the locals to give up nearly their entire harvest or be destroyed.
It was a cross between Star Wars and Seven Samurai, where he even originally pitched his idea to Lucasfilm as a standalone Star Wars movie not connected to the Skywalker saga.
If all of that sounds familiar, it’s because Rebel Moon cribs its plot wholesale from Akira Kurosawa’s classic Seven Samurai alongside its heaping helping of Star Wars .
That Rebel Moon is so clearly riffing off of Star Wars and Seven Samurai makes its failure more interesting.
The art direction nods to H.R. Giger’s designs for “Alien,” but the colors are leaden, and so is the pacing.
Where the red-booted one’s last bigscreen appearance, Bryan Singer’s 2006 “Superman Returns,” was conceived as a mash note to Richard Donner’s iconic 1978 “Superman,” Snyder, Goyer and Nolan (who also shares a story credit) labor to distance “Man of Steel” from those precursors, starting with a Krypton that looks less like an ice castle in the sky than a grayer, grimier version of “Avatar’s” Pandora (by way of “Alien”).
Baby Kal-El is sent to Earth in a rocket — the retro-futuristic designs owe a tremendous debt to “Alien’’ — as his parents die in the destruction of Krypton, though the spirit of Jor-El is brought back for more expository curtain calls than the ghost of Hamlet’s father.
(But H.R. Giger, the Swiss artist behind the Alien designs, should take a look - and then call his lawyer.)
It opens on Planet Krypton, an ornately designed landscape of rock and lasers that resembles what would happen if the sets from the Matrix movies had a baby with the ones from Alien.
It has wobbly handheld camerawork signifying "authenticity," a glum color palette, skyline-shattering super-fights, hardware whose designs crib from " Alien ," " Dune ", " Independence Day " and Spielberg's " War of the Worlds ," and a detailed mythology that can plug into an expansive, Marvel-style "universe."
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
influenced Man of Steel (2013), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
Themes
The Last Temptation of Christ 's Willem Dafoe actually gets to speak extensive dialogue, unlike Kiersey Clemons, Robin Wright, and David Thewlis.
Given all the film’s Christ references (Superman is 33 years old when he takes on his superhero identity, and at one point he is framed with a stained glass portrait of Jesus over his shoulder), the scene makes one think of The Last Temptation of Christ and how Nikos Kazantzakis imagined Jesus’s simultaneous humanity and divinity as a source of unrelenting torment.
That also means that the tone of the movie is akin to The Last Temptation of Christ, and a little more funereal than most.
He may be the first comic-book superhero in film who suffers the same doubts about his divine humanity as Jesus does in Nikos Kazantzakis’ novel The Last Temptation of Christ and the controversial 1988 movie made from it.
Transformers (2007)
Directed by Michael Bay
influenced Man of Steel (2013), Sucker Punch (2011)
Visuals
A quarter-century ago, at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design, Snyder numbered among his classmates Michael Bay (Transformers) and Tarsem Singh (The Fall); his own movies, usually shot on bare stages with long takes, bodies twirling in slo-mo and lots of green-screen work, might be located at the midpoint between Bay's pummeling soullessness and Singh's epic surrealism.
Michael Bay's third Transformers movie brazenly evoked 9/11, and one action movie after another has done the same.
Without the wit, winks, flirtation and old-fashioned sentiment of the “Truth, justice and the American way” take on the character, all Henry Cavill (“Immortals”) has to do is mix it up in a lot of “Transformers” inspired brawls with armored-plated aliens and occasionally agonize over it all.
That’s partially because he has to participate in a giant action climax that uncomfortably recalls the final battle in Michael Bay’s third Transformers movie.
The picture borrows imagery from movies much better ( The Matrix , for one) and not much worse (the Transformers films).
The moral issue is certainly perplexing, as all those falling buildings are likely killing thousands of people, none of whom are given even a second thought, but there is also the issue of artistic banality: So many modern action films end in this manner, from Michael Bay’s deadening Transformers movies to Joss Whedon’s The Avengers (2012), that the impact of entire city blocks being turned into rubble is virtually nonexistent.
Like the ghouls in Dawn of the Dead, they are drawn to the things they coveted in life, only in this case it's wifi and chardonnay.
As evidenced by sequences in George Romero's Dawn of the Dead, the zombie subgenre provides ample room for comedy, with films like Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland fully exploiting the post-apocalyptic situations' comedic potential.
The film's political references are somewhat scattershot overall, as are its efforts to comment on modern consumerism by using mindless zombies as a metaphor (a la what Romero's Dawn of the Dead did).
It's an homage to Romero's Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead first and above all, from the Pennsylvania setting to a pin being worn by genre geek Bobby Wiggins (Caleb Landry Jones), who is with Ronnie one of two characters who seems quite aware that he's in a zombie movie, to the themes of social atomisation that Jarmusch has borrowed without altering them even slightly from Dawn.
This is a nod to Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead,” where the zombies return to a huge shopping mall, endlessly roaming its corridors — basically indistinguishable from any shopping mall on any weekend afternoon.
From the science mumbo-jumbo exposition explaining why the zombies have risen (cleverly packaged in a real-life topical environmental message) to the Canada Dry-dry reaction our heroes have to the carnage that surrounds them, this is zombies as a fashion-statement on a typically solid Jarmusch film – not Art House Dawn of the Dead.
Superman (2025)
Directed by James Gunn
influenced by Man of Steel (2013), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
Themes Visuals
2025’s Superman is a counter to the DCEU’s opening film, Man of Steel, a dreadful movie that fundamentally misunderstood Superman by lionising his Godhood…
I really like Man of Steel initially, but after watching it a few more times, I’m starting to like it less and less.
Zack Snyder’s MAN OF STEEL in 2013 was dragged for its excessive destruction of Metropolis for the better part of an hour, so why do the same thing here?
Gunn may be keen to move out of Snyder’s shadow and the fascistic embodiment of American exceptionalism behind…
Batman v Superman comparisons. Snyder vs Gunn…
…this poptastic, colour-saturated, zinger- and needle drop-filled movie seeks to distinguish itself from the sepia-toned sociopathy of Zack Snyder’s reign…
You could say that Sucker Punch is a nymphet version of The Snake Pit or Shutter Island, or a live-action, green-screened redo of The Powerpuff Girls, or Black Swan (Carla Gugino has the demanding dance master role here) with a higher nightmare quotient, or an $82 million tribute to Jess Franco's sublimely cheesy women-in-prison movies of the '70s, or an Americanization of Norifumi Suzuki "pinky violence" melodramas (Girl Boss Guerrilla, Sex and Fury) of the same decade, or, in its backstory about a decent girl deprived of her inheritance and consigned to grow up in a prisonlike environment, a gloss on mid-19th-century classics from Jane Eyre to Little Dorrit.
A field day for schoolgirl fetishists and fanboys with a penchant for steampunk (but with Snyder's leaden dialogue, you've got to call it steamclunk), this staggering failure borrows from Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge, Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's The City of Lost Children, Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, and a variety of psych-ward melodramas from The Snake Pit to The Uninvited.
The same kind of speeches Butler gave the Spartans in “300” that were so inspiring come across in “Gods of Egypt” with so little enthusiasm its as if he’s trying to rally the troops into an afternoon nap.
Gerard Butler regurgitates King Leonidas from 300 and spends most of his screen time stomping around, waving his weapon, preening, and yelling.
He did Knowing , a much-derided Nic Cage vehicle with, it must be said, the courage of its loony convictions, and now here is Gods of Egypt , many years late to the post- 300 ripoff boom.
It’s a mix of “300,” “Clash of the Titans” and “Prince of Persia,” all rendered to look like a video game.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau trades in his missing hand as Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones for an eye patch and Gerard Butler is back in 300 beast mode as a very naughty god who pouts over not being the Chosen One, but neither can save this CG mess.
Mientras que Nikolaj Coster-Waldau y la bella Elodie Young parecen pasárselo genial en la piel del orgulloso Horus y Hathor, la seductora (y traviesa) diosa del amor, respectivamente, y Gerard Butler pasa de marcar abdominales como el heroico Leónidas de Esparta de 300 (Zack Snyder, 2006) a convertirse, con cierto desparpajo, en el malvado de la función; menos inspirado se muestra el joven Brenton Thwaites como un héroe terrenal de manual, casi un sosias del Matthew Broderick de Lady Halcón (Richard Donner, 1985), sobre el que se sostiene la mayor parte del protagonismo de la cinta.
Scott Glenn is the “Wise Man” who gives “Baby Doll,” as Browning’s character is known, the marching orders for her quest.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Directed by George A. Romero
influenced Dawn of the Dead (2004), Sucker Punch (2011)
Themes
Sarah Polley and Ving Rhames lead survivors to safety in "Dawn of the Dead"…
I must confess that I walked into the screening of "Dawn of the Dead", the highly publicized remake of George Romeros 1978 horror masterpiece, with an attitude somewhat less than optimistic.
Of the recent spate of unnecessary remakes of horror classics (2003's 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' being the nadir), the new "re-imagining" of George A. Romero's 1979 'Dawn of the Dead' is probably the least shabby.
But unlike the 1978 "Dawn of the Dead,'' this remake of the George A. Romero film keeps that metaphor implicit and its social satire under wraps.
George A. Romero’s brilliant Dawn of the Dead, released in 1978, was a sharp satire of consumerism disguised as a zombie thriller — and, oh wait, it was a terrific zombie thriller to boot.
Laura: Cowriter (with Steve Shibuya)/director Zack Snyder (2004's "Dawn of the Dead," "Watchmen") returns to the desaturated CGI world of his Spartan epic '300' for his first original story, a women in prison film turned fantasyland videogame.
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
Directed by Cathy Yan
influenced by Justice League (2017), Man of Steel (2013), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Sucker Punch (2011)
Themes
The follow-ups, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League,” were laughed at by critics for their pouting powered people, as the series attempted to make superheroes into disillusioned souls.
For the most part, people enjoyed Man of Steel , but on the other hand, its sequel Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice , not so much.
Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice both underachieved at the box office while eliciting mixed reactions.
To be fair, 2016’s one-two punch of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad earned any and all negative responses, but DC has since found a sweet spot of tone, temper, and fun with films like Wonder Woman (2017) and Aquaman (2018).
Still, the memory of stinkers like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Suicide Squad (2016) linger, despite the latter featuring a standout performance by Margot Robbie as one Harley Quinn.
The changes come from (a) trying to mesh with the previously existing worlds established by Batman v Superman , Squad , and Justice League and (b) serving as easy introductions to the characters.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
Directed by Guy Ritchie
influenced by 300 (2007), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Visuals
Rather, he comes across as an aging rebel worried about being judged un-hip, clearly over-compensating in order to remain one step ahead of fellow stylists Zack Snyder (“300”), Tarsem Singh (“Mirror Mirror”), and Alex Proyas (“Gods of Egypt”) — all of whose genuinely outrageous, inadvertently awful work appears to be a source of inspiration here.
Which is somehow a good thing: Rather than a bone dry, boring version of King Arthur, we get this rock and roll version, which has elements of “300,” “Mission: Impossible” and “Clash of the Titans” baked into its DNA.
Está bien que un cineasta quiera hacer escenas al estilo de “300”, pero hay que usarlas en la medida justa, especialmente si los efectos digitales no acompañan y se ven falsos.
The battles involve ’roided-up, muscular warriors leaping through the air in slow motion, 300 -style.
This time out he reaches back even farther to the legend of King Arthur, a story he once again feels the need to tamper with until it resembles a "300" styled comic book super hero origin story of the old tale.
But while he has the visual style and irreverence of Zack Snyder, and like the Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice director is able to fathom up a striking shot and image, Guy Ritchie also deploys a humor and light-heartedness that makes his approach just that little bit more endearing and charming.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Directed by Joe Russo
influenced Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021), Justice League (2017), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Characters
Then again, when you consider that "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame" have a combined runtime exceeding five hours . . .
It’s a true culmination of the story began in Man of Steel whilst opening itself up for plenty more, and its scope can only really be matched by Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame .
One cannot help comparing the monstrosity of violence that is inflicted upon our superheroes in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame by Thanos compared to the pleasantries exchanged by Darkseid, it seems.
After 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, it’s difficult to watch the introduction of Steppenwolf (voiced by Ciarán Hinds) without comparing it to the arrival of those other harbingers of a cosmic, death-embracing villain, Thanos’ Black Order, especially Ebony Maw.
DC fans might not appreciate the comparison, but the change is comparable to how Avengers: Infinity War improved Thanos from his earlier MCU outings.
Put all these pieces together, and you’re left with a comic book adaptation that feels like an event, and is on a scale every bit as grand as Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame .
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Directed by James Cameron
influenced Justice League (2017), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021)
Barry Allen and Victor Stone both have daddy issues — the former with his incarcerated father (Billy Crudup, an inspired choice to play the progenitor of Ezra Miller’s cheekbones), the latter with his obsessive scientist dad (played by Joe Morton, in a possible nod to his character from Terminator 2: Judgment Day) — which are themselves echoed in Bruce Wayne’s relationship with his butler/surrogate-father/aide-de-camp Alfred (Jeremy Irons).
Cyborg's resentment of his scientist father (Joe Morton, aka Skynet's daddy in "Terminator 2") is built out with empathy and care, and paid off in a genuinely moving climax that offers redemption without canceling ill will.
Cyborg gets at least three times the screen time, with his father Silas (Terminator 2′s Joe Morton, forever tasked with portraying men who create dangerous robots) playing a larger role, too.
Snyder himself says Victor Stone/Cyborg is the heart and soul of this superhero team, and his tragic backstory and flawed relationship with his scientist father ( Terminator 2 ‘s Joe Morton) is, indeed, the new film’s heartbeat.
More than even Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead, it was responsible for the resurgence of the zombie horror on the big and small screen…
…undead as a symbol of mindless consumerism in Dawn of the Dead…
Plus, an optimistic response to “Dawn of the Dead” (2004).
While the movie passes on opportunities to touch on ripe-for-the-plucking social and political themes that linger around the edges of the plot (something last year's speed-zombie modernization "28 Days Later" did very well), it's smart enough and cinematic enough to have much more in common with great genre reinventions like John Carpenter's "The Thing" and Philip Kaufman 's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" than it does with recent trashy cash-in remakes like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Thirteen Ghosts."