The first reactions to director Zack Snyder's Justice League, more commonly known as The Snyder Cut, are now in. So was the movie worth the wait? After one of the biggest fan-led campaigns of all time, Snyder devotees finally got what they always wanted, convincing Warner Bros. To give the filmmaker free reign and release The Snyder Cut to the streaming platform HBO Max, and now, they will find out if their efforts were truly worth it.

In news that should come as a surprise to absolutely no one, The Snyder Cut is pretty much unanimously considered to be an improvement on what audiences saw in theaters back in 2017.

Despite these clear and vital improvements, even those who enjoyed The Snyder Cut did still find some (major) issues.

There are those who can look past these issues though, or perhaps don't even see them in the first place, with one calling the movie "DC's Lord of the Rings. Simple as that. Epic and grand, JL is led by great performances, especially from Ray Fisher. With an amazing score by Junkie XL and Snyder's eye for directing, @SnyderCut is every DC fan's dream movie come to life." Others though found The Snyder Cut a simple continuation of a franchise that they never had much invested in in the first place; "Zack Snyder's Justice League is better than the theatrical cut to be sure and it has some visually cool moments and impressively grand beats. It's also continuing a take on these characters that I just feel very little connection to and I very much felt those four hours."

Of course, some fans are over-joyed with the results of The Snyder Cut...

One element that is sure to surprise many about The Snyder Cut is the humor and light touch, something which many who have seen the movie have commented on. "Zack Snyders Justice League is an epic film that explores all the leagues stories & difficulties and brings them together in a seamless way. It allows the audience to feel the gravitas of the events, the hardships, the defeat, the joy and dare I say humour perfectly," said one fan with another echoing these sentiments saying, "The #SnyderCut is everything fans have hoped for (maybe more). It's true though: it's lighter in tone. The DC team-up blockbuster we've waited for. Still has heart & character moments. I teared up multiple times. Oh, Snyder has a pair."

The Snyder Cut is even described as being the director's "most broadly appealing movie" with many fans now calling for Warner Bros. and DC to #RestoreTheSnyderVerse.

In fact, despite director Zack Snyder recently stating that his movie is not considered canon in the cinematic DC universe, The Snyder Cut has many crying out for a sequel which, considering the success of the campaign to bring Snyder's vision to life, is sure to be the next battle for fans to fight.

There are several improvements that many seem to agree on, with the characterisation of the movie's main villain, Steppenwolf, being one such development.

There are also many who have praised Snyder's more in-depth approach to Justice League member, Cyborg, which results in making the movie a lot more rewarding, with Cyborg's role giving the story the heart it so desperately needed. "#ZackSnydersJusticeLeague is a masterpiece that gave me goosebumps from beginning to end. The whole time I couldn't believe the stuff they left out. And it's crazy how important Cyborg is to the main story in this, he really is the heart of the film," said one fan. Another added that "This film was amazing on all levels. Definitely a Cyborg centered film. I loved Ray Fisher's performance!"

The omission of Cyborg's story has been a major talking point of Justice League for some time, and it is sure to please many to know that this has been restored for The Snyder Cut.

With the social media embargo now lifted, critics have also begun to share their thoughts with Forbes' Scott Mendelson finding fault with The Snyder Cut's bladder-aching runtime, and disappointingly finding it to be very much the same as Joss Whedon's 2017 effort at its core.

Critic Grace Randolph though found The Snyder Cut to be a much more satisfying experience, even going so far as calling the movie "Snyder's best film to date."

Finally, critic Fico Cangiano's thoughts on The Snyder Cut are no doubt exactly what ever Snyder fan has longed to hear.

Much like its theatrical predecessor, The Snyder Cut picks up following the final events of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) is determined to ensure that Superman's (Henry Cavill) sacrifice was not in vain and that the world remains protected, aligning forces with Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) with plans to recruit a team of metahumans to protect the world from an approaching threat of catastrophic proportions.

The movie is due to make many substantial changes to what audiences saw back in 2017, with Snyder returning to the Knightmare world and bringing back several of Batman's most famous foes including Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke and Jared Leo as The Joker. The Snyder Cut reunites the principal cast including Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash, Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman, Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/Cyborg, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta, and J. K. Simmons as James Gordon.

The Snyder Cut will also introduce several elements that were left out of the theaterical version, including Harry Lennix as Martian Manhunter, Ray Porter as the tyrannical villain Darkseid, and Superman's fan-favorite black suit.

After huge investment from the studio, and huge efforts by director Zack Snyder and the fans who fought for years to bring his version of Justice League to light, we don't have to wait too much longer to see whether it was all worth it. Zack Snyder's Justice League is scheduled to be released via HBO Max on March 18, 2021.