Zack Snyder is a filmmaker known for his unique visual style, which includes his tenure in the DCEU. And while he has loyal fans who campaigned for the Snyder Cut, there are also plenty of moviegoers who aren't a fan of his work. And Snyder recently responded to the “cinephile-elite” critic who claimed he “probably masturbated every time he says cut.” Talk about some unique criticism.
While Zack Snyder is fairly synonymous with his work starting the DCEU with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, he’s also got a long resume with non-comic book projects that he’s brought to life. But there are folks out there who simply are not a fan of his work, and have even taken to personally attacking the filmmaker. Snyder spoke with Men’s Health about this dichotomy, and one critic who is claiming his work is masturbatory. In his words:
A lot of intellectuals— I don’t know what you would call it, the cinephile-elite-genre-press people—are kind of anti-me for whatever reason. [Quoting article comment]: ‘Zack Snyder probably masturbates every time he says cut.’
Shots fired. While film sets are often places where big egos are at play, this is seemingly a shot at Snyder as both a person and an artist. And clearly that comment about his masturbating stuck with the 300 director in the time since it was published.
While some fans are still hoping Snyder returns in another upcoming DC movie, he’s been keeping busy and forming some new franchises. While his new sci-fi property Rebel Moon is coming for those with a Netflix subscription, it remains to be seen if the same criticism comes his way. Later in that same interview, the 57 year-old director addressed a misconception about his work, and the handling of male characters in particular. As he put it,
I was just like, Really? You think that’s a cool thing to say? Because you have this perception of me as some sort of supermacho—I don’t think I’m a macho dude. I’m interested in masculine tropes. But as tropes.
This criticism might be connected to Snyder’s penchant for director’s cuts, where he’s able to add way more of his vision to projects that were previously released in theaters. Obviously the Snyder Cut is the most popular, but he’s also worked on Watchmen’s extended version and more. In fact, Snyder’s already got plans for a Rebel Moon director’s cut.
Snyder’s use of masculine tropes can definitely be seen in his work, especially with 300 in particular. That movie features countless ripped shirtless actors, who do battle in the acclaimed action flick. He’s also got plenty of wild action sequences in his movie, which I assume will continue with his work on the burgeoning Rebel Moon franchise.
We’ll just have to wait and see how critics embrace Rebel Moon, and if some scathing critiques come about Zack Snyder. One thing is clear: he reads reviews, including any icky comments about his work being masturbatory.
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire will arrive in theaters on December 15th before going to Netflix on December 22nd. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
