Zack Snyder fans are stuck defending a favorite the rest of the room just does not get, and after TIFF, that defense just got a lot harder.

Since James Gunn and Peter Safran took the reins at DC, Zack Snyder's talent behind the camera has become a genuine point of contention. Critics have gone after everything from his cinematography, often so dark that audiences find themselves squinting to make out the action, to storylines that seem to unravel under their own weight.

Those criticisms only gained more traction after the underwhelming performance of his recent projects, with Rebel Moon becoming something of a cautionary tale. Despite landing directly on Netflix, the two-part saga failed to hold even a captive streaming audience beyond its opening days.

Now, with critics circling once again, Zack Snyder finds himself on the receiving end of a fresh round of pans, this time over his latest and most personal project, The Last Photograph.

An account by the name of The Hollywood Handle on X posted a couple of reviews of The Last Photograph, and they ranged from “Worst film in Zack’s career” to calling it a “A tedious, frustrating, and grueling experience”. 

Stripped of the reviews, the film is a two-hour-plus thriller drama following an ex-DEA agent as he treks through the South American jungle to find his missing niece and nephew after their diplomat parents are m*******. Helping him along the way: sheer willpower to bring his brother's kids home, and a washed-up war photographer with his own demons to outrun.

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On paper, it has everything Snyder fans show up for — revenge, brooding visuals, a Hans Zimmer score, and the director's most personal story yet. And yet, somehow, that is exactly what makes the reaction so scathing.

Having picked up the right ingredients in the form of  a cast that has Fra Fee and Stuart Martin, and a score co-composed by Hans Zimmer to top it all up, with the movie not released yet, it is difficult to say what exactly does not work for the movie. But the proof of its failure rings especially loud on X.

"JFC and this guy directed Rebel Moon. How did he come up with “Worst film in Zack’s career”? A fan wrote, effortlessly putting down not one but two of Snyder's works.

Comments like "Uh oh another Zack Snyder stinker on deck!" and "To the shock of no one" were frequent occurrences.

But while there are ample numbers of people hating on Snyder and his product, the loyal fans still stand strong.

"If the so-called critics didn't like Zack Snyder's movie, it means the film will be great," one fan wrote in support.

"Critics don't like a snyder Movie? whats new? The more they dnt like it the better" another Snyder fan wrote.

Whether The Last Photograph turns out to be a misunderstood passion project or simply a misfire, it has split Snyder's fanbase right down the line.

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What do you think about the critics' review on The Last Photograph? Let us know in the comments.