Zack Snyder’s New War Thriller Officially Sets All-Time Rotten Tomatoes Record

5 hours ago 10

Fra Fee looking gloom in The Last Photograph-3

Published Sep 15, 2026, 11:58 PM EDT

Fariba Rezwan is a Lead Editor for the Movie News team. She has been with ScreenRant for nearly five years, with roles ranging from list editor to junior news editor.

During that time, Fariba has led coverage for breaking movies and TV news, including Hunger Games, Marvel, and streaming. Additionally, she has actively provided commentary and reactions to the biggest movies and shows on her YouTube channel, The Movieception Show.

Zack Snyder's new movie may become the biggest misfire of his career.

After investing much of his career in horror, science fiction, and the DC Universe, the filmmaker made a major shift by directing a new war thriller, The Last Photograph. The movie follows an ex-DEA operative who seeks the help of a war photograph to locate his missing niece and nephew after their parents were murdered. Snyder's passion project took nearly 15 years to make, and it finally debuted at TIFF this past week.

Stuart Martin stares in The Last Photograph

However, with 14 reviews, The Last Photograph is Snyder's second-lowest-rated movie ever, with a 21% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The war thriller is just slightly better than his Rebel Moon sequel, The Scargiver (16%), but just edges behind A Child of Fire (22%).

Unfortunately, the result echoes recent headlines that affirmed the brutally negative reception, as critics even called it one of Snyder's worst movies. Reviews of The Last Photograph emphasized the pretentious tone, gratuitous violence, messy storytelling, and unsatisfying ending. Although the only praise concerns the striking visuals, Snyder's overall direction and style are unfiltered and lack narrative purpose.

Zack Snyder's 5 Lowest-Rated Movies

Rotten Tomatoes Critics' Score

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score

Rebel Moon: Part Two - The Scargiver (2024)	16%	46%
The Last Photograph (2026)	21%	N/A
Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire (2023)	22%	56%
Sucker Punch (2011)	23%	47%
Suicide Squad (2016)	26%	58%

In a recent interview with Variety, Snyder spoke about the extremely poor reviews, as "the discourse is incredibly energized by this battle." While he doesn't want to call it "cool," he stated that "the amount of vitriol I find really incredible." He has seen accusations that he is "fascist," "homophobe," or "bisexual." When he was asked to clarify, the director responded: "I guess! It’s 'homoerotic' and 'transphobic' and 'fascist' and all these things."

Then, the subject was switched to the movie's treatment of women, in which the extreme violence against them ignited accusations of misogyny. He argued, "the violence toward women and men is equal and that nobody is spared," and then elaborated, "To try and superimpose morality over it and want the violence to mean something — the meaning is that violence doesn’t work and doesn’t get anything done."

The Auteur · Cut to Black How Well Do You Know Zack Snyder? “Three hours minimum. Probably four.”

🧟ZombiesWhere it began

⚔SpartansThis is Sparta!

🕰WatchmenTick… tock…

🛡The DCEUHope is the S

🎬Snyder CutRelease it

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Snyder spent the 1990s directing music videos and high-end commercials (Nike, Reebok, Jeep) before making the leap to features. What was his 2004 feature directorial debut — a remake of a George A. Romero classic?

ADawn of the Dead BLand of the Dead C28 Days Later DNight of the Living Dead

✓ Cut and printed! Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead (2004) reimagined Romero’s slow shamblers as sprinting, snarling runners and put him on the directing map overnight. The script came from a then-unknown James Gunn. Land of the Dead was Romero’s own 2005 sequel; 28 Days Later (2002) was Danny Boyle; and Night of the Living Dead is the 1968 original Snyder didn’t touch.

✗ Cut — take two. The answer is Dawn of the Dead. Snyder’s 2004 remake (scripted by a pre-Marvel James Gunn) replaced Romero’s slow zombies with sprinters and instantly made him a name. Land of the Dead was Romero himself the next year, 28 Days Later was Danny Boyle, and Night of the Living Dead is the 1968 Romero original.

300 (2006) was the film that cemented Snyder’s signature look — bronze tones, digital backlots, slow-motion battles. It was adapted from a graphic novel about the Battle of Thermopylae. Who created that source material?

AAlan Moore BMike Mignola CFrank Miller DGarth Ennis

✓ Cut and printed! Frank Miller (Sin City, The Dark Knight Returns, Daredevil: Born Again) created the 1998 graphic novel 300 with painter Lynn Varley. Snyder famously shot the film almost entirely on green-screen sound stages and matched the comic panel-for-panel, even using Miller’s storyboards. Alan Moore wrote Watchmen, Mike Mignola created Hellboy, and Garth Ennis wrote The Boys and Preacher.

✗ Cut — take two. The answer is Frank Miller. His 1998 graphic novel (with painter Lynn Varley) was the entire blueprint — Snyder shot the film on green-screen and matched panels almost shot-for-shot. Alan Moore wrote Watchmen (Snyder’s next film), Mike Mignola created Hellboy, and Garth Ennis wrote The Boys.

In 2009 Snyder took on the project Hollywood had spent two decades calling impossible: a faithful adaptation of the deconstructive superhero graphic novel widely regarded as the medium’s greatest work. Who wrote it?

AAlan Moore BFrank Miller CNeil Gaiman DGrant Morrison

✓ Cut and printed! Watchmen was written by Alan Moore (with artist Dave Gibbons) in 1986–87. Moore famously disowns all film adaptations of his work and asked to have his name removed from Snyder’s film. Terry Gilliam, Darren Aronofsky, and Paul Greengrass had all tried and failed to make it; Snyder’s opening credits sequence set to Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a-Changin’” is still cited as a master class.

✗ Cut — take two. The answer is Alan Moore, who wrote Watchmen in 1986–87 with artist Dave Gibbons. Moore famously disowns every film adaptation of his work, including this one. Frank Miller wrote 300 (Snyder’s previous film), Neil Gaiman wrote Sandman, and Grant Morrison wrote All-Star Superman, among many others — but Watchmen is uniquely Moore’s.

2013’s Man of Steel kicked off the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) and gave Snyder the keys to Warner Bros.’ biggest IP. Who did he cast in the lead as Clark Kent / Kal-El?

ABrandon Routh BHenry Cavill CTom Welling DTyler Hoechlin

✓ Cut and printed! Henry Cavill, who’d been a known near-miss for Superman, Bond, and Batman over the prior decade, finally landed the cape under Snyder for Man of Steel (2013) and stayed in the role through BvS, Justice League, and the Black Adam cameo. Brandon Routh played Superman in Bryan Singer’s 2006 Superman Returns, Tom Welling headed Smallville, and Tyler Hoechlin currently plays him on Superman & Lois.

✗ Cut — take two. The answer is Henry Cavill, cast under Snyder for Man of Steel and the films that followed. Brandon Routh wore the cape in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns (2006), Tom Welling carried Smallville for a decade, and Tyler Hoechlin plays Clark on Superman & Lois — but Snyder’s DCEU Superman has always been Cavill.

After Snyder left Justice League (2017) during post-production following a family tragedy, Joss Whedon’s reshot theatrical cut was savaged by fans. Four years later, HBO Max released the “Snyder Cut.” Roughly how long does it run?

AAbout 2 hours BAbout 3 hours CAbout 4 hours DAbout 6 hours

✓ Cut and printed! Zack Snyder’s Justice League runs roughly four hours — 242 minutes (4h 2m) — and was released in a near-square 4:3 aspect ratio to preserve Snyder’s intended IMAX framing. Whedon’s 2017 theatrical cut was 120 minutes flat, exactly half the length. The “Release the Snyder Cut” campaign ran for years on social media before HBO Max greenlit it.

✗ Cut — take two. The answer is about four hours — 242 minutes to be exact (4h 2m). It even released in a 4:3 aspect ratio to preserve Snyder’s intended IMAX framing. By comparison, Whedon’s 2017 theatrical cut was 120 minutes flat, exactly half the runtime. The Snyder Cut is one of the longest superhero films ever made.

In 2021 Snyder returned to his zombie roots with Army of the Dead, a Netflix heist thriller set inside a walled-off, undead-infested Las Vegas. Which former WWE star and Marvel breakout played the lead, Scott Ward?

ADave Bautista BDwayne Johnson CJohn Cena DVin Diesel

✓ Cut and printed! Dave Bautista — Drax from the Guardians of the Galaxy films — anchored Army of the Dead as ex-soldier-turned-fry-cook Scott Ward. Snyder personally pursued him after Bautista’s dramatic turn in Blade Runner 2049 convinced him he could carry a film. The Netflix release spawned a Matthias Schweighöfer-directed prequel, Army of Thieves, the same year.

✗ Cut — take two. The answer is Dave Bautista — Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy. Snyder personally pursued him after Bautista’s dramatic work in Blade Runner 2049. The Rock, Cena, and Vin Diesel are all wrestler-to-action-star pivots, but it’s Bautista who’s carried Snyder’s heist-zombie hybrid (plus its 2025 sequel plans).

Snyder’s 2023 Netflix space opera Rebel Moon was, by his own account, recycled from an idea he’d originally pitched as part of an existing franchise — one the rights-holder ultimately passed on. Which franchise was Rebel Moon first developed for?

AA Dune prequel BA Star Wars film CA Star Trek reboot DA Battlestar Galactica film

✓ Cut and printed! Snyder originally pitched Rebel Moon to Lucasfilm as a Star Wars project — a darker, Seven Samurai–inspired adventure on the edge of a galactic empire. Lucasfilm passed (the franchise was deep in its own plans post-Disney acquisition), so Snyder retooled the concept as an original IP for Netflix. Anyone who’s seen the film can spot the desert worlds, droids, and Death-Star-coded Dreadnought.

✗ Cut — take two. The answer is Star Wars. Snyder pitched a darker, Seven Samurai–style entry to Lucasfilm; they passed (the franchise had its own plans after the Disney acquisition), so he reworked it as original IP for Netflix. The desert worlds, droids, and Death-Star-shaped Dreadnought all came along for the ride.

From the Spartans dispatching Persians on the cliffs of 300 to the opening credits of Watchmen and every Justice League battle, Snyder’s films are recognizable from a single shot thanks to one technique he uses constantly. What is it?

ALong one-take tracking shots BSlow motion & speed ramping CHandheld found-footage DBlack-and-white photography

✓ Cut and printed! Slow motion — specifically speed ramping, the trick of dynamically shifting from real-time to high-frame-rate within a single shot — is Snyder’s most-imitated trademark. 300 used it for nearly every kill; Watchmen’s entire opening montage is built on it; even Army of the Dead’s opening Vegas heist is one extended ramping sequence. It’s become so identified with him that critics nicknamed it the “Snyder-mo.”

✗ Cut — take two. The answer is slow motion — specifically speed ramping, where the frame rate shifts dynamically inside a single shot. It’s in basically every action beat in 300, Watchmen, BvS, Justice League, and Army of the Dead, to the point critics literally nicknamed it the “Snyder-mo.” The other techniques pop up here and there, but speed ramping is the calling card.

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Snyderverse devotee — or never made it past the theatrical cut?

⤴ RESHOOT

Snyder's track record hasn't been impressive, especially with his last few movies. After a few mixed results with Warner Bros. and his involvement with the DC Extended Universe, the filmmaker had a slight rebound with Zack Snyder's Justice League and Netflix's Army of the Dead and its prequel. Continuing the partnership with Netflix, Snyder went on to create his space opera series, Rebel Moon, which was described as an R-rated version of Star Wars.

Unfortunately, his efforts to create the epic space universe were futile, as critics and audiences alike panned both Netflix installments. In 2024, Snyder's frequent collaborator Kurt Johnstad told ScreenRant that the plan was for six movies. Although the director's cut improved reception, any future sequels in the Rebel Moon franchise remain on hold.

When The Last Photograph was in development in 2011, Christian Bale and Sean Penn were in talks to star, and Niels Arden Oplev was directing. A few years later, Snyder took over the directing duties as his schedule opened up after the planned Justice League sequel was delayed. The stars were also no longer attached. However, COVID-19 further delayed the project, and he ended up doing the Rebel Moon movies for Netflix.

Johnstad wrote the screenplay based on Snyder's own idea. The filmmaker also reunited with Rebel Moon stars Stuart Martin and Fra Fee, who portray the leading duo in the war thriller. Jackie Kay, Sergio Herrera, Marlon Moreno, Costanza Andrade, Gustavo Angarita Jr., and Carolina Henao are part of the supporting cast.

The Last Photograph doesn't have a theatrical release date yet.