Zack Snyder’s ‘The Last Photograph’: First Reactions
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Zack Snyder's "The Last Photograph" met with an overwhelmingly negative critical response following its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, with multiple reviewers calling it among the worst films to screen at the event. The film, Snyder's 13th feature, is notable as his first fully independent production made without a studio or streamer, which several critics argued removed any restraint on his more excessive tendencies.
Reviewers repeatedly described the film as bloated, violent, misogynistic, aimless and "not a little bit racist" in its portrayal of a South American setting, with comparisons to Apocalypse Now, The Quiet American and the film Sound of Freedom used as put-downs rather than praise. The film stars Stuart Martin as an ex-DEA agent searching for his murdered diplomat siblings' children, aided by a photographer played by Fra Fee, with a score by Hans Zimmer; while a handful of critics praised its cinematography and visual ambition, the consensus reaction was scathing.
- Snyder's "The Last Photograph" panned by critics at TIFF premiere
- Called bloated, violent, misogynistic and racist by multiple reviewers
- First film Snyder made independently, without studio or streamer backing
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Zack Snyder is the director behind big, stylised action films such as "300" and various Batman and Superman movies, as well as the "Rebel Moon" series for Netflix. "The Last Photograph" is his newest film, an action thriller centred on a former US drug enforcement agent trying to find his murdered siblings' children in South America, with help from a photographer who saw the killings happen. It stars Stuart Martin and Fra Fee, with music by Hans Zimmer, who has worked with Snyder on several previous films.
What makes this release notable is that it is Snyder's first film made entirely independently, without backing from a traditional studio or a streaming service like Netflix, which has funded much of his recent work. The idea for the story is one Snyder has been developing for around twenty years, and he also shot the film himself as its cinematographer.
The film had its first public screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival, one of the industry's major launch points for new releases, where journalists and critics get an early look before wider release. Reactions from that festival often shape a film's public reputation and commercial prospects well before it reaches general audiences.
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