Zack Snyder’s New Action Thriller Sparks Strong First Reactions

Published Sep 14, 2026, 8:04 AM EDT Rianna is the Movie News Editor for ScreenRant. After earning her BA in Film Studies, she began her career as an entertainment writer, contributing to several publications before joining ScreenRant. Her dissertation on the impact of streaming on traditional cinema sharpened her focus on the ever-evolving world of film and media. With 10 years in the industry, Rianna continues to cover the stories she loves while also advocating for awareness and representation of rare disabilities, such as Moebius Syndrome, which she lives with. Zack Snyder is back, but his latest movie may not have landed as he'd hoped. Snyder's newest action thriller, The Last Photograph, made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, and critics haven't held back in their reviews. The movie was directed by Snyder based on a screenplay by collaborator Kurt Johnstad, who co-wrote the filmmaker's previous two movies, Rebel Moon - Part One and Rebel Moon - Part Two. While fans were delighted to see the filmmaker return with what seemed like a gritty, intense plot for his first independent movie, reactions were mixed. An ex-DEA agent searches South American mountains for his murdered diplomat siblings’ children, aided by a junkie photographer who saw the killers, confronting past demons as reality blurs in remote wilderness. ScreenRant's Josh Bate stated that The Last Photograph "desperately wants to be profound, but its pacing, melodrama, and self-seriousness make it unintentionally funny. There is an almost impressive disconnect between what Snyder appears to think he is making and what is actually unfolding onscreen." Editor and critic Matt Neglia shared his thoughts on X and stated that Snyder's new movie is a "tedious, frustrating, and grueling experience. Easily the worst film I’ve seen at TIFF so far. Slower-paced and stripped of much of the cinematic flair that has defined his career, it instead exposes Snyder’s shortcomings as a storyteller through misguided scripting choices, gratuitous violence and nudity, wooden dialogue, and hollow performances." Film and TV critic Elizabeth Mulloy also shared a similar sentiment and even stated that Snyder should be in "directors jail permanently." Mulloy continued and stated that The Last Photograph is "aimless, contrived, misogynistic, convoluted, messy, overtly long, abysmal, repetative, slow, shallow, and downright awful. Only positive- it looked pretty." Deadline's Damon Wise had a slightly different response to Snyder's movie gamble and said, "It is high on testosterone, and it centers on an almost ridiculously deadpan fella-drama bromance. But a better comparison would be Peter Weir’s The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), a slightly more morally complex story of life in a volatile ideologically captured warzone." JoBlo had a mixed reaction to The Last Photograph's debut during TIFF and stated, "About 90 minutes of it is a brutal, unrelenting thriller. Some incredible action and uncompromisingly rough. But there’s another 45 supremely indulgent auteur gunk that is snicker-worthy. There’s a good movie in it - but the cut we saw is a (fascinating) mess." Critic Darren shared his thoughts on X regarding Snyder's daring new movie and said: "The Last Photograph is daring departure for Zack Snyder from his typical filmmaking, creating a more intimate story anchored in photography and brought to life by his striking cinematography and Hans Zimmer’s musical score. There’s a haunting story about evil, destruction and redemption that makes for an intriguing film." More to come...