'Snow steam iron' is a 4-minute short filled with no small bit of blood and violence, a quick revenge flick about the will to survive and persevere, and proclaim one's agency.

It's also, I've realized, the first film from Zack Snyder that I've seen since his 2004 remake of 'Dawn of the dead.' And you know what? It's not bad. It tells as much of a tale as it needs to in 4 minutes, with costumes, makeup, props, and sets that look great. For as minimal as the narrative is, it's effective, and conveyed reasonably well in this series of scenes. Hats off!

Yet I also don't need to have seen more than mere clips of Snyder's other movies to know that the slow motion effect is seemingly characteristic of his work - and if we take that away here, 'Snow steam iron' would be about 2 minutes long. The director's penchant for style over substance has this picture riding the fine line of "just right" that cuts through adjacent critiques of "too much flash" and "too little meat." Between slo-mo, close-ups, and the indescribably waxy veneer given to the production, I'm reminded of an over-the-top advertisement for high-end fragrances, the sort that tries to impress viewers with a starlet and fancy imagery without actually selling the product. The How can be as important as the What, yes, but there has to be balance.

The simple narrative he's written here is strong enough that Snyder's method as a filmmaker works - barely - for 'Snow steam iron.' But at the same time, if this sample is truly a reflection of how his full-length films pan out, I have a hard time believing I'd be able to sit through them.