Critics fume at TIFF 2026 as The Last Photograph dubbed Zack Snyder’s worst

Early reactions out of the Toronto International Film Festival were brutal. An X account called The Hollywood Handle amplified a pair of critics’ lines that set the tone, including “Worst film in Zack’s career” and “A tedious, frustrating, and grueling experience,” following the first screenings of The Last Photograph.

What Snyder made

On paper, this is one of Zack Snyder’s most personal plays: a moody, boots-in-the-mud rescue thriller built around grief, guilt, and obsession, with a big, brooding score to match. Here’s what’s in the mix:

• Two-hour-plus run time
• Thriller/drama set in the South American jungle
• Plot: an ex-DEA agent hunts for his missing niece and nephew after their diplomat parents are killed
• He’s aided by a washed-up war photographer fighting his own demons
• Cast includes Fra Fee and Stuart Martin
• Score co-composed by Hans Zimmer

The sharp pushback landed fast on social media, where detractors and die-hards went at it in a familiar Snyder-era crossfire.

“Uh oh another Zack Snyder stinker on deck!”

“To the shock of no one”

“JFC and this guy directed Rebel Moon. How did he come up with ‘Worst film in Zack’s career’?”

“If the so-called critics didn't like Zack Snyder's movie, it means the film will be great.”

“Critics don't like a snyder Movie? whats new? The more they dnt like it the better”

The bigger backdrop

The split tracks with where Snyder sits in the culture right now. Since James Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC, debates about Snyder’s style have only intensified — from the dim, heavy-on-shadow look that some viewers say makes action hard to read to storytelling choices that critics argue buckle under weighty portent. Add the underwhelming afterglow of Netflix ’s Rebel Moon, and expectations for a comeback have been sky-high.

The Last Photograph has not announced a U.S. release date yet.