Was the "shocking cameo" really just Leto
Nah, pretty sure that's supposed to be J'onzz.
The first appearance of which arguably ruins a scene with Lois and Martha.
The dialog is so so bad. Like it literally tells the exact shit that is going to happen all the time. 'An Amazonian. But not like your sisters. Stronger. like just let her kick your ass a bit and the audience will pick that up. 'Artimesis arrow. It will fly to the land of men' ~ stupid poem about magic arrow being a beacon. Then it just shows the magic arrow being a beacon. Cyborgs dad narrating how powerful cyborg is then just showing cyborg doing it. Also the constant references without saying the person's name. Like batman going 'I promised HIM' or Amazon Queen going 'She will know'. It's such a lazy way to be dramatic and do world building.
The arrow is maybe one thing done better in the theatrical cut. There it's only like two lines: "It's been five thousand years, will man know what it means?" "Man won't know, she will." Then they fire it.
Wait the Anti-Life Equation is just some ruins on earth, that Darkseid saw and then somehow forgot where the earth was?
It's funny that despite four hours they left this plot hole in when a line of dialogue could have fixed it. (Or, they could have just left it out.)
They also should have known once they found one Mother Box, but they still wait until Steppenwolf gets all three to "confirm" it's Earth.
Everything around "The Unity" is unnecessary. It should have just been that he had to neutralize the Mother Boxes so Darkseid could come easier or something. Anti-Life was adding two MacGuffins too many even if it's a more canon hook to bait Darkseid around.
Of course, the Mother Boxes do lead to one of my favorite scenes: "Okay, each of us has to guard a Mother Box" Amazons: build a giant temple on their secret island and stand guard 24/7. Atlanteans: bury it deep in the sea guarded 24/7. Humans: bury in the ground like two feet deep in Italy somewhere, leave it with no records/warnings about it. (Then Vic goes to hide it himself and does the same exact thing.)