We’ve already ranked all 23 of the Marvel Cinematic Univers (MCU) movies from worst to first and with today’s release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, it seemed like a great time to give the same treatment to the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) movies to date.
So, a bit of context first. Like with Marvel movies, there are a lot of DC films, dating back decades. However, most of those early films are not part of the official DCEU. The DCEU only extends back to 2013, with the release of Man of Steel. This gives the MCU about 5 years on the DCEU, since the first official MCU movie (Iron Man) was released in 2008.
When it comes to the DCEU, there are currently 10 released movies (including the Snyder Cut of Justice League). So, let’s work through the list from worst to first.
TBD - Zack Snyder’s Justice League
With this film just being released, we haven’t had a chance to watch it yet (we have a 4-hour movie marathon planned for tonight), so we’ll leave this one’s ranking as to-be-determined for now.
Full disclosure - I am more of an MCU fan than a DCEU fan. I did really enjoy some of Christopher Nolan’s work on Batman, but those movies are not part of the DCEU.
9 - Aquaman
Where to start with this one. It’s just not a good movie. Jason Momoa is fine, but the story just doesn’t do anything for me. Partly a very standard hero’s journey, partly a mishmash of special effects, and less than stellar writing and acting. It is utterly forgettable as a superhero movie for me.
8 - Shazam!
The DCEU movies have all had a certain grittiness in common - if not downright stark pessimism. They films are not uplifting or ‘fun’ in a traditional sense. Not a lot of laughs in these movies as they really have been largely serious affairs. This is likely due to the fact that half of them have involved Zack Snyder, who has never been accused of writing comedy. But, Shazam! is more concerned with getting some laughs. It’s an odd juxtaposition when compared to the other films. For me, this drops it down the list, even though if it was just a standalone film with no connection to the DCEU, I might like it better.
7 - Birds of Prey
Take a wonderfully fun character from Suicide Squad and give her the title role. Makes sense on paper. But, the execution is less than great. As much as I love Robbie’s Harley Quinn, the character couldn’t carry this film.
6 - Justice League
When a movie is so unpopular with fans that a very different director’s cut is finally released, you know the film has some issues. That’s the case here. Following the normal ‘assemble the team’ theme of movies like Avengers, this one just really hit some poor notes. The fact that the final film is essentially a second (and very different) director’s take on the original story makes for a disjointed final product. Will the Snyder Cut be better? We’ll see.
5 - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
So, here we have the first meeting of the two biggest and probably most popular heroes in the DCEU - Superman and Batman. (Personally, I like Wonder Woman far more, but I digress.) Maybe my biggest problem with the film is that literally half or more of the movie only happens because the two main characters can’t have a simple conversation. What amounts to a basic misunderstanding drives all the action and conflict up until the final battle, where they team up with Wonder Woman against the REAL bad guy. I find movies like this frustrating.
4 - Wonder Woman 1984
I really wanted to like this movie. Following on the heels of Wonder Woman, the best of the DCEU movies, the foundation was there. The 80s are a fun decade to play with and it had some real acting talent with Gadot and Pine joined by Kristen Wiig. But, I just had a hard time with the story. The villain was very meh, characters made strange choices, and certain major issues (like Steve Trevor apparently taking over the body and life of another person) were never even addressed. Let’s hope the next Wonder Woman movie gets back to what made the first movie so great, whenever they get around to making the third film (no date is set).
3 - Suicide Squad
We’re down to #3 and honestly we’re already at movies that I don’t think were successful. Yes, we got to meet Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn (fabulous), but otherwise, the film was kind of a mess. Does anyone even remember Will Smith was in it? Is any character other than Harley Quinn worth mentioning or remembering? Nope.
2 - Man of Steel
There have been many movies and TV series about Superman over the years. It makes for a challenging backlog to deal with when a new film is considered. As the first official DCEU movie in 2013, Man of Steel tried to set a new bar for the Superman franchise. It largely did just that, with strong casting, a solid (if very familiar) story, and a blend of optimism and realism (i.e. the repercussions of superhero battles).
1 - Wonder Woman
Far and away the best DCEU movie to date. Perfect casting with Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and an enjoyable Chris Pine as Steve Trevor. As superhero origin stories go, this one is just excellent. A few twists to keep us guessing about the ultimate villain and an engaging and fun story from beginning to end. If they can figure out how to make more movies like this, the DCEU will be headed in the right direction.
