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Summary
What ’s the bestDCEUmovie ? Some fifteen motion picture in , the franchise ab initio built on Zack Snyder ’s visual sensation has endure several identity crises over its 10 - year run . serviceman Of Steelwas a triumph , even as it was factious , and almost every release since has come with at least one caveat . Into that context of use , Aquaman and The Lost Kingdomwas always going to present significant struggles . James Wan ’s final DCEU movie could have been something of a loose bang , but with so much behind it and the upcoming DCU reboot looming big , the scrutiny has been even greater .
There ’s been controversies , neglect opportunities and as many high visibility exits and tumble - out as there have been perfect castings , but how doesevery DCEU movierank ? Here ’s a trial through of every moving picture in this enfranchisement so far , ranked from bad to best . Every movie will be critically assessed , with strengths and weaknesses carefully examined to rationalize its placement , including 2023’sAquaman and the Last Kingdom .
Here ’s every new DC flick confirmed as in growing by WB for 2024 and onwards , including release dates and where they belong in the dealership .
16Justice League (2017)
Cast
When Warner Bros. first announcedJustice League , they intended it to be the triumphant completion of everything the DCEU had been working towards since 2013 . Unfortunately , it all went badly incorrect ; theater director Zack Snyder left partway through production , with Joss Whedon take over and guide a massive amount of additional photography . The result is a Frankenstein ’s Monster of a film that ’s true to neither Snyder nor Whedon , and betray to complete the plotlines sow in previous flick . Henry Cavill ’s CGI - replaced mustacheis infamous , but the whole movie suffers from the implement change .
Previous DCEU moviesMan of SteelandBatman v Superman : Dawn of Justicewere fundamentally societal parable told through the electron lens of a superhero film , butJustice Leagueplays it straight - and as a result , feel very much lacking when compared to its predecessors . It ’s telling that , several eld afterJustice League ’s sacking , the only conversation about it is whether or not the Snyder Cut is good ( and the fact this version ofJustice Leagueis at the bottom of our list serves as our answer ) .
15Suicide Squad (2016)
BeforeJustice League , Suicide Squadwas another DCEU flick fundamentally alter once production had enwrap . In other 2016 , Warner Bros. grew concerned the tone of David Ayer ’s cinema did n’t match with the instigate merchandising effort , with the disappointingbox office performance ofBatman v Supermanreportedly leading them to alter strategy . In the end , the last theatrical cut was essentially two different versions - one from the film director , one a poke planetary house - stitched together during post - product and feeling more than a little bare .
The basic sequence presents the team ’s backstory in a series of flashback , intersperse with the kind of play graphics that have in the preview . Unfortunately , and rather jarringly , those graphics are then ditched completely for the residue ofSuicide Squad . To give a gumption of just how disjoin this picture really is , there are no less than two scenes in a quarrel in which Viola Davis ' Amanda Waller explains why the world require Suicide Squad and just what the team is presuppose to be about .
As choppily cut asSuicide Squadmay be , it has some inspired casting . The real stars are Margot Robbie ’s Harley Quinn and Davis ' aforementioned Waller , both of whom live their roles perfectly . Indeed , it ’s telling Warner Bros. has go Harley Quinn to the forefront of their plans , with the troubled antihero leadingBirds of Prey .
David Ayer is calling for his director ’s gash of Suicide Squad to be released , and here ’s every direction the Ayer Cut is dissimilar from the theatrical cut .
14Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)
The second film in Zack Snyder ’s loose trilogy of DC movies , Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justicemarks the point at which the DCEU truly became dissentious . Batman v Supermanwas contemn by critics , but is viewed as a cult classic by lover of Snyder ’s cinematographic expressive style . The divergence in vox populi is best exemplified by the film ’s mark on review article sum website Rotten Tomatoes ; it has a Critic Score of just 28 percentage against an Audience Score of 63 per centum .
Batman has take many forms on the silver screen across decades of cinematic history . Here ’s how each motion-picture show stacks up against the others .
Few would denyBatman atomic number 23 Supermanhas problems ; improbably , it even betray to deliver on the promised battle between DC ’s two iconic Hero of Alexandria . The scrap is set up , but ends with singular speed and in a fashion that frankly feel as though it fare out of the left - theater of operations ( Martha remains infamous ) . It then pivots into an altogether different motion-picture show , one that urinate the bluff but confutable conclusion to kill Superman .
It ’s possible to be too vital ofBatman v Superman , though . Its greatest strength is undeniably the remarkable deepness of imaging and symbolism interweave into the photographic film by Snyder , with Superman present as a complex and conflicted Christ - design set against a contemporary backcloth . The presentation of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is one of the gamy points , with Oscar - win composer Hans Zimmer creating an iconic and unforgettable account for the scene .
13Shazam! Fury Of The Gods (2023)
After the wholesome , feel - good DCEU counterpoison offered by Zachary Levi’sShazam!,the tyke - like superhero grates a small too much in the subsequence . Let down by a pathetic selling campaign , Shazam ! Fury of The Godsnever quite justifies why it deserved a better one , with Levi ’s lineament losing a lot of his shine in the service of meta - prank and not very rummy I at that . How the mighty had fallen .
The plot is stretched too thin over too many character , the baddie are n’t as interesting as their casting may have suggest , and the attempt to tieShazam ! ’s easy annexe to the wider DCEU testify distracting to the point of near - disaster . The fresh - cracking professor tiresome all - too - rapidly , some of the pop references felt dated even on release , andFury of the Godsmay be remembered more for the on - release merchandising that control Levi pull more tending than the continuation manage on its own .
12Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Expectations were high forWonder Woman 1984 , which had the misfortune of releasing at the meridian of the coronavirus pandemic . Unfortunately the film is rather disappointing , largely because of a muddled secret plan and some very strange creative decisions- notably a outre dead body - swapping conclusion so uncomfortable it was excised from the third-year novelisation . Gal Gadot and Chris Pine are excellent , and the interpersonal chemistry between them amount nigh to absolve the decision tobring back Wonder Woman ’s lost love Steve Trevor .
Pedro Pascal polish as Maxwell Lord , the great power - hungry billionaire whose quest for an ancient artifact anticipate the Dreamstone risks dooming all life sentence on Earth , but that performance is potential to dateWonder Woman 1984significantly ; he ’s certainly canalise Donald Trump .
Wonder Woman 1984 take a dissimilar approach to enjoin Diana Prince ’s story , but the DCEU continuation ca n’t live up to the height of 2017 ’s Wonder Woman .
11Black Adam (2022)
Despite a marketing campaign that saw Dwayne " The Rock " Johnson so heavily lean on Superman that the Man Of Steel might have felt compelled to buckle , Black Adamended up not quite being a sum of its parts . The first appearance of the Justice Society , and blob on drop that include Johnson himself but mostly pick up all of the heroes was absolutely the high point , but generally , Black Adam was not the dry land - shaking DCEU revolution its tower lead histrion anticipate .
The anti - hero focus meantBlack Adamcould explore darkness without turning the lights out or going as brazenly wickedness as the two Suicide Squad looping , but it ’s still very much a tarradiddle of another DCEU movie with a obstinate plot and an underwhelming villain . Johnson is good for his money as Black Adam himself , and there ’s a surefooted swagger in the path the movie promise more beyond its credits , but Black Adam will not be remembered as the very top level of the DCEU when the debris finally settles .
10Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom (2023)
Another frustratingly underwhelming selling campaign introduce the release ofthe final DCEU flick , James Wan’sAquaman and The Lost Kingdom . Despite initially tepid critical reviews and disappointing box post performance , the belated sequel to 2018 ’s colorful hoyden come to most of the greatest hit of the original . Jason Momoa ’s anarchic male monarch of Atlantis is zanier , and dials up the dudebro vim ( channelise it into some of the worst parenting ever captured on film , in fact ) , and there ’s a consignment to imaginative spectacle that is really impressive .
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ending bestow the DCEU enfranchisement to a close with Jason Momoa ’s aquatic king of Atlantis confront Black Manta .
The stand - out of the whole sequel - which marries a crony cop , macho gambol with more or less heavy - handed bionomical anxiety message - is Patrick Wilson ’s Orm . justly call " Loki " at one point by his hairy brother , he plays the malcontent fugitive wedge into helping Aquaman take on Yahya Abdul - Mateen II ’s Manta . He is pleasurably grumpy , clashing attractively with Momoa ’s labrador energy . And really , The Lost Kingdomneeds him to balance the headliner ’s carrying into action , because he ’s dialed it up a fair flake . It ’s not quite nettlesome , but it for sure grates more than last metre out at times .
So what ’s new ? James Wan cut expertly into horror waters with the founding of the Black Trident and Manta ’s subsequent possession ( as well as an older evil revealed in act 3 in good order ) . There ’s also a with child world ( though considerably less of the wonder bond to Atlantis itself in the original ) , but you end up wishing some of the environments could have lingered a little longer . In the close , Aquaman and The Lost Kingdomwon’t linger long in memory , but it ’s far from the disaster some more cynical commenters might have you consider .
9The Flash (2023)
For all the complaint aboutThe Flash ’s CGI problems , and the nostalgia - bait of the DC superhero cameo in its multiverse , Andy Muschietti ’s spaghetti soup of a Flashpoint adjustment still ticks a lot of loge . Brave in vision and compelling in story , The Flashwas always a hard prospect thanks to behind - the - scene turmoil , delay , and the inauspicious the true of James Gunn ’s impending DCU reboot . On the other side of the coin , it was also something of a loose - hit for Warner Bros ( though an expensive one ) , which could do more creative things than rigid adherence to a merged timeline might extend . And you to have to look up to how much it tried .
In the shadow ofEzra Miller ’s off - television camera controversies , The Flash ’s cast is buoyed massively by Michael Keaton ’s appearance , which amounts to agency more than empty nostalgia . Beyond him , Sasha Calle ’s Supergirl is a bold fresh commission , even if she ’s a slight underused . Miller ’s twin roles as Barry Allen are on item in a vacuity , but their absence from the marketing aver a lot about the murky morality behind the movie coming out . But even with the barrier of the DCU reboot robbing it of relevance , The Flashis playfulness , spectacular enough to make the CGI bearable if you squinch , and manages to vindicate its existence . It ’s a low bar , in that respect , but viewed on its own merits , it ’s solid .
8Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
The Snyder Cut ofJustice Leaguewas finally released on HBO Max , and while it may not officially be part of the DCEU , its tangential position think it really deserves a place on this inclination . The Snyder Cut is infinitely betterthan the theatrical handout ofJustice League , but still middling stand up as testimony to the fact that sometimes studio editing is a good affair ; the first third in peculiar is meandering , and you definitely get the sense a safe hr or so could be cut from this four - hour - long epos without any real deprivation .
Ray Fisher ’s Cyborg stands as the star of the Snyder Cut , with a staggeringly efficacious character electric discharge that makes him the most important member of the nascent Justice League . The final battle between the Justice League and the forces of Steppenwolf is well - execute , a conflict truly become to Snyder ’s mythic style ; although Superman ’s revival still evidence decisive , it does n’t feel quite so absurd as in the theatrical cut . This is well one of Zack Snyder ’s best superhero movies , and Warner Bros. made a big mistake not editing this for the giving screen in the first place .
7Birds of Prey (2020)
Cathy Yan’sBirds of Preyis really a Harley Quinn movie with various badass distaff characters as reliever . And it ’s exactly what you ’d expect from a Harley Quinn film ; a swashbuckler rollercoaster ride through Gotham City , as Harley struggles to elude the Joker ’s shadower while saving a adolescent pickpocket who ’s unwittingly become Gotham ’s Most require .
boo of Preyisn’t on the dot deep - aside from Harley herself , the Birds of Prey often palpate reduced to pop tropes , and the film does n’t just help oneself matters by have Harley lampshade that fact . The narrative flair is fun and eclectic , representing Harley herself as the treacherous storyteller , and it just about works - with a few stumbles . Oddly enough , Birds of Preydoesn’t really palpate as though it earns its universal gas constant - rating , with the few graphic scenery feeling unneeded ; it might have performed better in the box seat bureau if Warner Bros. had gone with a downcast evaluation .
