Ah, the DCEU. It all started so promisingly, and then the foundations crumbled, and the cinematic universe imploded. Where did it all go wrong? Well, we can actually blame the best DCEU movie for the great demise. Here’s our list of the DCEU movies ranked to explain.
While the hot topic right now is the burgeoning DCU, in particular, James Gunn’s Superman, I’ve been feeling nostalgic.
Sadly, with each new movie, the DCEU just seemed to get weaker and weaker. The drop in quality was hugely detrimental to the franchise’s longevity, but the big problem was far more insidious.
Yes, I’m talking about the Snyder Cut. It’s one of the best superhero movies of the last decade, but the manner in which it was dragged to the screen left the DCEU in a state of irreparable chaos. Here are all the DCEU movies ranked and an explanation as to why Zack Snyder’s Justice League is so bittersweet.
16. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Many films in the DCEU are guilty of having either a poor story, terrible CGI, or lackluster acting displays. Wonder Woman 1984 committed all those crimes at once and is ultimately one of the messiest, most disappointing sequels imaginable.
From Gal Gadot’s ludicrous line readings to Kristen Wiig’s nightmarish Cheetah appearance and the very, very weird relationship Diana forces some random guy into because she wishes he was Steve Trevor, there are simply no redeemable features here. No wonder we’re not getting a Wonder Woman 3.
15. The Flash (2023)
I could copy and paste the failings of Wonder Woman 1984 onto The Flash, but I won’t because this movie deserves its own personalized set of criticisms. Firstly, by the time this movie was released, the DCEU had already stopped breathing, so it’s not entirely clear why anyone at Warner Bros. thought audiences would even want to watch The Flash.
Even bringing in Michael Keaton’s Batman wasn’t enough to save this car crash. Employing cheap fan service like a cameo from a CGI Nicolas Cage Superman, leaning on a convoluted plot to retcon the gaping holes in the franchise, and wasting the talents of Keaton and Sashe Calle’s Supergirl just make The Flash a complete non-entity.
14. Justice League (2017)
This should have been DC’s moment in the sun. Having seen the MCU flourish with the Avengers movies, naturally, the DCEU needed to get their own team together, too. Unfortunately, the union of the seven was severely rushed. Of course, it didn’t help matters that Zack Snyder dropped out halfway through production, but we’ll get to that small matter later on. For now, Joss Whedon will be the focus of this rant.
Horrendous creative choices were made, leaving our heroes to look like, quite frankly, idiots. Batman’s gawping face says it all, but let’s not forget The Flash burying his face in Wonder Woman’s breasts and Superman’s distorted mouth (that definitely never had a mustache). This was a real fork-in-the-road moment for the DCEU, and the wrong path was most certainly taken. Still, at least there’s some semblance of a good story deep down.
13. Black Adam (2022)
The hierarchy of power in the DCEU was supposed to change forever when Dwayne Johnson finally got to make Black Adam. Instead, the movie bombed at the box office and was laughed out of the park by critics. James Gunn was handed the keys to his new DCU mere weeks later.
The problem is that making Black Adam took so long that the movie actually feels like it belongs in the early 2000s, with its overly-bombastic action movie score, cliché characters and story, and grim color palette. Still, of all the films so far on this list, I’d be ever so slightly tempted to watch Black Adam again, as there are just enough entertaining moments to satisfy the desire for easy viewing.
12. Suicide Squad (2016)
Much like Justice League, this movie suffers from a great deal of studio interference — something director David Ayer has been very forthcoming about. Entire character arcs are cut to pieces, the CGI looks like a PlayStation 1 game, and the constant flicking between popular songs every five seconds is incredibly jarring.
Still, Suicide Squad has some very cool moments among the mess. The scene where the gang shares their origins and motivations in the bar is a particular highlight. Plus, Margot Robbie’s casting as Harley Quinn is inspired, and thankfully she has a couple of far better outings you can read about further on in this list of the DCEU movies ranked.
11. Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)
It’s never a good thing when a movie comes and goes without anyone really realizing at all. The Shazam sequel didn’t necessarily do anything wrong, per se, apart from simply being a little bit dull.
Our Shazam! Fury of the Gods review is fairly positive about the film, and while we’re unlikely to see a Shazam 3 any time soon, the first two films are probably the most inoffensive superhero movies you could imagine.
10. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
James Wan totally understands that his Aquaman movies benefit from leaning into the weird and wild side of this character and his world. The Aquaman 2 cast delivers chaotic energy, and putting Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson into a buddy-comedy setting is genius.
The problem is, like The Flash, this movie came at a time when we’d already given up on the DCEU. So, while it’s an adequate flick in its own right, its cultural impact is next to nothing.
9. Shazam! (2019)
Much like its sequel, the first Shazam! movie does very little wrong. It has the edge on its successor, though, as it has a touch more charm and playfulness. While Zachary Levi can be hit and miss at times, he’s on top form here and really throws himself into the role, and the younger cast is endearing enough, too.
Shazam! is fluffy and nice, but it also gives us a great villain in Mark Strong’s Doctor Sivana. Special mention has to be given to that great moment where he delivers his evil monologue, and Shazam can’t hear him.
8. Aquaman (2018)
This movie has an octopus playing the drums… do I really need to say anything else? Making a film set largely in an underwater world is not easy, but James Wan succeeds by simply having fun with it and letting his imagination run free.
Aquaman also benefits from a brilliant nemesis in the form of Black Manta. The villain has one of the coolest costumes in live-action superhero movies, some fascinating motives, and his combat scenes with the titular hero are epic.
7. Blue Beetle (2023)
With The Flash, Aquaman, and Shazam getting solo outings in 2023, nobody expected Blue Beetle to have a chance. However, the relatively obscure character ended up having the best DCEU movie of the year, probably because it was free of the shackles of the wider franchise and didn’t have any pointless cameos.
Honestly, even I’m a little surprised how high I’ve put Blue Beetle on this DCEU movies ranked list. Still, it deserves to be recognized. It’s a film with lots of heart and a genuinely interesting story, and there’s no denying the Blue Beetle cast is giving it everything to make the movie work.
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6. The Suicide Squad (2021)
This was James Gunn’s interview for getting the gig as the new ruler of the DCU, and he crushed it. Acting as a sort of sequel to David Ayer’s Suicide Squad — while basically ignoring everything about that movie apart from Margot Robbie — The Suicide Squad is an incredibly entertaining and action-packed flick.
A stellar cast brings an array of intriguing characters to life, with the likes of Polka Dot Man and Ratcatcher 2 exactly the kind of quirky sideshows we’ve come to expect from Gunn.
5. Birds of Prey (2020)
Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn was so good she survived the critical fallout of the first Suicide Squad movie. In this, her solo movie, of sorts, Harley gets a chance to shine in her own right. Better yet, she’s able to do so while harnessing the power of some badass women from the DCEU, too.
Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress and Jurnee Smollett as Black Canary are wonderful support acts, while Ewan McGregor puts in a devilishly good performance as the villainous Black Mask. It’s a shame director, Cathy Yan, hasn’t been given the keys to do more in this universe.
4. Man of Steel (2013)
Now we’re really in the big leagues. Man of Steel started it all way back in 2013, with Zack Snyder bringing his gritty, more violent style to Superman. Some didn’t like what Snyder did with the hero, believing the movie should’ve been more colorful and cheery, but honestly, the darker, the better, if you ask me.
Henry Cavill is a fantastic Superman, bringing the physical attributes needed to make the character work. He’s also a great Clark Kent, offering a more modern take on the character than Christopher Reeve’s iconic portrayal. And, when you’ve got Michael Shannon as the villainous Zod opposite him, you’re going to get a brilliant movie.
Sadly, not enough people agree with that sentiment. Indeed, the critical and commercial reception for this Superman movie left the DCEU with shaky foundations from the very start.
3. Wonder Woman (2017)
The gulf in class between this movie and its successor is, frankly, astounding. Wonder Woman’s first standalone DCEU movie is a blistering wartime epic whose No Man’s Land sequence is one of the finest moments in comic book movie history.
Wonder Woman works so perfectly because it throws Diana Prince into a world she doesn’t understand, yet she chooses to protect it all the same. The learning curve as she adjusts to life outside of Themyscira is sweet at first but leads to more sinister discoveries as she ventures into war.
Patty Jenkins directs the hell out of every scene, imbuing Wonder Woman with style and flair. It’s also a movie full of truly brilliant action. Wonder Woman is everything that was right with the DCEU movies in their early years.
2. Batman v Superman (2016)
My penultimate pick in this list of the DCEU movies ranked is arguably the most divisive film of the lot. How a movie where Batman fights Superman could be so violently hated by so many is beyond me. Yes, Batman v Superman is a bit of a mess, narratively, but it’s very, very cool, and sometimes that’s enough.
Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne is inspired by Frank Miller’s iconic take on the character from The Dark Knight Returns — the best Batman comic ever, by the way — and he captures all the grizzled, ground-down apathy of the character from the get-go. Then, to see him injected with passion and fight once more, using technology and brute power to take on a literal god… I mean, what more could you want?
Granted, you have to watch the Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman to really get a cohesive story, but it’s well worth the extra 30 minutes.
1. Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
The fact that Zack Snyder’s Justice League exists at all is a miracle. Sadly, it’s also been a curse on the DCEU and the world of movies as a whole in many ways.
No one could deny that Snyder fulfilling his vision and bringing his trilogy to a close in the way he wanted was a beautiful ending to his tragic story. Unfortunately, his army of overzealous fans tarnished the whole thing with their aggressive online presence and insufferable sense of entitlement. The Snyder Cut movement weaponized comment sections and hashtags on social media, orchestrated mass petitions, and generally made everything about them. Put simply, they made the internet a very dismal place to be for a good couple of years.
Still, the movie itself is absolutely incredible. With a runtime of just over four hours, Snyder is able to explore every character with the depth they deserve. All of those horrible plot holes in the ‘Josstice League’ are a distant memory, as Snyder weaves a wonderfully coherent and thematically rich story. And, on a technical level, the monochrome visuals, top-level CGI, and Junkie XL’s rousing score make this version of Justice League a marvel.
The problem is, the most vocal and vitriolic Snyder supporters got exactly what they wanted, irreversibly altering the dynamic of the franchise, and not in a good way. Warner Bros. no longer had any idea which side of the fanbase they should appeal to. And, more importantly, they no longer had control of the universe they had created. Not to mention, the characters in the DCEU movies now existed in a parallel universe that Warner didn’t really want to admit existed.
I, for one, am very happy Zack Snyder’s Justice League does exist. I just wish it existed in a world where spoilt brats didn’t force it into being. When viewed in its own little bubble, it’s a startling achievement in filmmaking and storytelling. But, no matter how brilliant the film is, the franchise was never going to recover from that point on. With SnyderCut fans demanding everything be connected to Snyder’s vision, the DCEU was pulled in two completely different directions from there on out. It’s no surprise, then, that Warner Bros. has decided to simply wipe the slate clean.
You can watch all these movies on HBO’s Max streaming platform, but you’ll need to have an active subscription.
So, there we have it, that’s the DCEU movies ranked. Now you know why Zack Snyder’s Justice League ruined it all, regardless of how great it is. For more from DC, check out our guides on Peacemaker Season 2, The Batman 2, and Joker 2.
This list is part of HeroFest, a week celebrating everything superheroic. For more check out the HeroFest schedule here.
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