All DCEU Movies ranked

Hello everyone, and welcome to another good old fashioned ranking list where we will take a look at one of the most controversial movie franchises today. Now this particular ranking is something I have been planning on doing for awhile since I have always found this franchise very underrated, and not deserving of the hate the internet has been giving it (especially since I am a huge DC, and Marvel fan, and I want both of them to succeed). So with the impending release of DC Films Shazam! (which looks wonderful by the way), lets take a look at all 6 DCEU films released so far from Man of Steel to Aquaman.

6. Suicide Squad

You know, there is actually a funny story when it comes to me and Suicide Squad, and that is when I first saw it I loved it, and thought it was the best DCEU movie. Then I re watched it the next day and started to see some problems. As the months went by and I thought about it more, and more, I realized how disappointing this movie actually is, and all of the possibilities that were completely wasted. It suffers from a weird tone, that does not know if it wants to be more lighthearted, or serious (thanks largely to the movie blasting out a song that doe not match up with what is going on every 5 minutes). Also I felt like the stakes were way too high for a Suicide Squad movie, with blue beams from the sky, massive CGI armies, and a painfully generic villain in the form of Enchantress, this is not what Suicide Squad is at all! The story should have been much more in line with the comics with a more small scale mission with a much different type of threat. Also characters are either completely wasted (slipknot), utterly generic, and underdeveloped ( the villains, and Rick Flag), or having great potential but limited screen time (Jared Leto’s Joker). But as much as I hate on this movie, it is not horrible, it is still watchable, and even enjoyable at times. There are some saving graces from this movie, like some really cool characters with some great performances (Will Smith’s Deadshot, Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller are the standouts), a couple of fun action scenes, and its standalone nature was pretty refreshing. But these things still cannot save an extremely disappointing mess, that is by far the worst entry in the DCEU (and the only one I do not like). Lets just hope that James Gunn will make things right in summer 2021.

5. Batman vs. Superman Dawn of Justice

Oh boy, now we’re getting into some controversial territory here aren’t we. Now this movie is the complete opposite of Suicide Squad where I thought it was OK when I first saw it, if a bit disappointing, but then the more I thought about it, and the more times I re watched it, the more I really started to like this movie. Now it is far from a perfect movie thanks to some inconsistent pacing, a story that feels like it has to cram everything into one movie, and the overabundance of cinematic universe setup that just completely distracts from the movie at times. But the things this movie does well, it does really well. For one, I like how this movie continues to develop the themes presented in Man of Steel, in if this god like entity really should be allowed to just mess around with world conflicts even if the intentions are noble. This also allows Batman to have an understandable motivation to fight him (I never did understand why people said he had no motivation, have they seen the opening scene). I really do have to commend this movie for tackling themes that are not always common in comic book movies, but the themes are not the only impressive elements of this movie. The action is absolutely spectacular and even brutal at times, with some great special effects, that create some truly memorable sequences (my personal favorite is the warehouse scene that was pulled straight out of the Arkham games ). Also the performances are equally as great with Henry Cavill, and Ben Affleck doing a fantastic job of bringing the title characters to life (as well as Gal Gadot, who makes a great first impression as Wonder Woman), and even Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor (who I initially hated at first) is really underrated as the more I re watched the film the more I really started to dig his performance. So yes I understand people’s problems with this movie, but I still really think this movie gets way too much hate (how in the world did X Men Origins Wolverine get a higher rotten Tomatoes score).

4. Justice League

Yet again another movie I feels gets too much hate (I should really make a list of these some day). It was tough to decide if I should rank this over Batman Vs. Superman since that movie is arguably better made, and has stronger themes. But I went with this choice because Justice League is better paced, and is less messy in terms of story than Dawn of Justice. Althought like that movie it has some flaws, like Steppen Wolff is a pretty terrible villain who is painfully generic, and could have been much better, some of the effects do not look very convincing (again see Steppen Wolff), and it is evident that this movie went through a lot of studio interference (the short run time, and the anti climatic final battle that was probably a response to the , mass destruction in Man of Steel). But even with these flaws I still find it to be a really fun movie, with the feeling of a Saturday morning cartoon (I mean that as a compliment). The best part of this movie is by far the Justice League themselves, as the film nails the team dynamic with many character driven scenes, with the team just talking with each other. Thanks to this we care about them and want to see them more in future movies. But this dynamic would not have worked without some good acting, and thank goodness everyone nails their parts well from the returning players (Ben Affleck as Batman, and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman), to the newcomers (Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as Flash, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg who is extremely underrated in this film). Add in some fun, and well shot action scenes, some great Easter eggs that will please many DC fans (especially that post credits scene), and probably the best we have seen Henry Cavill’s Superman in (magic mustache and all), and what we get is nice fun team up movie that absolutely deserved better (seriously its amazing this movie works at all considering it was heavily reshot, and directed by 2 people).

3. Aquaman

After the under performance of Justice League people wondered if the DC films franchise would ever be redeemed. After Aquaman, I think more people are breathing a sign of relief, and are much more excited for what they have planned. This movie exemplifies what the DCEU does so well and that is making stand alone movies that have their own unique feel to them. As I said in my 2018 ranking, this movie combines many different genres to make something fun, and exciting. From Lord of the Rings sized epicness, to Indiana Jones like adventure, to underwater horror, to just plain gonzo bananas imagery throughout this movie just throws everything including he kitchen sink. The visuals are absolutely breathtaking and stunning (how did this not get nominated for best visual effects), the way it expands the DC universe is creative, and exciting, the acting is solid throughout (jason Momoa shines brightest), how it subverts some tropes present in comic book movies is interesting, and the action is extremely well shot and fun to watch (seriously this is some of the best action I’ve seen in comic book movie). My only complaints are that it does have some pacing issues here, and there, some characters get more to do than others, and as much as I like the villains here I wish we got more Black Manta (although judging by the post credits scene it seems they are saving him for the sequel). So yeah after this movie I am fully onboard with whatever DC Films does next (yes even Joker).

2. Wonder Woman

OK it was pretty hard for me to decide No.1 since both of these movies are pretty amazing. But I decided to go with this decision because admittedly Wonder Woman’s 3rd act is not as great as the first two acts, Dr. Poison, and General Ludendorf are serviceable villains at best, and the ending could have been handled a little bit better in my opinion. But other than that this movie just hits the right mark in everything else. Gal Gadot, and Chris Pine’s excellent chemistry provides a great heart to the feature, the supporting cast is wonderful throughout (Lucy Davis’s Etta Candy is a standout), the WW1 setting gives the film its own feel, the action is thrilling, and intense (the battle on the beach being my favorite), the comedy is funny, and the drama is impactful throughout, the score is instantly iconic, Ares makes for a surprising, and interesting baddies, and how the theme handles the complexities of human nature excellently, and how love, and compassion can triumph over any evil is truly inspiring and relevant to today’s society. Not only did this movie give people some confidence about the DCEU, but it also gave women of all ages a hero to look up.

and my favorite DCEU movie is…

Man of Steel

Now I am probably going to get a lot of hate for putting this over Wonder Woman but let me explain. I actually have some fond memories of this movie especially since it was actually the first comic book movie I saw in a theater (before I saw any Marvel movie), and it was this movie that really got me into the world, and characters of DC, so of course I am going to be a bit bias toward it. But nostalgia is not the reason why this movie is No. 1, it is because it is just a great movie in general. My only real issues with it is that it can drag at times especially in the middle, the color pallete is a little too grayish and the romance between Clark Kent, and Lois Lane is serviceable, but not anything amazing. Other than those little quirks everything else is just incredible. I love the more realistic outlook on Superman, and how the world would react if a superhuman with powers came down, the well done origin that does a great job of making us care for this irritation of Superman, the incredible acting given by some great actors (Henry Cavill, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Russel Crowe, and more give great performances), the character of General Zod that is just so well realized and by far the best villain in the franchise so far, the fantastic special effects, a powerful score by Hans Zimmer that just makes the scenes feel so impactful, and masterfully done action sequences that are some of the best I have ever seen (that 3rd act is just perfect). I have never gotten the hate for it, and I probably never will, since the issues the so called fans keep complaining about on the internet actually make sense when you actually take the time to think about them (i’m not even going to bother listing these “issue” since I think we all know what they are). So yes this truly an incredible Superman story, and one of the best examples of an oirgin story done right on the big screen.

And those were my thoughts on the DCEU everyone. This is a franchise I enjoy quite a bit (its one of the few franchises where I have seen every movie in a theater), and I love how unique it is. I mean what other franchise has a first contact story, a superhero vs. superhero opera, a super villain team up flick, a WW1 drama, a Saturday morning Cartoon like team up flick, and an outrageous fantasy epic all take place in the same universe. Say what you will about the films, but you have to appreciate them for trying new things each time out. So with all of that said and done, I sense a very bright future ahead for the series, and I cannot wait to see where Shazam! lands on the ranking when it comes out next week.

As always leave your opinions in the comment down below, and show me your ranking to compare, and see you guys next time!