DC Extended Universe: Worst to Best (Man of Steel - Wonder Woman)

Now that we are four films in, I can now rank the DCEU films to date. It may have been around since 2013, but it feels so new especially with how far it has gotten and we're already close to a Justice League movie.

The DCEU hasn't had a smooth road. There's no denying it. It's had a few rough films here and there, but since it's only recently had its fourth installment, how can we complain? The universe is learning. The filmmakers behind it are trying to find out what works and what doesn't. Marvel certainly had a few rough films in its early days, so the DCEU should also get the same courtesy. That doesn't mean that the universe is problem-free.

Yes, the DCEU has rushed through things. Rather than than give all its main characters solo films, they've jumped straight for the ensemble films. I appreciate their ambition and their rush to get to get to a Justice League film, but I think the universe could've benefited with a slower start. All of a sudden though, it seems that DC has turned things around with their latest, Wonder Woman. Today, I'm gonna rank the four current DCEU films from worst to best and I invite you to share your own ranking in the comments section below.

4. Suicide Squad

Remember what I said about how the DCEU is still learning and that people shouldn't be too hard on the universe? While that's still true, that doesn't serve as an excuse for their bad films.

Prior to watching Suicide Squad, I hoped that it would be a great film that just happened to get terrible reviews, because I loved Batman v Superman and that too had awful reviews. My doubts became all-to real while watching Suicide Squad as it painfully demonstrated what not to do in a comic book ensemble.

Granted, there were a ton of problems that happened during production. From extensive reshoots, to fixing the third act, and sorting through the six to seven versions of the film. So in hindsight, I think that's my fault for having semi-high expectations.

However, it's surprising that none of these problems were fixed during those reshoots. The very fact that the finished cut presented was able to get through any, if at all, checks from the heads at Warner Brothers, is really troubling. You would think that after a mostly dismal reaction to Batman v Superman, that the studio would be more careful about going forward with the DCEU, right? Wrong. Maybe it was too late at that point, who knows?

Suicide Squad turned out to be an unnecessary bloated film and bloated is putting it lightly. The cast of characters shown in this film are all underdeveloped. Most of them have nothing to do and the brief origin snippets don't do anything to get me invested in the characters. A full origin story movie for these characters would've been preferable before we got into the formation of this team of criminals. Now, do you need to give characters like Katana, Killer Croc, Slipknot, or Captain Boomerang their own films? Probably not, but that certainly would've been preferable compared to the half-done origins these characters were given and it would've gotten me to care about the characters.

There were characters that got someone of an origin and it's blatantly obvious which characters the filmmakers favored just by seeing how much of an origin they were given. Harley Quinn, Deadshot, El Diablo, and Rick Flag were the ones that were favored, because those were the characters that got somewhat of a background to explore. That's four out of the eight members of the team though. As for the rest like Captain Boomerang, Katana, Killer Croc, and Slipknot? They fit into the two categories of: they were just there because they're from the comic book and/or because they have at least one useful thing to do. Once that's fulfilled, they're either killed or do nothing the rest of the film.

I'm not gonna go further into the film's problems, because that could take up this whole post. It's not a total loss. It has entertainment value and a few great moments here and there, but other than that, there's nothing to praise about this film. I know that this film has fans and I respect those who feel that way about this film, but for me, this fell apart quicker than when toilet paper meets water. I'm gonna get to the next three films which is where I have more things to praise.

3. Man of Steel

More than just serving as the best Superman film in my book, Man of Steel was also the start of the DCEU. After an attempt to start it with 2011's Green Lantern failed, Warner Brothers went back to drawing board and decided to finally get it stared with Superman's best film ever.

Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan working together made for the best combination possible for starting this franchise. It also served as a key element of why I like this film. In a non-continuity way, Christopher Nolan, who had just concluded his Dark Knight Trilogy a year prior, was able to help give Superman a deep origin story. A similar treatment he gave Batman eight years prior. Zack Snyder, who is able to give great action, spectacle, and dialogue, helped to translate Nolan's story into the film that we ended up seeing. It was a great collaboration of two filmmakers coming together to make one cohesive film.

Though he's less iconic than Christopher Reeve, British actor Henry Cavill did something a little different with Superman. Making the character less of a perfect figure of hope, and more of a conflicted individual made Superman more of a relatable person. Though a lot of the personalities were changed, Superman still remained Superman. Complete with the ability of flight and laser vision. What about the freeze breath? Too goofy for this Superman? Maybe they'll add that after he inevitably comes back from the dead.

I didn't think Amy Adams was the right choice for Lois Lane. For two reasons. She has a significant age difference between Henry Cavill and her, which made the romantic aspect a little off-putting. Secondly, she was more of a typical love interest and less of what makes Lois Lane a unique character. At least she was able to tell who Superman really was from the start.

Michael Shannon proved to make for a better General Zod. With his great acting and an often sympathetic nature, it put him way above what Terrence Howard did in Superman II. A few people complained about the fact that Superman gave him a neck snap, but, much to my wonder, people seemed to forget that Terrence Howard's Zod was also killed by Supes.

Hans Zimmer, who is one of my favorite composers, creates a score that doesn't need to compete with John William's iconic theme. It stands on it its own, being rampant and chaotic, as well as being peaceful and quaint in the right areas. The effects were so-so. They were a little obscure and murky, which made it look like it was still rendering. It set a kind of example for the rest of the films that followed as they have the same sort of CGI. Even with all that, this couldn't have been a better start for the DCEU.

2. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

I am one of the few people that will say that Batman v Superman is not only not a failure, but that it's a great film period. There aren't a lot of things wrong with the film as the critics make it seem. The story's sound, characters are well-developed, and the motivations are beyond believable.

While he was a controversial choice at first, due to his ruining of another popular superhero, Ben Affleck is up there when it comes to one of my favorite actors to have portrayed the Caped Crusader over the years. Although, Ben Affleck does something to separate himself from the rest of the actors to play the character. Because we've already seen him in his prime, Ben Affleck's version of Batman jumps past those golden days where he's more of a jaded and scared character. Speaking of scared, Scar, I mean Jeremy Irons, made for a pretty good Alfred. I enjoyed the fact that he was more involved in Batman's crime-fighting than previous Alfred's. He was also very charismatic and charming at times, and I'm excited to see where he goes in the future.

What's seen as a major flaw of the film is that Superman isn't much of a defined character. Basically, that there's no characteristic that gives the character any interesting arch to identify with. I'd say that's kind of the point with this Superman. He's like an empty shell. Defined by how people see him and not how he sees himself. He's trying to find his way in this world and in the end, he discovers himself and believes that Earth is his new home, which makes his death all the more tragic. I cried during his funeral. It helped that during his funeral, "Amazing Grace" was playing in the background.

Though I didn't like him as much as Gene Hackman, Jessie Eisenberg brought some new elements to the role of Lex Luthor. I know some people didn't like his wacky attitude, but that's exactly how a psychopath would act so it's justified. He kinda acts like a cocky playboy to distract from his true nature in a Bruce Wayne way, but Eisenberg did play Lex in an obvious manner that you could tell he was evil just with a one encounter. I will give critics that criticism.

This also brought Wonder Woman to film for the first time and Gal Gadot is given a solid introduction. I couldn't really say the same thing for the rest of the Justice League members whose introductions are very half-baked and tacked on. I mean, they did the best they could when it came to bringing in characters that weren't gonna have their own films before the big team ensemble. Then again, this was a team film of a sort.

I know I'm alone in my opinion of this movie. It's not without flaws, let me make that clear. However, this was still an enjoyable film from front to back. One thing we can all agree though, this was outmatched in every way by the next film.

1. Wonder Woman

As Hollywood churns out more and more superhero films, I was pretty sure that the age of great superhero origin stories had long passed and I didn't think that any other great superhero origin story film would come anytime soon. Enter Wonder Woman.

I wouldn't say that Wonder Woman fixed everything that was wrong with the franchise. I think that Justice League is going to have to determine that fact, but this was a step in the right direction.

Yes, it's a little like Captain America's first film and yes it does do a messy, CGI-fueled, third-act action sequence. Other than that, this is a total cliche breaker. Virtually every cliche was broken with just the simple fact that our protagonist is a female and not a male. With that, there were so many new and exciting things to explore, which this movie starts to delve into.

Gal Gadot proved that with a great character arch and a more emotional attitude that Wonder Woman is a hero for all. I myself am an example of that belief, because Wonder Woman was able to replace Batman as my favorite DC superhero. This sole film was able to do that and it was because of Gal Gadot's charming and innocent performance. It must not go unsaid though, that Patty Jenkins also deserves credit as she helped guide Gal Gadot into becoming my favorite DC superhero.

Instead of doing a simple flip of the superhero formula by having the male lead be a throwaway love interest, or a male version of a damsel in distress, Chris Pine's Steve Trevor was as involved as Diana was in the film. Their love story was very different from the other superhero couples that came before. It was actually good and didn't let down the rest of the film. His performance was very humorous and the chemistry between the two actors was undeniably potent and powerful.

The villains were pretty weak. General Ludendorff and Dr Poison were too goofy to take seriously and although David Thewlis did the best he could, Ares left a generic taste in my mind after watching the movie several times. A few problems don't negate the fact that this was a total game changer for superhero movies in general and let's see if the DCEU can keep it going with Justice League.

Conclusion

So this is my ranking of the four DCEU films to date, I'm curious to see what your reaction is. Were you surprised at all with Wonder Woman as my top film? Do you think Suicide Squad deserved to be at the bottom, and what are your thoughts on Batman v Superman? Write your thoughts, along with your personal ranking, let me know what franchise you want me to rank next in the comments section below, and share this with your friends. Thanks for reading, I'm the Film Fanatic, bye-bye.