Warning: There are some mild spoilers ahead for "Justice League."
"Justice League" is finally in theaters and reviews haven't been kind to Warner Bros.' latest DC superhero outing.
Fans will quickly want to compare it to the studio's other DC extended universe releases and know whether or not its better than 2016's "Batman v Superman" or holds a candle to "Wonder Woman."
Those two answers are simple. But how does "Justice League" stack up against every movie in DC's extended universe? Keep reading to see every DCEU movie from "Man of Steel" to "Justice League," ranked.
5. "Suicide Squad" is not only the DCEU's worst installment, it's easily one of the worst superhero movies ever made. And that's a bummer.
Though Margot Robbie's take on Harley Quinn won over fans and inspired a hit Halloween costume and cosplay, there's not much else anyone loved about this movie.
The film was overstuffed with too many uninteresting characters, a comical CG mess of a villain, and Jared Leto's strange gangster, tattooed take on the Joker wasn't well-received.
"Suicide Squad" is in leagues with other superhero movie abominations including "Elektra,""Catwoman," and Fox's recent "Fantastic Four" reboot attempt.
You can read my review of "Suicide Squad" here.
4. "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" was supposed to be a huge all-out brawl between the Caped Crusader and Man of Steel, but it turned into a two-and-a-half hour slog and the Wonder Woman show.
When the addition of Wonder Woman outshines two of the most popular superheroes known to man in their own movie, you have a problem.
The trailers promised a battle of the ages against the two titans, but gave audiences a mere tease of a savory smackdown. It didn't help that their quarrel was resolved by the realization that the heroes' moms share the same name. (I wish I was joking.)
I enjoyed Affleck's take on an older Caped Crusader affected by PTSD more than most. I thought the film delivered a raw, realistic interpretation of the Gotham Knight. But Affleck and Gadot's performances couldn't save the film from its silly third act with another overly-processed CG villain.
From my review:
"It's difficult to not feel like a lot of 'Batman v Superman' is an exhaustive — and expensive — effort from DC and Warner Bros. to catch up to Disney and Marvel's well-oiled cinematic universe. The full title of the movie tells you what the movie is really all about: "Dawn of Justice." This is the setup for 2017's "Justice League."
While all the parts click by the film's end, it's a journey getting there. 'BvS' is a busy film with a lot of players involved in one overarching story while making sure there's enough setup for future films. Sometimes the pacing feels rushed. When a villain is finally added into the mix, the film is nearly over."
You can read the full review here.
3. "Justice League" serves as a palate cleanser to the last two ensemble movies with some fresh, eager faces, but they get lost in a lame story with a silly, forgetful CG-rendered villain.
The first reviews for "Justice League"criticized the film for its lack of a villain worthy of the DC superheroes, awful CG, and a lame story.
While the film has a few stand-out performances from Ezra Miller as The Flash, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, and Gal Gadot's popular take on Wonder Woman, the group feels underutilized and rushed through a stuffed, generic story with a second-rate villain who isn't even a main baddie of the Justice League.
You can see how much influence "Avengers" director Joss Whedon had in trying to deliver a lighter, more fun tone to the film; however, it seems certain aspects of the movie — like the villain and main plot — were so set in stone when he joined the film that he had to work with the hand dealt. At best, you can say the film is a restart button for the DCEU to start fresh.
You can read INSIDER's review here.
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