Image by Adithya Rajeev from Pixabay I would describe myself as a more recent diehard lover of the superhero genre. While I grew up watching Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy like many young boys of the early 2000s, I only discovered the X-Men franchise and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the last couple of years. I have varying degrees of admiration or trepidation for these superhero franchises depending on which one is the subject of conversation.
But, the superheroes that NEVER captivated me in my youth were the finest of DC Comics. While I loved Spider-Man (still do) and now love the likes of Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, and Rocket Raccoon, I remain largely disinterested in Warner Brothers’s current cinematic universe competing with the likes of Marvel. Today, in the wake of the release of Wonder Woman 1984, I want to share my thoughts on the DC Extended Universe. So, without further ado…LET’S GET STARTED! [DISCLAIMER: I have only seen the theatrical cut of “Batman v Superman,” not the Ultimate Edition.] Man of Steel (2013) As early as 2008, Warner Brothers executives began intaking ideas for how to reboot the Superman film series. Pressured by a court ruling forcing Warner Brothers to begin production on a Superman movie by 2011 or lose rights to his origin story, the studio went into high gear trying to do just that. Fresh off the success of his 2008 film The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan (Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk) was pitched a “modern” approach to portraying Superman in film by David S. Goyer, a screenwriter who helped kick off Nolan’s Batman trilogy by co-writing the screenplay for 2005’s Batman Begins. Nolan, impressed with Goyer’s concept, pitched Warner Brothers who gave hired him as a producer and Goyer as the screenwriter thanks to the financial and critical success of The Dark Knight. By 2010, Warner Brothers was searching for the right director for their Superman reboot. Famous and prolific names, from Guillermo del Toro and Robert Zemeckis to Darren Aronofsky, were considered before Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen) was hired in October. Within the next year, shooting had begun. Despite my initial assumptions about the film that became 2013’s Man of Steel, Goyer and Nolan approached the story in a similar vein they did to Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy in the sense that they wanted to create a world and setting in which Superman was the only superhero. Otherwise, what Nolan emphasized in his own Batman films as the “internal logic” would fall apart. Boy, how things have changed in the world of comic book movies. When I sat down to watch this movie (and thus kick off my dive into the notorious batch of films that make up the DC Extended Universe), I was fully aware of said notorious reputation that these movies had. Thus, I was completely unsure of what my reaction would be to them. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I ended up not completely hating Man of Steel. To begin with what I enjoyed about the film, I greatly appreciated Snyder’s attempt to ground a character such as Superman in some semblance of moral ambiguity. I know many diehard DC and Superman fans were repulsed at the direction they took the character in this movie, but as someone who lacks any sentimental attachment to Clark Kent I ended up enjoying (most of) the character’s journey in the movie. Also, I think that the first two-thirds of the film do a pretty good of making the audience invested in the story of Superman. Starting with a somewhat drawn out, but ultimately satisfying, introduction to the origins of Kal-El on Krypton that perfectly establishes the multiple father-figures of Clark Kent (Jor-El and Zod from his alien homeworld). Throughout the film, Superman develops very differing dynamics with his biological father Jor-El (Russell Crowe), his adoptive father and mentor Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), and his archenemy Zod (Michael Shannon) that make his journey pretty interesting up to the start of the third act. Easily the standout performance in Man of Steel (in my humble opinion) is Michael Shannon as General Zod. He does a good job balancing the zaniness of the character while also delivering some gut-punch moments that humanize his character and exemplify his desperation to continue his species and offer Superman a chance to lead Krypton into the future. Many of the other performances are serviceable, but not necessarily noteworthy or memorable. That is the most praise I can give about this film. It’s too long, and loses a lot of steam during its action-packed and intense finale that ultimately rings hollow. And, unfortunately, Henry Cavill as Superman does not really stand out for me. Having seen both Christopher Reeve (Superman, Superman II) and Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) portray the character in prior films, I think Cavill does not stand up to them very well at all. I mean no disrespect to the actor because I have enjoyed him in other roles, notably in Mission: Impossible – Fallout and Enola Holmes. At the end of the day, Man of Steel is not the worst DCEU in my book. But it’s by no means the best, and I do not think it stands apart from the dozens of other comic book movies of the previous decade. Despite its strong first half, it gets dragged down by its runtime and lack of emotionally hard-hitting story and thus lacks an impact for me when it hits credits. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) After reading up on the origins of the first two films in the DCEU, I think they have a lot to say about how the films ultimately turned out. In the case of Man of Steel, it was a movie meant to revamp Superman with a modern, grounded take on the character á la Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy. And what we got was just that, albeit a bit messier than two of Nolan’s three cinematic takes on Batman. In the case of the 2016 follow-up, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, director Zack Snyder (while initially wanting to make a sequel to Man of Steel) ended up crafting a jam-packed superhero flick toying with several complex ideas in the midst of a convoluted plot that attempts to set up a movie about the famed Justice League. And, in my opinion, that is exactly what we got. But that doesn’t make it good. If Man of Steel made me somewhat interested in the character of Superman, Batman v Superman made me somewhat less interested in both Snyder’s take on Batman as well as how the clash between these two titans of comic book superheroes would set up a global conflict requiring the combined powers of the Justice League heroes to save the world. To begin with some positives, I found this movie to have a slightly better pace than its predecessor. While the first two acts do not come close to the character work accomplished in Man of Steel, it does introduce some interesting things to the DCEU even though (most of) those things lack sufficient setup or payoff going forward. (But I’ll get to that when I address the cons of the film). For me, Ben Affleck’s portrayal of Bruce Wayne is probably the best main performance in the movie. But, unfortunately, it was not enough to make up for Cavill’s lack of charisma or the excessive and frustrating mystery surrounding the likes of Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg. But when I put these movies up against one another, the thing I am weighing so much is the extent to which they are successful in making me feel invested in the events I’m seeing on the screen and what is being set up for future movies. And while I overall enjoyed the introductions of Batman and Wonder Woman, I felt pretty empty by the time the film concluded. Despite being less than ten minutes longer than Man of Steel, Batman v Superman feels at least a half-hour longer. And I credit this to the lack of serious emotional stakes in what Snyder gives us in the form of Superman and Batman’s fight (and the build-up to said fight) as well as the set up for the Justice League. While some may find this unfair, I can only compare Batman v Superman to the equivalent films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Avengers and Captain America: Civil War. I like the latter because I feel that my investment in the (at that point) twelve Marvel Studios films that have followed the journeys of both Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is paid off in a fulfilling manner while also making me very excited for how the “break-up” of the Avengers will affect the films down the line. There is no question in my mind that Batman v Superman does not succeed at accomplishing either of these monumental tasks. Regarding the 2012 breakthrough movie The Avengers, I am mesmerized every time I watch it because I am seeing something working that should not work: the satisfying journey of the making of a badass team of superheroes whose involvement in five prior movies make the payoff of them becoming what they were destined to be so worth it. On the other hand, the climactic moment of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman teaming up against Doomsday in Batman v Superman (while cool) lacks the same fist-pumping energy that Joss Whedon gave us in the final act of The Avengers. Simply put, while not the worst movie in the DC Extended Universe, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is not a good movie. And I doubt that I will ever be convinced otherwise. 😉 Suicide Squad (2016) I have very little to say about Suicide Squad. Mainly because almost everything I have to say about it is bad, and thus does not deserve much of my time even criticizing it because that is more energy that I could spend critically thinking about a movie that earns the attention of its audience. THIS MOVIE SUCKS!! In some sense, I wish it didn’t suck as much as it does. I am an admirer of some of the work of director David Ayer, namely his 2012 police drama End of Watch and his 2014 war movie Fury. Having not seen anything else from him, I can only hope that he can salvage his career in the wake of the abomination that is Suicide Squad. From what I learned about the production of the movie, Ayer is not entirely to blame. Warner Brothers gave him only six weeks to write the script and apparently was very hands-on in the post-production process (including hiring a company to re-cut the first trailer for the film to brighten it up in an attempt to misdirect viewers to think that the film turned out good). And while I think Ayer has made some very good movies, he could not save Suicide Squad. The story sucks. The characters suck (and not in a good way). The acting (mostly) sucks. The visuals, cinematography, structure, editing, and villain all SUCK. Perhaps there was a good movie in here somewhere, and I am cautiously optimistic that James Gunn can offer up a much better take on this concept in his 2021 standalone “sequel” The Suicide Squad. All I know is that the two hours I spent watching the third film in the DCEU movie was pure and utter agony. Do not watch it. You have been warned. Wonder Woman (2017) There have been several attempts to make a live-action Wonder Woman film involving several famous creators in the world of cinema, from Ivan Reitman in the mid-1990s to Joss Whedon in the mid-2000s. Eventually, these efforts paid off when Patty Jenkins (Monster) agreed to direct the first female-led superhero film in 2015. According to both Jenkins and Gal Gadot (who portrays the character in the DCEU), what was important to them in the creative process was portraying Diana Prince/Wonder Woman as a woman with “a human heart.” In other words, embracing her humanity. I agree with most people that 2017’s Wonder Woman is the first “good” movie in the DC Extended Universe. And I think much of what is good about this movie boils down to the dedication of Jenkins, Gadot, and the rest of the creative team both in front of and behind the camera to portray Wonder Woman as a flawed yet likeable character. (Finally, DC took some lessons that Marvel Studious learned way back in 2008!) Not only is Gal Gadot physically gorgeous, but she is emotionally beautiful. Her grace, charm, and dedication to humanizing Wonder Woman makes the character one of the best heroes in the DCEU. Her ability to balance Diana’s headstrong devotion to principle with her childish naïveté without coming off as overly cartoonish is quite impressive. Without question, Gadot makes Wonder Woman the movie as good as it is. I also really appreciate that Jenkins pulls off a balancing act of her own. Specifically, she does not submit to making the film’s signature reputation as the first female-led superhero film a “low-bearing fruit” of sorts. Instead, she leans into the strong femininity of the character of Wonder Woman without either overly masculinizing her to please one sect of the left-leaning populace or being overbearing with her femininity. Diana’ physical strength and mental prowess on the field of battle never obscures her deeper flaws and human chemistry with the other characters on screen (notably Chris Pine as Steve Trevor). All that being said, I do not think (contrary to some peoples’ opinions) that Wonder Woman is a great superhero movie. It still relies too much on some of the plot conveniences, themes, and tropes of other mediocre comic book flicks. But, for me, the good really does outweigh the bad in this case. So, while it is not my favorite DCEU movie, Wonder Woman deserves much of the praise it receives and was certainly a hopeful turning point in what was quickly becoming a sad excuse for a cinematic superhero universe. Justice League (2017) And then we get…Justice League. A film that Warner Brothers intended to make for over a decade, going through several different creative visions before eventually lining up with the timing of the birth of Zack Snyder’s cinematic universe that began with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. And while I will not devote several hundred words detailing the storied history of this film’s production, there are many reasons why it turned out so bad (all of them making a lot of sense). As I have said before, I felt very little investment in the story set up by Batman v Superman and did not bring in any childhood love for these characters. Thus, watching Justice League was, to some extent, a nightmare coming to life. And this nightmare gave me an answer to a question that I never really wanted answered: what happens when Joss Whedon is handed uninteresting characters from a morally dark shared universe and forced to make them both likeable and fun to watch? Before starting up this movie, I was optimistic because of what Whedon did in 2012 with The Avengers. I was sorely mistaken to feel any sort of optimism. Justice League, while not as bad as Suicide Squad and not as convoluted as Batman v Superman, is maybe the most boring superhero movie I have ever seen. I have absolutely no investment in the team members (minus Wonder Woman), and despite some of the actors’ (notably Ezra Miller as Flash and Jason Mamoa as Aquaman) best efforts to make something of their dialogue and storylines I just come to the end of this movie feeling nothing. The hype moments are few and far between. It was boring, it was confusing, and it made the time spent watching the four movies before it largely meaningless. At this point, I was questioning if I even wanted to watch anymore of these movies. But I pushed through it and went to the theaters on opening weekend to see what Warner Brothers had to give us next. Aquaman (2018) Sitting in the movie theater preparing to watch Aquaman, I was highly skeptical and slightly dreading what the next two-and-a-half hours would give me. I had only seen one trailer, which was not enough to go on. Furthermore, I had never seen the films of James Wan (Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring) at that point. All I knew was that I was willing to walk out if the first third did not keep me interested. And was I pleasantly surprised! Aquaman ended up being what I think is a damn fun movie. Fun: something that was sorely missing from four of the previous five entries in the DCEU. And it was just what I needed after spending over a month absorbing the likes of Suicide Squad and Justice League. That being said, I do not think that Aquaman is a very good movie. But damnit, I loved watching it from start to finish! I think what makes Aquaman work is what made Wonder Woman (for the most part) work, too. Wan as the director and Jason Mamoa as the title character manage to pull off a pretty difficult balancing act. On the one hand, the film offers up a melodramatic story about family that is just interesting enough to move the plot forward and make what you are watching feel like a real movie. On the other hand, it rarely takes itself seriously enough which allows it to embrace the innate silliness of a man who can talk to fish taking back a mythological underwater kingdom from his vengeful half-brother. Mamoa embraces the silliness of Aquaman, from the nature of his action choreography to his relationship dynamics with his fellow Atlanteans, in order to make him likeable enough for his ebb-and-flow as a hero is thoroughly enjoyable. Undoubtedly, his charisma and lighthearted spirit carries the movie for me. My caveat for this movie, however, is that I have only seen it once in theaters. Perhaps I was feeding off the energy of the crowd, but I had a really good time watching this movie. I am quite certain that I would enjoy it less going back a second time, but why ruin that initial experience? Besides, I have no concrete plans to watch any of these movies again ever. So, Aquaman may very well stay high up in my ranking forever. Who cares?! Not Warner Brothers, that’s for sure! 😊 Shazam! (2019) Coming off of the fun of Aquaman, I was cautiously excited about the 2019 film Shazam! Similar to James Wan, I knew nothing about the movie’s director David F. Sandberg (Lights Out, Annabelle: Creation). But, DC and Warner Brothers were in my good graces with Aquaman and I enjoyed the trailers for Shazam! So, I went to theaters for this one as well. Once again, I was happy when I walked out at the film’s conclusion. Similar to what I liked about Aquaman, the movie brings an undeniable draw in the charisma of its lead actor. Zachary Levi’s portrayal of the titular teenager-turned-superhero did what Jason Mamoa did for Aquaman. In some ways, I believe Levi went even further than Mamoa did in embracing the zany, silly nature of the character in order to make him both relatable and entertaining on screen. The other impressive performance in Shazam! is that of Jack Dylan Grazer as Billy Batson’s foster brother Freddy who mentors him as he familiarizes himself with the powers of Shazam. What Shazam! has that Aquaman does not, however, is the greater emotional investment in Billy’s story as an abandoned foster kid resistant to finding a forever family. And I can certainly see how this particular aspect of the story makes Shazam! a better movie than many other DCEU entries for other people. While it certainly ranks highly for me, it struggled to justify its two-hour-plus runtime during much of the second act. That being said, it was a fun movie (especially when compared to the earlier entries into the DCEU) and its sequel, currently planned for release in the summer of 2023, is one of the more exciting future DCEU films in my mind. Birds of Prey (2020) Birds of Prey was one of the few films I watched in theaters in 2020 (in this case, before the COVID-19 pandemic took over everyone’s lives in the United States). Having seen the trailers for it, I had no strong expectations for it one way or the other. Primarily, I was looking forward to seeing Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, I, Tonya), one of my favorite actresses to make it big in the last decade, be Harley Quinn again without being dragged down by the pile of trash on fire that was Suicide Squad. Fortunately, my lack of expectations made Birds of Prey a solid superhero flick. I did not love it by any means, but I really enjoyed it the whole way through. One of its biggest strengths in my mind is its respect for the audience regarding the runtime. Of the nine DCEU films that have been released, it is the ONLY one that is under two hours (THANK GOD!!). And in that time, director Cathy Yan and Margot Robbie gives the audience reasons to care about Harley Quinn as both a charismatic anti-hero and an underdog, empowered female character to root for even though she’s rather insane. While I love Margot Robbie in the movie, the standout performance for me is Ewan McGregor as the villain Roman Sionis/Black Mask. Similar to Jason Mamoa in Aquaman and Zachary Levi in Shazam!, McGregor embraces all the zaniest aspects of his character to make him both entertaining to watch and really fun to hate. Most of all, however, he is able to do what Suicide Squad could not. By introducing a villain that is even worse than the anti-heroic protagonist, Birds of Prey makes the audience empathize with Harley Quinn without every fully being on her side yet also rooting for her to claim victory over Black Mask. But this movie has its flaws. Mainly, I found the amount of supporting female “superheroes” (which include a detective, a club singer, and an adolescent pickpocket) pretty excessive. I think if Yan had focused on two (I would have preferred Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary to be one of them), she would have created a much more focused story and more satisfying climax when they team up because I would be way more invested in each of the members of the titular team of badass women front and center in the movie. That being said, I don’t want to take anything away from Birds of Prey. It is a perfectly good superhero movie and one of the highlights of the DCEU for sure. If only the next entry was as good. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) Yes, I did not like Wonder Woman 1984. As the final superhero movie of the severe drought that defined 2020, I was quite excited for it. Not only was it going to build off of the adequate foundation of its predecessor, but the movie would not have the burden of telling Diana Prince’s origin story and thus could focus more on developing her character and make the most of her time as a superhero between World War I and the present really intriguing and fun. While it was clear that director Patty Jenkins was going for fun, but I have no clue how she missed the target by so much. With a two-and-a-half hour runtime involving a boring first act, a convoluted second act, and an absolute bonkers third act, Wonder Woman 1984 severely underwhelms and lacks the cheesy but charming, inspiring tone of the first movie. Gal Gadot gives what is, in my opinion, the blandest performance overall that I have seen from her both as Wonder Woman and in other movies that I have seen her in. Certainly, there are some powerful moments but they lack what should be the tear-jerking, powerhouse nature that they should have given what Jenkins, Gadot, and the rest of the creative team are going for. Much of what I do not like about this movie lies in how little it seems to have learned from both past DCEU films and the comic book genre that has boomed since the late 2000s. There is a very distinct, clear, and easy formula that can be followed to make a superhero movie at least fun. Given a compelling moral conflict with relatable thematic overtones, an enjoyable and maniacal villain, some good supporting characters that offer levity or stakes when needed, eye-popping and unique action sequences, and a deserving lead performance, Wonder Woman 1984 could have been a worthy sequel and one of the best films in the DCEU. But it fails to do almost any of that. While both Pedro Pascal and Kristen Wiig have some notable moments as Maxwell Lord and Cheetah, respectively, neither one of them serves as an effective foil to Wonder Woman. Furthermore, the minimal action there is in the movie is either uneventful, unengaging, or uninspired. And on top of all of this, the story being told and themes being addressed feel underdeveloped and thus does not live up to the familiar but engaging story from the original film. So, what are my thoughts on the DCEU? Overall, I lack very strong feelings about most of these movies one way or the other. I really hate one of them, and really like a couple of them. Other than that, however, I think Warner Brothers should take a few years and bring in some unique creative voices to offer up a coherent vision for the future of their venture into competing with the likes of Marvel Studios. But, if they do not, then I’m fine with seeing a handful of these movies every year in the hopes that at least one will be watchable and (dare I say it) entertaining. With all that being said, I have ranked all nine films in the DC Extended Universe below:
What is your favorite (or least favorite) DCEU film? Which upcoming entry in this underdog cinematic universe are you most excited for? What opinions of mine do you find absolutely ridiculous? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, this has been… Yours Truly, Amateur Analyst
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Austin McManusI have no academic or professional background in film production or criticism; I simply love watching and talking about movies. Archives
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