Top DC Comics Live-Action Movies

Hi there!

It was my side project to review every DC Comics live-action movie released to this day on this blog and having achieved that not too long ago, it was time to rank them from worse to best.
If you haven’t already read my thoughts on each of these movies, you can click on the posters to be redirected to my reviews! ❤

0.5 STARS.

(c) IMDb.
Supergirl (1984): It might have been her first time on the big screen but no one will want to remember this Supergirl.
(c) IMDb.
Catwoman (2004): Let’s just say she went from nine lives to zero, real quick, with this one.

1 STAR.

(c) IMDb.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace: This is how you shouldn’t end Christopher Reeve’s saga as Superman…
(c) IMDb.
The Return of Swamp Thing (1989): A sequel that no one asked for but we still got…
(c) IMDb.
Steel (1997): I do love Shaq as a baller but this tin can should have stayed a concept on the drafting board.
(c) IMDb.
Jonah Hex (2010): If you were hoping this would revive westerns, you were wrong…

1.5 STARS.

(c) IMDb.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020): Maybe we can blame the pandemic for this one but… Wow… What a disaster this turned out to be.

2 STARS.

(c) IMDb.
Stamp Day for Superman (1954): I mean… You probably didn’t even know this short movie existed.
(c) IMDb.
Swamp Thing (1982): I can’t blame the world for wanting a Wes Craven-directed “superhero” movie but this needed work…
(c) IMDb.
Superman III (1983): Richard Prior killed this for me… What an unfunny man!
(c) IMDb.
Black Adam (2022): Sorry, The Rock, but this wasn’t the movie that would finally prove to me that the acting business was for you.
(c) IMDb.
Green Lantern (2011): The only chance we got to see Green Lantern in action and it had to go down like this? 😦
(c) IMDb.
Batman & Robin (1997): Bat-Credit Card. Really?

2.5 STARS.

(c) IMDb.
Superman and the Mole Men (1951): Can you believe this is so high up the list?
(c) IMDb.
Batman Forever (1995): Jim Carrey’s goofy Riddler really saves this one from being worse than it actually is.

3 STARS.

(c) IMDb.
Birds of Prey (2020): Nothing like capitalizing on Margot Robbie’s role as Harley Quinn to make this one but did it need to be so narratively-weak?

3.5 STARS.

(c) IMDb.
Aquaman (2018): You’d think it drop a few stars after all of that Amber Heard fiasco.
(c) IMDb.
Suicide Squad Extended Cut (2016): It had potential but most of it got centered around Will Smith (not because of a slap) and Margot Robbie (yes, her again).
(c) IMDb.
Constantine (2005): This was much better than one would’ve thought and thankfully there might be a sequel in the works now.
(c) IMDb.
Superman Returns (2006): It didn’t relaunch Superman onto a path of success but it was a decent attempt!
(c) IMDb.
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006): Too many iconic moments to overlook this.
(c) IMDb.
Man of Steel (2013): You know no one will look as good as Henry Cavill as Superman. Who could ever match him next?
(c) IMDb.
Batman (1989): Love it for Nicholson’s Joker at least, come on.
(c) IMDb.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012): It might be the end of Nolan’s trilogy but it could never match The Dark Knight (2008).

4 STARS.

(c) IMDb.
Batman (1966): This is everything you’d expect from an Adam West Batman movie.
(c) IMDb.
Superman Extended TV Cut (1978): The Original, the one that changed everything. This is the best Superman movie we got.
(c) IMDb.
Shazam! (2019): It was such a fun family-friendly movie. It also came out just in time to prove that DC wasn’t on a roll for bad movies anymore.
(c) IMDb.
Batman Begins (2005): The beginning of Nolan’s trilogy and the perfect way to reimagine Batman for good.
(c) IMDb.
Wonder Woman (2017): A marvelous portrayal of Wonder Woman and everything she represents (before it went downhill with 1984).
(c) IMDb.
Justice League (2017): While it was greatly modified by Joss Whedon’s vision, it was still great to see the gang on the big screen.
(c) IMDb.
Batman Returns (1992): This was simply a vibe. A gothic, sexy, and kinky vibe.
(c) IMDb.
V for Vendetta (2005): This shouldn’t even be on this list, not belonging to DC, per se, but hey, remember, remember, the 5th of November.

4.5 STARS.

(c) IMDb.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition (2016): It’s a showdown that you just can’t miss out on. I also doubt we’ll ever see this again in a while.
(c) IMDb.
The Suicide Squad (2021): This is everything a soft reboot should be. James Gunn was a mastermind for giving us this gory beauty.
(c) IMDb.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021): Can you believe that fans’ outcry on social media gave us this beast?
(c) IMDb.
The Batman (2022): In Matt Reeves, I trust. What. A. Movie.

5 STARS.

(c) IMDb.
Watchmen Ultimate Cut (2009): By far Zack Snyder’s best movie and it couldn’t have been done better.
(c) IMDb.
The Dark Knight: Is there anything that really needs to be justified here?
(c) IMDb.
Joker (2019): There’s so much to love here and if you haven’t already, you should go see it immediately.

Have you seen any of these? What’s your favourite DC Comics Live-Action movie?

Share your thoughts on anything and everything with me! 😁

TILL NEXT TIME,

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42 thoughts on “Top DC Comics Live-Action Movies

  1. I didn’t know a thing about Jonah Hex going into it, but even after watching it, I had no idea it was supposed to be a superhero movie. Even gorgeous Megan couldn’t make it a good movie 😦

    And I totally agree about the Snyder Cut of Justice League. Had to wait almost 3 years for it, but it was totally worth it…

    Liked by 2 people

    1. They definitely did a super poor job in making anyone understand Jonah Hex’s character within the DC Universe but I don’t think even WB or the writers behind the movie wanted to connect things to something larger…

      Glad to hear about the Snyder Cut. So worth it. I’m sad that we’ll never get a part 2 but still very happy that he got to give us his real vision of his movie.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Great ranking of the Batman films. Batman Returns would be pretty high on my list, I love that movie and its dark gothic tone. Watchmen and the Dark Knight are both strong favourites of mine as well.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Know what you mean. First impression and viewings of films have a big impact on how we perceive them later – especially if we saw them in the cinema. Then I think the impact is even bigger.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. This list seems very heavily weighted on the downside! 🙂 I suppose that’s to be expected of movies from this genre. Very glad to see you found some winners, though. There are many here I’ve either never watched (and likely never will) or that I watched very long ago and have mostly forgotten about. Of those I watched and remember I suspect my favorites might be Watchmen (thanks to you for getting me to rewatch and better appreciate this one) and V for Vendetta, though my memory of that one is a bit foggy.

    As a side note, I love doing these sorts of projects every so often. I recently finished that Marvel mutant movie (re)watch, and before that one for Makoto Shinkai’s anime. Lately I’ve been thinking of doing one for Hayao Miyazaki. Not sure when I might start that, though, or whether some other shiny object will catch my attention first. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yep, a lot of these movies were pretty bad. I knew that from the beginning and it helped me endure many of them too. I’m glad to hear that both Watchmen and V for Vendetta are memorable and good ones for you. I could recommend those to just about anyone, even if superhero stuff aren’t there thing.

      I’ll probably be doing a Marvel live-action quest now which will inevitably contain all the X-Men stuff too but I’m excited to rewatch most of them and discover some of the older and forgotten ones. I’m working my way through all the Ghibli movies, Shinkai, and Hitchcock movies too. I might put up a Top list for those when I’ll have seen everything released so far.

      Like

  4. LOL, Lashaan, your great and somewhat masochistic project has been completed! For a time, at least ;). Congrats!

    My favorites are two, Dark Knight and Watchmen. I hate WW with a passion 😉 and didn’t even watch the sequel, and sorry to say that, but I couldn’t care less about any movie with Ben Afflect as Batman in it. All of the new Justice League movies are weak 2,5-3 stars for me 😉

    I really like V for Vendetta, even though it’s not DC, and I have a soft spot for Constantine, because even though Neo looks nothing like comic-book Constantine the vibe is faithful to the comic books, and it follows reasonably closely the lore ;). Plus, Tilda Swinton as Gabriel was really good!
    I also appreciate Burton’s Batmen – they are old, but surprisingly ambitious and dark for the time they were created in. Without them we wouldn’t have gotten Nolan’s trilogy, that’s for sure.

    Joker was all right, but nothing new, really, so maybe 7/10? Sorry, Lashaan, you know I’m picky! As for the rest, I totally don’t care and wouldn’t rate any of these above 5 (except Shazaam, that’s another 6 ;)). Haven’t seen the new Batman, so maybe this will change my mind on the current state of superhero movie genre 😉

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Yep, the torture will continue as long as DC continues to put out movies, torture, only if they’re as bad as most of these hahaha For now, it’s time to do it for Marvel for the next months/years hahaha

      Glad to hear that Dark Knight and Watchmen are favourites of yours too! Even Joker wasn’t, I really do think you should give The Batman a try. I have a tough time imagining it being a horrible experience for you hahaha

      I agree with you about Constantine. I do look forward to what they’ll do with the sequel they’ve got planned if it’ll ever see daylight. And you’re right that Burton paved the way for Nolan, even if Schumacher was in between all that and almost killed things permanently! 😀

      Liked by 2 people

  5. OMG! Wonder Woman 1984 was so bad! I watched it couple weeks ago and was so astonished how bad it was that I kept watching to see if it’d get better. I agree about Constantine though and would love a sequel.
    I’ve yet to see Watchmen all the way through — keep falling asleep. And thanks for reminding me to see Joker with Joaquin Phoenix.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Lol! Yo! After a while I kept wondering if the lil kid lives in his office since that’s the only place he appears for the entire show. I remember seeing anyone dropping him off there or babysitting while Lord is away. It really annoyed me.

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Okay you went from worst to best, which explains why I opened the page and was immediately met with so many stinkers lol generally I agree with this list though I actually felt Carey’s goofy Riddler was one of the worst things about that movie and The Watchmen was pretty disappointing to me lol 😂

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Lashaan, it was kinda scary as I worked my way down this list how much my thoughts were all lining up with yours. I wasn’t finding too many differences at all. That being said, I can’t co-sign on Joker with five stars. For me, Health Ledger’s Joker remains as the best Batman villain, and maybe in retrospect Joker never, ever had a chance with me because of that. I would also like to chime in on Wonder Woman. That franchise had so much momentum after the debut origin story. The studio made a mess of things with the second film, and didn’t do the DC Universe any favors in the process. That being said, I keep hearing how much the studio and filmmakers believe in The Flash. We shall see soon enough. Enjoyed this DC list a ton!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m glad that our thoughts aligned for these, Bruce! I’d have a tough time recommending too many of these too. I totally understand for Joker though. I too am a huge Ledger-Joker fan but I was truly glad to see Phoenix give us something original and authentic too. Absolutely agree with WW. It’s so weird how that went straight to ground with WW84… I honestly don’t know what to think about the upcoming The Flash movie. It’s the perfect movie to reset the universe, if they do the Flashpoint story arc but otherwise, I fear for what it has in store for us. I’m still very much excited for the future of DC, and for now, I’m mostly looking forward to Joker: Folie à deux and The Batman 2! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Minor side-note on Superman III, Richard Pryor was a very popular comedian in his day, but like a lot of stage comedians, he just couldn’t make his style work in the movie world.

    Also, I really wasn’t a fan of Man of Steel, or the way Snyder portrayed Superman, but I would agree that Henry Cavil was a brilliant casting choice. While Justice League was a mess, I liked Superman in that movie.

    Also, I kind of enjoy the Supergirl movie. I know it’s terrible, and it even suffers completely unfinished special effects due to the movie running out of money (no, seriously, that’s why there’s an invisible monster in the movie), but there’s something about the movie’s awkwardness, messy script and a completely unfocused story that makes me laugh.

    Haven’t seen the new Batman yet, or the second Suicide Squad movie, but I’ve heard very good things about both. It’s just a shame that the first Suicide Squad movie poisoned the second’s chances of success.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yep, I can see why they’d shoehorn the guy into the movie, trying to draw more viewers and all but man, his stuff didn’t age well. And the attention was too big on his character…

      I do look forward to seeing who they’ll cast for the younger Superman they’re aiming for the future of DC now.

      Hahaha I remember your thoughts on Supergirl back when I reviewed it too. I just can’t. I’d have to wait a couple of more years and try rewatching it to see if it’s now one of those “so bad they’re funny” movies.

      I highly recommend both The Batman and The Suicide Squad. The tone itself makes both movies sooooo much better than most superhero stuff coming out today…

      Like

  9. I think I maybe saw 2 and a half out of all of those. The “half movie” is actually Watchmen, and your rating of it kinda makes me consider a re-watch, because I probably missed something ahah! Looking at all the different posters and comparing them is also quite fun ahah!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks! I’m glad we’re on the same page with the ranking! I can’t say I’d highly recommend any of the 50s Superman stuff but if you’re a completionist, you’ll eventually get there! I do look forward to seeing how new DC movies will fit into this ranking. Most excited for Joker II (Folie à deux) and The Batman Part II.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Apparently, I have watched more Marvel ones than DC. I watched the Christopher Reeve Superman movies and a couple of the Batman ones (Michael Keaton one and a couple of others but it was a long time ago). I didn’t know many of these movies were out there.

    Liked by 1 person

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