Visionary director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, Part Two concludes his epic live-action adaptation of the sci-fi classic novel, Dune, with a sweeping flourish. At the same time, by splitting the adaptation into two films Villeneuve is able fully flesh out the scope of the novel, which was impossible to do with just one film, as we saw with David Lynch’s film from 1984.
Picking up immediately after the first film, Dune, Part Two, further develops the saga of young Paul “Muad’Dib” Atreides (Timothée Chamolet), the heir to House Atreides and future messiah to the Fremen people of the planet Arrakis. Now, it must be said that you need to have seen Dune, Part One, or be at least aware of the situations in the story. Basically, in the far future, humanity has spread throughout the universe with the aid of a substance called spice mélange that enables humans to perform complex intergalactic navigation. This spice can only be produced on the desert planet called Arrakis, which becomes the center of a dispute between two royal houses, House Atreides and House Harkonnen. In the first film, the Atreides were assigned by the emperor of the Known Universe to administer Arrakis and harvest the spice, but they were ambushed by the forces of the Harkonnens. This led to the death of Paul’s father, Duke Leto, and with the downfall of his House. By the end of the first film, Paul and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) fled to the deep desert and were adopted by the nomadic Fremen.
If any of this sounds complex, then you are correct, and there is much more to the story. This complexity has made the novel nearly impossible to adapt in the past, yet Denis Villeneuve was able to pull it off while adding his own stamp to the story. It’s similar to what Peter Jackson was able to do with his adaptation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Where the first Dune film was devoted to setting up the complex worldbuilding and multiple characters, the second film centers on Paul’s rise to power as the Kwisatz Haderach, the messianic savior of the Fremen who will liberate their world from outside forces. However, Paul is wracked with doubt because of prophetic visions he has that reveal that billions of people throughout the universe because of his followers. In Dune, Part Two, Paul ingratiates himself to the Fremen and rises to prominence among them as they fight the Harkonnen forces on Arrakis as many of them see him as the fulfillment of the Kwisatz Haderach prophecy. He also begins a romantic relationship with Chani (Zendaya), a brave and lethal Fremen fighter who is skeptical of the Fremen’s religious deference to Paul and even the Fremen religion. It is revealed that the religion was developed by Lady Jessica’s matriarchal order the Bene Gesserit in order to control the Fremen.
Like the novel, the films, especially Part Two, explore the perils of religious fanaticism as it blinds followers who will only see what they want to see. In this case, despite Paul’s early protestations that he is not their savior, many Fremen refuse to heed him and twist their logic to justify their beliefs. The analogies to today’s religious strife are quite obvious and damning but illuminating. Even more incredible is that how closely the film translates the same cautionary themes about religion from Frank Herbert’s novel which came out over 50 years ago, and demonstrates the timeless nature of the book.
There are a few distinct departures from the novel that won’t be spoiled but may upset Dune fans, but the basic plot structure of the novel remains, such as Paul’s development, and the intergalactic politics that turns its attention to the barren Arrakis that turns out to be the most important world in the universe. For non-fans who enjoy rich and intricate political storylines, Dune is basically Game of Thrones set in space, except that it should be the other way around since Dune novel came out decades before the fantasy epic.
While Villeneuve was able to successfully translate the dense story, what is even more impressive with Dune, Part Two is its epic nature that puts other adaptations to shame. Many of its visuals are clearly inspired by Lawrence of Arabia, which itself has many of the same themes as with Dune: an outsider who joins desert people and becomes their liberator.
The visuals and cinematography are just gorgeous to witness, as they engross you completely into the rich alien worlds. Also impressive were the performances by the actors who imbue their characters with complexity. Along with Chamalet and Zendaya, Javier Bardem as the Fremen leader Stilgar and Austin Butler as the psychotic Feyd-Rautha Harkonen were excellent in their roles. Many scenes were heart stopping and instantly iconic, like Paul’s first ride on a giant sandworm, the Fremen attack on the Harkonnens or Paul’s duel with Feyd-Rautha. Together, all these elements have been able to create a true cinematic experience that will be remembered for years to come and prove that serious sci-fi can be a vehicle for a complex and enriching film.
Summing up, Dune, PartTwo is one of the very best sci-fi films ever made thanks to its complex themes and visual richness that rivals the greats. Needless to say, it must be experienced on the biggest screen possible.
Here we go again with the two corporate giants, Sony Pictures Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company, battling over Spider-Man. More specifically the films about the superhero and everyone in his orbit. The colossal failure of Sony’s Madame Web and the delays in producing a fourth Spider-Man film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) only exacerbated the situation between the two companies.
Past Disagreements
Most Marvel fans know by now the convoluted story of how Sony acquired the exclusive film rights to Marvel Comics’ most popular character, Spider-Man. They also know this meant that Disney’s Marvel Studios could not make its own Spider-Man films. After the failure of Sony’s reboot of Spider-Man in the early 2010s, the two companies decided to share the character and have him appear in the MCU starting with Captain America: Civil War.
Things went well for both companies and the superhero. Marvel Studios produced acclaimed Spider-Man films as the character proved to be even more popular than ever. However, as the saying goes, all good things come to an end. After Spider-Man’s appearances in Avengers: Endgame and his solo film, Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019, Sony decided to end its agreement with Marvel Studios and prepared to make their own Spider-Man films without the involvement of Marvel Studios and Disney. Following a huge backlash from the public, the two companies decided to play nice and the result was one of the greatest Spider-Man films, Spider-Man: No Way Home. Everything was great. The last MCU Spider-Man film essentially set him up to be a more traditional and grounded loner superhero and plans for a fourth film were underway. This was back in 2021/2022. Nothing has happened since then, and now there are reports of tension between the two companies.
Current Disagreements
Apparently, there are disagreements over the direction of the next Spider-Man film. Marvel Studios has planned a grounded, street-level film for Spider-Man that has him facing off against the Kingpin with appearances by Daredevil and other street-level heroes. However, Sony wants a repeat of Spider-Man: No Way Home where the MCU version of Spider-Man is to reunite with the Sony versions of Spider-Man as the trio would team up for another multiverse story. The reason for this is that Spider-Man: No WayHome was the most successful Spider-Man film and Sony wants more of this. While the idea of expanded multiverses has become part of the Spider-Man comic book mythos, to do the same thing after Spider-Man: No Way Home is creatively lazy and plays it safe. Also keep in mind that the recent releases of Sony’s animated Spider-Man films had similar plot lines where the title character interacted with alternate versions of himself. As tempting as it is to repeat the same thing expecting the fourth MCU Spider-Man film to be just as successful as Spider-Man: No Way Home is wishful thinking on Sony’s part. There isn’t any guarantee that lightning would strike twice. Frankly, doing a grounded Spider-Man story that would be part of a larger MCU storyline where the Kingpin is the mayor of New York City is the logical path for Spider-Man: No Way Home left our hero.
Another issue that is being reported is that Sony wants a Spider-Man film to come out next year. But Marvel Studios has four films already scheduled for release next year and adding the MCU Spider-Man film would strain the bandwidth of Marvel Studios’ resources and be too much for the average filmgoer. This could mean that one of the other scheduled MCU films would suffer at the box office. But Sony does not care, obviously they are only concerned about their own studio, which is desperate for a hit after the failures of Morbius and Madame Web. Marvel Studios could play nice and just delay one of their films next year. But the forthcoming MCU films have already undergone significant delays and Spider-Man will reportedly be a major character in the Secret Wars story, so Marvel Studios is in a pickle over how to go forward.
Sony’s Dismal Track Record
The problem with Sony is that they have proven that they cannot make a good Spider-Man or Spider-Man adjacent film. Yes, the first couple of Spider-Man films done by Sam Raimi were classics but that is largely due to the director, who ended up clashing with Sony over Spider-Man 3 and that film was a letdown compared to the first two films. Aside from an occassional Venom and the animated films, the Spider-Man and Spider-Man-related films were not well done and produced to keep the property with Sony. Apparently, Sony is contract-bound to release a Spider-Man film or one featuring characters in Spidey’s universe every few years. This was part of the reason why Raimi left the Spider-Man franchise because Sony was in a rush to release a Spider-Man film before giving Raimi the time to fully develop it. The tendency of Sony rushing out these films would explain why so many of them are bad. Another culprit is probably studio interferrence because that could only explain why Madame Web was so horrible. Let’s be objective, many of the actors and behind-the-scenes people in Madame Web are clearly talented, but the film was such a bad misfire that reeks of last-minute changes, such as poorly done ADR.
Sony is clearly desperate to create their own cinematic universe as seen with their films like Venom, Morbius, Madame Web and the upcoming Kraven the Hunter. On paper, creating a cinematic universe based on Spider-Man and characters in his world makes sense because throughout the decades the world of Spider-Man has seen many interesting characters that have spun off successfully into their own comic books. But what have we gotten from Sony? Aside from their released misfires, there were attempts to launch their own version of the Suicide Squad only this time with Spider-Man’s enemies, the Sinister Six, which was clumsily alluded to in The Amazing Spider-Man 2; a film about Aunt May as a spy in her younger days (!); and the character everyone has been clamoring for: El Muerto. Seriously, Sony, WTF?! We can understand a film about the Black Cat teaming up with Silver Sable, (which fell apart) but El Muerto? And the upcoming Kraven film has him as some kind of anti-hunting hero who gets his powers from being bitten by a lion! “Sigh”
Clearly, Sony does not know what to do with its superhero cash cow. The problem is that Sony’s ineptness is harming the MCU brand. How can this be? The Sony films are set in different universes except for the MCU Spider-Man films, which is what most fans would point out. But the average person would not know the difference. There are people who still confuse the Marvel films with the DC films! They’re not going to look at the fine print in marketing to see that Morbius was made “In Association with Marvel”, they’re going to see the Marvel logo and think that garbage Sony film is part of the MCU. This has a negative impact on Marvel Studios since the average moviegoer will think the inferior Sony films are made by Marvel Studios, which is the last thing Marvel Studios wants now that they are struggling to come back from recent setbacks with their own products.
Marvel’s Options
What can Disney and Marvel Studios do? Ignoring the Sony films is not working. Well, Disney can try to buy back the film rights to Spider-Man. Naturally, Sony will understandably be hesitant to give up its cash cow unless Disney pays them handsomely. But given the company’s financial hurdles, it’s doubtful Disney has the funds readily available for that feat. Disney can sue Sony with the argument that Spider-Man is so entwined with Marvel that the Sony films are hurting the Marvel brand even if future MCU films completely ignore Spider-Man.
Can Sony be forced to sell the rights back to Disney or at least be forced to remove the Marvel name from their marketing? Who knows at this point, but this cannot continue. Of course, the easiest way to get Sony to relinquish or loosen their hold on the rights would be for people to stop seeing the Sony Spider-Man and Spider-Man-related films. This includes Venom and the animated films. Sony has to be convinced that holding on to the film rights is not worth it if there are diminishing returns for these films. After all, it was the failure of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 that coerced Sony to negotiate with Marvel Studios to bring Spidey into the MCU. So, the ball is in our court.
Now that the constant speculation about who would be cast as the Fantastic Four has ended (thank God!), we can officially get pumped for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) version of the Fantastic Four. With the casting out of the way for the core cast, the production has time to fine-tune the film, as seen with recent news that the film was being rewritten. Thanks to the failures of the previous film versions of the Fantastic Four, there is a a lot of pressure for the MCU version to get it right because it has to at this point.
Given that the Fantastic Four comics launched the so-called Marvel Age of Comics back in the 1960s and is considered one of the premier properties of Marvel Comics, it is outlandish that past efforts to adapt the superhero team into live-action films failed. Yet, here we are. As fans know, the first effort was an unreleased adaptation in the early 1990s that was produced with barely a budget in order for the producer to retain the film rights to the property. That monstrosity was as bad as its reputation and makes Madame Web look like Logan in terms of quality or lack of. The Tim Story duology that came out in the 2000s captured some of the spirit of the comic books, but lacked the gravitas to elevate them to top-tier superhero films. And the less said about the cloud thing called Galactus the better. The worse mainstream adaptation had to be 2015’s Fant4stic, which is how marketing stylized the film logo. The last version of the Fantastic Four basically tanked the career of its director Josh Trank, who had the bizarre idea to make his Fantastic Four film a body-horror film without any of the humor and charm the comic book team was famous for having.
Thankfully, now that Marvel Studios and Disney have the film rights to the Fantastic Four, they can give the property the attention it needs to create a high-quality superhero film. To do that, Marvel Studios has to evoke the qualities that made the comic books so beloved, especially the ones from the 1960s. At the same time, The Fantastic Four has to appeal to audiences in order to get them into theater seats. The cast, which includes Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Richards/Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, are a solid first step, now it is up to the script and the director to bring the Fantastic Four to life. Here are four things The Fantastic Four must accomplish in order to succeed:
Find the Right Balance With Humor, Family and Awe
The two different film versions of the Fantastic Four were flawed in that they either lacked any humor or humanity, or were too goofy and did not aspire to greatness. The Tim Story Fantastic Four films had plenty of humor and most of it worked, especially the interactions between Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm. But the flaw of those films was that they didn’t really aim higher. The films diminished Doctor Doom and had him being a petty businessman instead of the intimidating ruler of Latveria. What’s worse was that efforts to present something incredible lacked any real scope. The worst example was the Galactus storyline in the second film that reduced the cosmic villain into a giant gas cloud. Blame the budgets.
Now the Josh Trank Fantastic Four film was completely the opposite in that it lacked any humor and charm. The entire film was a dire and dark affair where the characters moped about their newfound powers and were forced to work for the military. Nothing in the film was cheerful or bright, nothing at all like the comic books. Those comics exuded optimism while dealing with challenges. Yes, the team often bickered and fought with each other, but they came together at the end because they were a family. The Trank film did not reflect this family aspect at all. It did not help that the characters were mistakenly cast as young adults, but that is another story. The Fantastic Four has to capture the wow factor and the family dynamics and the humor that made the comic books so revolutionary.
Explore the Fantastic (Pun Intended)
A major fault with the previous Fantastic Four films was that they lacked the sci-fi scale of the comic books. Yes there were many sci-fi trappings, but they were not anything audiences have not seen before. What was worse was that the production budgets of the films could not capture the epic scale of the comic books. Just look at the wild panels in Fantastic Four Annual #3 when Reed, Ben and Johnny explore the Negative Zone. Or the images in the Galactus trilogy of Fantastic Four #s 48-50 where the Human Torch traverses skyscraper-sized machinery to find a weapon to defeat Galactus. The closest we got to that in the films was in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer where Doctor Doom stole the Silver Surfer’s powers, which was taken from the comics. Yet, that was completely undone with the finale act where the Galactus cloud showed up.
Meanwhile, the Trank film did not have any of the joy of scientific discovery, even though many of the main characters were scientists. Sure, the characters visited an alien planet, but it was a barren, stormy hellhole that did not inspire any awe, and was more in line with the body-horror aspect of the film. But what made things worse was that the film had a low-budget feel. The Fantastic Four needs a huge budget and the best resources to pull off the mind-bending world of the Fantastic Four. This is not an easy feat given the difficulty of trying to pull off the stretching powers of Mr. Fantastic. In other words, The Fantastic Four has to and will be a true MCU epic with the budget and resources it needs to properly adapt the fantastic (yes, pun intended) feel of the comic books.
Do Not Have Doctor Doom as the Main Villain in the First Film
While Doctor Doom is the premier villain for the Fantastic Four and Marvel Comics, he has been overused in the past films. What was worse was that the depictions of the Latverian ruler in the films were not at all accurate. The filmmakers mistakenly tied the origin of Doctor Doom with the Fantastic Four, which was not the case in the comic books. But in the films the villainous doctor was involved in the same accident that gave the FF their powers, which in turn gave him some kind of electric powers, which was never shown in the comics. These reimaginings omitted his genius intellect that enabled him to master science and sorcery to be able to nearly conquer the world. Nor was his status as ruler of Latveria even a factor.
Doctor Doom has been misused in the previous films and he needs to be faithfully depicted if he is to be the main baddie of the MCU and the Secret Wars event. He should only appear in The Fantastic Four as a cameo, and in other MCU productions in the same way Thanos popped up here and there in early MCU films. As for which villains the FF should confront in the first film, well, supposedly Galactus and the Silver Surfer will be the foes, although it may be too early to confront them. It would have been better if a film trilogy built up to them. Other villains to make life miserable for the Fantastic Four could be Annihilus, the Molecule Man (a major character in Secret Wars), the Super-Skrull (though Secret Invasion ruined that), the Red Ghost, the Mad Thinker or even the Frightful Four. Or the sequels could have the team facing a villain not usually associated with them. A sequel film would also be a perfect way to bring back Namor since he was a major villain that the team fought in the early comic cooks.
Make the Characters Relatable
The Fantastic Four comic books, thanks to Stan Lee’s writing and Jack Kirby’s pencils and stories, were able to present outlandish and jaw-dropping sci-fi visuals while retaining a sense of humanity. Who could forget those intricately drawn panels of Reed’s room-sized machinery? Sure they were dazzling, but the focus was on the characters bickering in those same panels like a dysfunctional family. The Fantastic Four has to incorporate this aspect of family into the film.
Despite the faults with the Tim Story Fantastic Four films what they got right was a sense of pathos as seen with moments were Ben struggles with being the Thing. A perfect example was a scene in the first film where he was not able to pick up his wife’s wedding ring because his rock-like hands lacked dexterity. Then again the film was able to have some fun with Ben when one of the final shots of the first film showed him wearing humongous, custom-made sneakers. Meanwhile, with the Josh Trank film it was difficult to relate to the characters, even the Thing, who barely stood out as a character. The caustic, but loving relationship between Ben and Johnny, while done accurately in the Story films, was absent in the Trank film. That is except for one line at the end of the film where Johnny came off as a mean-spirited A-Hole when he mocked Ben.
If The Fantastic Four focuses on the characters and their family relationship, gives us a sense of wonder and adventure, while featuring villains other than Doctor Doom, then it will succeed. It’s just that simple. Fans will flock to see the film if it has these aspects that made the Fantastic Four one of the most popular superhero teams in comic books.
By now most Marvel fans have seen the eagerly awaited trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine, the sole offering from Marvel Studios this year. Just the fact that so many people were anticipating this trailer is alone to demonstrate that superhero fatigue is not necessarily upon us, especially when it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Sure, the MCU and Marvel Studios had its struggles recently, as seen with failures of The Marvels and Secret Invasion and with behind-the-scenes dramas. However, the higher ups at Disney and Marvel Studios acknowledged that things were not working with the MCU and they took corrective actions. Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige took a long look at what was being filmed and realized that several projects were not working, at least up to MCU standards. As painful as it was, Feige delayed the release of projects like Daredevil: Born Again and Captain America: Brave New World to basically scrap what was filmed and start over. This is a costly gamble without any guarantee of success (see Solo: A Star Wars Story), but it had to be done. Disney also realized this and the fact that there was too much MCU product, which led to many projects been held back or cancelled. While many fans did not like this, it was what the MCU needed in order to 1) give the coming MCU projects the time to be improved and not rushed and 2) creating demand and anticipation for the projects.
During the past few months, the common theme among trades and the online was that the MCU and superhero films were in decline, given the fact that most superhero films in 2023 did not perform well. Another argument for the decline was the poor reception to the coming Sony films based on Spider-Man properties like Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter. But declaring the superhero films to be in decline may be premature. Of course, they are not as popular as they were around 2018-19, but at that period the Infinity Saga was reaching its climax and everyone wanted to know how the Avengers were going to defeat Thanos. In the years since, the MCU films have had to start all over again with a new storyline, the Multiverse Saga, which has had a rocky start due to many reasons. They range from the COVID-19 pandemic, the reign of Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who demanded too much MCU product and overstretched Marvel Studios, the writers and actors strike from last year, and the firing of actor Jonathan Majors, whose character Kang was supposed to be the next main MCU villain. Thankfully, many of them have been dealt with or are behind Disney and Marvel Studios.
As Marvel Studios reassessed what worked and what did not with its recent projects, the film studio had the time to tweak its upcoming projects to improve them. This has led to Kevin Feige taking more control of the MCU films and TV shows to ensure that the projects match the quality of the previous MCU films.
Now Disney and Marvel Studios have stated that they intend to focus on quality not quantity, which means they are scaling back on what they greenlight and not just any Marvel Comics property will make the transition to live-action. This is great because it allows the film studio to focus on its most popular characters and devote time and resources to more obscure characters to help them stand out (see Guardians of the Galaxy).
In the recent past, quality films and TV shows have found their audiences as seen with the success of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 and the second season of Loki. This will most likely occur with Deadpool & Wolverine given that it looks bonkers with its fourth-wall breaking and the zany and raunchy humor of Deadpool that does not seem watered down even though the film is from Disney. Deadpool & Wolverine could help change the direction that Marvel Studios is headed given its high anticipation. v
Also creating high anticipation for Marvel Studios is Daredevil: Born Again, which has excited many fans of the original Netflix production since it now features beloved characters from the Netflix shows. Then there is the over-the-top speculation on who will be cast in the Fantastic Four film coming out next year. Oh, and by the way, Marvel Studios: announce the cast already! Its not just the casting that has many excited about the Fantastic Four, but the fact that Kevin Feige is directly involved with the film and is a passion project for him given that past live-action efforts did not perform well.
Of course, another thing exciting fans is the coming of the X-Men in the MCU, which was teased in The Marvels and the mutants will be front and center in Deadpool & Wolverine. Frankly, it’s about time. Disney has had the rights to the X-Men characters for several years and although it was for the best that they took time for the memories of the Fox version of the X-Men films to dissipate, it’s time for them to appear in the MCU. Thankfully we’re getting that with Deadpool & Wolverine as the trailer clearly shows that not only do we see mutants but images of the MCU films and the Time Variance Authority from Loki.
Yes, it’s great to be excited about the MCU again and we have Deadpool & Wolverine to thank for that. Please, be great!
Now that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has left theaters and is available on digital, it is time to rank all the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) films. This ranking leaves out Peacemaker since it was a TV show, but if it were to be placed in the list it would come in third. Yes, it’s that good. Zack Snyder’s Justice League will be included even though it streamed on Max and technically does not take place in DCEU continuity, yet it is still a film associated with the DCEU.
Looking at the films overall, one can’t help but see that it was not very cohesive as a cinematic universe since it went all over the place after Zack Snyder left the DCEU. Still, even though the DCEU turned out to be disjointed and full of unrealized potential, there were films that turned out to be great.
Of course, this list is subjective and everyone else will have different rankings, so feel free to mention them in the comments.
16. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
It is sadly shocking that the worst film of the DCEU was a sequel to one of the cinematic universe’s best films, especially since it was directed by Patti Jenkins, the director of the first Wonder Woman. The poor reception to Wonder Woman 1984 was arguably the beginning of the end for the troubled cinematic universe.
What sunk the film was the poorly thought-out script that creepily found a way to reunite Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) with her long-dead lover Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). Then there was the entire situation with the wish-fulfilling villain who granted outrageous changes to the world in 1984 that was never referred to in other DCEU films which took place in modern times. And Wonder Woman has been able to fly all this time? Please, let’s move on.
15. Black Adam (2022)
After being announced that The Rock would portray the superhuman anti-hero years ago, the film was stuck in production hell, and it seemed as if this film would never be made. Yet somehow it was made but, Warner Bros. should not have bothered. The Rock’s behind-the scenes machinations crippled the Shazam! sequel since Black Adam was supposed to appear at one point as a villain for Shazam, but The Rock refused to appear in it because there was no way he would be seen as the bad guy. But his actions led to Henry Cavill portraying Superman for the final time, even if it was as a brief cameo. Unfortunately, that was not enough to save Black Adam.
The rest of the film was an uninspired yawner with generic superhuman action pieces that could not even be salvaged by appearances of new characters like the members of the Justic Society. A major flaw with Black Adam was that there was little danger for the title anti-hero because he easily won every single fight. This resulted in a story that had low dramatic stakes for the main character and a forgettable film.
14. Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)
This sequel to Shazam! loses most of the charm of the original film as Zachary Levi’s character behaved like a complete buffoon for most of the film. As Shazam in an adult body, it was odd that the superhero acted like an immature pre-teen while in his normal young adult body, Billy Batson (Asher Angel), behaved with much more maturity.
Too often Shazam! Fury of the Gods came off like a paint-by-numbers, generic superhero yarn that was overcrowded with too many characters who were given little screentime to have fully fleshed out storylines. Then there was the ending, which was complete cop out, even though it featured Gal Gadot in a cameo as Wonder Woman.
13. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
Try saying that three times fast, not even the Flash could pull that off! This film had the misfortune of coming out on the dawn of the pandemic and being something very few fans asked for. Seriously, Warner Bros. greenlit this film but not a solo Batman film with Ben Affleck! Or even a Man of Steel II!
Even though Margot Robbie turned in a solid performance as Harley Quinn, as do most of the other actors, this film looked and felt like a low-budget TV film or two-hour episode. It could have been worse, and the film has its moments, but it’s not exactly something fans should rush out to see.
12. The Flash (2023)
It was supposedly hyped as the greatest superhero film ever made by Warner Bros. executives. Ok, right. The Flash is certainly not even close to being that. However, the film was a wild ride which featured a welcome return of Michael Keaton as Batman/Bruce Wayne. His reprisal was part of a bizarre time travel/alternate universe story that at one point was to be the method to resetting the DCEU. Unfortunately, the result was a jumbled mess that ended up being one of the biggest bombs in film history. What didn’t help the film was the criminal behavior of actor Ezra Miller which drove many away from seeing the film. Sure, Miller turned in a good performance, but the role should have been re-cast.
The Flash was also hampered by some very awful and cheap looking CG, the questionable use of dead actors, and missed opportunities. If they could stick in a poorly rendered CG of Christopher Reeve for a cameo, why couldn’t the film version of the Flash meet the TV version played by Grant Gustin? What was worse is that by the end of the film, the main character apparently never learned his lesson about meddling with time. So, what was the point of all that?
11. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Any Zack Snyder fans should heed this film when arguing that the director should have been allowed to run rampant with his vision for the DCEU. The film had everything going for it, including massive hype that it was the first time DC’s two greatest heroes would meet onscreen. Yes, it was a box office success, but it should have been a member of the billion-dollar club and that is because of how the film turned out.
Bloated and incoherent, Batman v Superman blew its opportunity to wow fans thanks to its script that was more interested in setting up future DCEU films than telling a good story on its own. Also, the film borrowed too many elements from classic comic books like The Dark Knight Returns without proper context. The film was cluttered with Snyder’s overindulgent hyper-realistic shots that dwelled in slo-mo and dour cinematography. Some of the acting was inspired, especially Ben Affleck as Batman who surprised everyone by his performance, but Jesse Eisenberg’s horrendous miscasting as Lex Luthor undermined the film. The extended version of the film is much better as it helped flesh out the many dangling plot threads that were never developed in the original cut.
10. Suicide Squad (2016)
There is a great superhero action film buried somewhere in this film about supervillains forced to carry out a black ops mission for the U.S. Maybe, we’ll see it one day if Warner Bros. ever releases director David Ayer’s original cut. For now, we must settle for a film that tried to be DC’s answer to Guardians of the Galaxy and failing to do that.
The film featured many inspired performances like Will Smith as Deadshot, Joel Kinnamen as Randall Flag, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang and of course, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Try as they did, the actors could only do so much as the script had a bunch of underpowered and mostly unlikeable characters facing off against an overpowered supernatural entity that danced stupidly. Thanks to poor editing and forced changes by film executives, the film varied wildly in tone from gritty and dour to flippant and silly as the plot careened all over the place.
9. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
Even though it could not exactly replicate the outlandishness of the original Aquaman, the sequel tried its best and was still a fun adventure. Jason Momoa was great as always portraying the Atlantean king. He clearly was having fun playing the title hero who struggled to juggle conflicting lives in his roles as a father, husband, king, superhero and surfer dude.
The film was not as imaginative or as inventive as the original, but the production did its best to deliver a sound superhero epic about Aquaman and his strained relationship with his half-brother (Patrick Wilson), as they teamed up to save Atlantis from a common foe. Overall, it was a worthy sequel to Aquaman, that is worth watching. Even though it was not intended to be the final DCEU film, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, turned out to be a decent sendoff for the DCEU.
8. Justice League (2017)
Yes, Justice League was supposed to be the counterpart to The Avengers as it featured the first team-up of DC’s greatest superheroes on the big screen, but it fell far short of that goal thanks to rushed reshootings by Joss Whedon, who took over for Zack Snyder. The production was very troubled thanks to nervous and clueless Warner Bros. executives who were only interested in padding their wallets. Instead of delaying the film, the executives were concerned with bonuses they would get by releasing the film as scheduled. The result was an uneven, mishmashed vision from two directors with very different visual and storytelling styles.
Justice League was further impaired by shoddy CG that made the film look like a visually messy video game, and who can forget the ghastly removal of Henry Cavill’s mustache? Those scenes with him and the bad CG are nearly unwatchable. Even though this film had many issues, it still featured some virtues like some of the performances and the interactions of the Justice League members hinted at the possibility of greater things to come, but sadly that would never be.
7. Shazam! (2019)
Admittedly, this superhero film was a bit silly and seemed oriented for younger audiences because of its young cast. But underneath the corny jokes and juvenile antics, was a film with a lot of heart. Shazam! echoed a lot of elements from Big, which clearly helped inspired the superhero film with its look at a young pre-teen who was suddenly transformed into a naïve adult superhero.
Shazam! might be less underwhelming than the superhero epics we are used to by now, but it delivers because of its emphasis on the characters, who struggled to deal with their fantastic situations. This was helped, of course, by some solid performances and great chemistry among the actors. Basically, Shazam! is a fun romp that explores the joys and responsibilities of being superhuman.
6. Wonder Woman (2017)
After the poor reception of prior DCEU films DC fans breathed a sigh of relief when this film turned out to be acclaimed by critics and audiences. Gal Gadot was never better in the role of Wonder Woman in a story that was distinctly unburdened by the continuity of the DCEU. Set in World War I, Wonder Woman was basically a fish-out-of-water story that showcased the Amazonian princess experiencing the violent outside world for the first time.
Gadot had great chemistry with her co-star Chris Pine, who played her love interest Steve Trevor as their relationship formed the heart of the film. It also boasted one of the DCEU’s best moments: when Wonder Woman emerged from the trenches to fight enemy soldiers in a battlefield. Still, the film was not without its flaws, such as an uninspiring final battle with your typical CG villain and a story that eerily copied many of the plot points of Captain America: The First Avenger. Still, Wonder Woman has a lot to offer.
5. Blue Beetle (2023)
There is very little that was original with this film’s superhero origin plot of the likeable everyguy who suddenly became a reluctant superhero. However, thanks to BlueBeetle’s back-to-basics approach with superhero films and heartfelt performances the film stood out from other DCEU productions. Xolo Maridueña really shined as the title hero Jaime Reyes who struggles to help his eclectic family and comes upon an alien battle suit.
The family dynamic in Blue Beetle is arguably its most notable merit as the actors have genuine chemistry with one another and embellished Reyes as a relatable character. What also helped the film were its well-choreographed action scenes and fast-moving plot. The script not only focused on the family dynamic of the Reyes Family but on social and class conflicts as the family struggled to fit into the high-tech world of the DCEU.
4. Aquaman (2018)
Credit has to go to director James Wan for being uninhibited with his superhero film that truly embraced its wild comic book roots. Actor Jason Momoa reveled in his role of the title hero which helped reimagine the image of the Aquaman character from a laughable D-list comic book character into a bonafide badass. The film was also imaginative with its depiction of underwater kingdoms and creatures that was quite dazzling. The less impressive underwater society of Namor shown in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever could not compare to the ones shown in Aquaman.
Brimming with great action, brisk pacing and vibrant production design, Aquaman turned out to be the most successful DCEU film, in fact it was the only one to earn over a billion dollars. Part of the reason for its success was because the film came out at the zenith of the current superhero film craze. However, much of it has to do with its exciting and appealing incorporation of the comic books that inspired it.
3. Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
This is the quintessential DCEU epic! Few ever expected this version of JusticeLeague to ever be released because it was just a rough cut of the film before Zack Snyder left the project. Once the director was allowed to complete his original vision years later, the result proved to many that this version should have been released instead. Whether or not you are a fan of Snyder, this version clearly has his distinct directorial stamp on it. Hyper-realistic shots, many done in slo-mo, harsh lighting, lavish shots that look like Renaissance paintings, and intensely choreographed and epic fight scenes with stunning special effects.
The film was much darker and veered significantly from the original theatrical version, but it fully fleshed out many of the characters and their arcs with a few notable exceptions. We actually got to see Cyborg developed as a unique hero, many designs and sequences were improved, and the goal of the villain was clearer, which helped raise the stakes for our heroes. We even saw Darkseid in all his evil glory! The only thing that harmed the film was that it not only hinted at what could have been, but it ended on a cliffhanger that took place in a dark future. How could Snyder do this us? Oh, well, at least we had the chance to see his unfiltered vision for the DCEU.
2. The Suicide Squad (2021)
Director James Gunn hit a super homerun with this inventive and thrilling do-over of the Suicide Squad concept. Brimming with Gunn’s trademark dark humor, character interactions and visual whimsy, The Suicide Squad should have been a huge hit, but it came out at the wrong time when Warner Bros. was flailing about during the pandemic. What also helped the film stand apart from other DCEU films was its willingness to kill off amiable characters and featuring outlandish villains taken straight from DC’s silver age.
The Suicide Squad’s best assets were the characters, which were performed with great enthusiasm by a winning ensemble cast. Margot Robbie turned in her best performance as Harley Quinn and Idris Elba was so relatable and grounded as Bloodsport. Meanwhile, the character King Shark stole the movie as the DCEU’s version of Groot, thanks to a wonderful script and Sylvester Stallone’s inspired voice acting. Its creative success was not able to salvage the DCEU, but it provided us with a glimpse of how James Gunn’s new vision for live-action DC films will be like.
1. Man of Steel (2013)
In a way, it is sad that the best film of an extensive cinematic universe turned out to be its very first one. But here we are. This Superman film was and remains one of the most controversial superhero films thanks to Zack Snyder’s gritty reimagining of the Man of Steel. In his deconstruction of the Superman mythos, Snyder’s vision set a tone for the DCEU that stood apart from the competition. Even though his take of Superman may be considered too dark for those that wanted a more traditional and optimistic Superman, Man of Steel updated the Last Son of Krypton and his story, which was needed for modern audiences.
The grounded and more realistic look at what it would be like if a superhuman alien was raised on Earth also doubled as a First Contact story and an exploration of the struggle of becoming a responsible adult. Henry Cavill was perfectly cast as a more emotionally vulnerable Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman who strived to find his place in the world. He was not perfect, he was wracked with uncertainty, he made mistakes, he was forced to kill. All of this may not fit into the ideal many had about Superman, but credit has to go to Snyder for having the fortitude to present a different look at Superman.
The film featured terrific performances, special effects and never-before-seen action sequences that finally let us see the horror and epic scale of superhuman battles. Even though many cannot appreciate the film for its own merits, Man ofSteel established the template for the DCEU going forward. Simply put, Man of Steel is the DCEU at its best.
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