BPX096: The Greatest DCEU Movie

[Neon Ignition]

Every film that will ever be made as part of Warners DC Extended Cinematic Universe has now seen release and the cinemas now await the launch of their rebooted effort as a whole new universe attempt prepares to take flight. Like Marvels universe, DC did take an attempt to rope in some historical hits into its canon but to avoid repeated controversy we will this time be sticking to the core films released as part of this Universe plan.

With Marvel having a strong hold on the market, DC aimed to tackle the problem of making their own mark by taking a darker toned approach that would also permit greater influence from each directors own sensibilities. This emerged even stronger as the original plan for Snyder to helm the original five film arc fell through and the company lurched and pivoted with each success and failure.

Multiple votes are possible but there are no additional rounds, instead here is the entire line up asking which films worked and which is the greatest.

Which is your choice and the movie that you would like to see crowned the best...

[QualityChimp]

THE Suicide Squad, the 2021 film.

All of the ones I've seen are all passable and have a few laughs, but none are amazing, IMHO.

The Flash was decent. BvS was OK with an interesting concept, but pretty forgettable (and nowhere near as great as The Dark Knight Returns comic series).

Man of Steel didn't click with me. I don't know if they're capable of making a good Superman film, but I'm glad they're rebooting to have a proper crack at it.
Shazam was watchable.

However, I really enjoyed The Suicide Squad - proper violent and gory with some good plot twists.
Especially good watched in conjunction with the Peacemaker series, which was also great.

I think that combo has been peak DC, not including the Watchmen series.

[Neon Ignition]

The DCEU is a line up where the peaks never hit hgih enough but the lows are nowhere close to the levels online fanboys would have them be. It's a very inconsistent run though.


Man of Steel: It's a good film, not amazing or even the Superman film I'd snap my fingers and have made but in isolation it's a well made enough entry with an interesting approach. I feel it would have fared better in its legacy if it had been stand alone rather than used as a launch pad for the DCEU as the vast majority of common criticisms against it are moronic.

Batman v Superman: A much more flawed film, the extended cut is better but not in a way that it dramatically changes things. Affleck is still one of the best Batman choices, underserved by never getting a solo film. It came at the wrong time and parts of the execution let the concept down.

Suicide Squad: I still don't mind it. I don't disagree with a lot of the complaints that the film gets, it's a very flawed entry and it's fairly generic but as something to just switch off and watch its perfectly passable by the wider bar of films in general.

Wonder Woman: Whilst this is technically decent, I've always felt a bit cold to it. Hard to pinpoint why, I think part of it is just that it's in many ways similar to the first Captain America film but it lacks the heart of that film so coming after that film this is just kind of 'there'. I think that's perhaps reflected by often when referenced in image of writing you'd be forgiven for thinking it was called No Man's Land: The Movie, because so much focus rests on that one scene.

Justice League: Its watchable, but it's unquestionably a misfire. It lacks any of the successful attributes of the Avengers film it aims to rival whilst coming far too early to be paying off on anything and that's before covering how it feels lesser in scale than the films that came before it. It's too obviously compromised from too many angles.

Justice League: The Snyder Cut: I let this be its own option because it actually is starkly different enough to practically be considered a different film even if the overally arc remains the same. It's excessively long and the insanely stupid idea of putting the whole thing in 4:3 ratio remains endlessly frustrating but other than that it's unquestionably a vastly superior version of the film that reveals something that was never going to match Avengers success but does at least make for a film that feels like a true extension of what MOS and BVS laid down first. Characters get a lot more room to breathe and most of the additions and alt scenes are much better than the theatrical version, not least the new film climax which is excellent here.

Aquaman: Still staggering that this is peak success point for the entire DCEU. It's fine, I prefer it to some of the films but I still don't quite understand why it did so well at the time.

Shazam!: This may have spent a while being seen as the runt of the litter with its low box office but this is the film that felt like it was the closest to what the DCEU's tone should have been all along. It's well cast, it has a lighter tone but a strong emotional core and is a deeply likeable film. Doesn't get the kudos it should.

Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn: I suppose to give it its fair dues, I've only seen it the once but from that viewing it felt like a big swing into all of the wrong decisions the DCEU had made till this point. As ironic as this will sound a few films down, one of the biggest mistakes the DCEU ever made (and the MCU and new DCU risks if they don't handle the transition well) is making entries that are focused solely on adults in their content. Attempting to create a shared universe that audiences become invested in, then gating some of that content so that kids and families can't watch it has always seemed like an incredibly daft move. This does that but even from an adults perspective the incarnations of popular characters here are like a doubling down of choices that just don't fit the world being built or the popularity of the characters they're supposed to represent. Probably speaks volumes that Harley remains so popular yet the film is one of the least referenced.

Wonder Woman 1984: Undoubtedly flawed but online hyperbole be damned, I'd still watch it over several of the other DCEU films and that probably includes the first one of these too. There are obvious issues with the film but its lighter in tone, has more momentum and the hearty bits hit better which make it easier to sit through. It's one where I can understand people not taking to it but the scale of vitriol it's attracted seems laughable.

The Suicide Squad: It's the best film on the list, without question and Peacemaker's success just cemented the execution was on point and that the box office earnings of films like this (and WW84) was far more a reflection of the pandemic market and DCEU's overall reputation at the time than it was a reflection of the movie itself.

Black Adam: All the hype about effectively resetting the DCEU with this film and then putting out something pretty mindless and generic. But that's kind of the end verdict for the film too. Not as good as the Shazam film it's embarrassed to be a spin-off of but it's inoffensive fun with plenty action.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods: A slightly more flawed sequel as is the running theme with the DCEU, it's still a solid film and carries much of the likeable quality of the first film. It's a rare superhero movie that actually contains some... saving people... and again has the heart that these films too often lack.

The Flash: Then we run (badum-tish) into the film that was intended to officially reboot the DCEU till it tripped over itself. So much effort to try and sink the entire film because of Miller's real world drama and so much hand-wringing over the quality of the CG as though sub-standard VFX is an exclusive feature of the film. There's a lot to like here and it's an enjoyable tale rightly focused on exploring one of the characters defining character moments - developing the strength to not use your powers.

Blue Beetle: Very much like Shazam, this is a scrappy little film with great humour, heart and charm that didn't remotely get the recognition it deserved.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: It's fine, it's kind of hard to see why those who clearly loved the first wouldn't enjoy the second but likewise bing fairly neutral on the first meant I felt the same for this one.


Despite the earnings and moaning the DCEU attracts it's overall pretty safe ground and I prefer the second half offerings more than the stuff that did better in the first half.

[Dogg Thang]

There are a whole bunch of these that I've never seen and, in all likelihood, never will. Out of those I have, Shazam takes it. It was fun. Not pushed as far as it could have been but fun nonetheless.

[Asura]

Oh honestly none of them. Voted for Wonder-Woman as it's the only one I've found the interest to watch twice.

Frankly, in retrospect, I find them a real bore, and I've only seen maybe half of them and wasn't inspired to see the others.

Top marks go to when I saw a movie a month before BvS came out, and it had an "extended trailer presentation" for that movie, which was basically a summary of the entire movie in ~4 minutes. Wonder-Woman twist, everything.

I mean, sure, it's not like they're entirely devoid of value. There are fun moments. But frankly I doubt I'm ever gonna rewatch the ones I've seen.

[prinnysquad]

The Suicide Squad is the best film there, but I found that the heart of Blue Beetle made it a more enjoyable film. So I went for that one. A back to basics, charming little film.

[Lebowski]

Yup The Suicide Squad, not to be confused with Suicide Squad which was played too straight and had one of the worst versions of the joker we have ever seen on screen. I really don't get how they made two films with the same lead and got things so wrong with the first film.

[Dogg Thang]

I could not get through Suicide Squid (haven't seen "The"). The opening 20 minutes are godawful. I don't know if it got better but I was done at that point. It was like a movie where all the scenes were played on shuffle.

[Neon Ignition]

The eclectic editing stops once all the characters have been introduced and things settle down into a very conventional format from there on but if you ever felt the compulsion just jump straight to the more recent film. Viewing the first isn't required and being a James Gunn film it's very much more his style than DCEU's.

[Asura]

I could not get through Suicide Squid (haven't seen "The"). The opening 20 minutes are godawful. I don't know if it got better but I was done at that point. It was like a movie where all the scenes were played on shuffle.

From what I understand - I may have the order of events mixed up here, but apparently once the movie was finished, the studio didn't like it, but it was 'done' and in the can. Then, they had contracted a company to make the trailer who ordinarily mainly does music videos, and after they did that, the trailer blew up on YouTube. It was so successful they got those people to cut the actual movie, and that's the movie that found its way to cinemas.

[Dogg Thang]

From what I understand - I may have the order of events mixed up here, but apparently once the movie was finished, the studio didn't like it, but it was 'done' and in the can. Then, they had contracted a company to make the trailer who ordinarily mainly does music videos, and after they did that, the trailer blew up on YouTube. It was so successful they got those people to cut the actual movie, and that's the movie that found its way to cinemas.

True or not, it's certainly believable enough given how that movie opens.

[Neon Ignition]

Despite what Ayer says about the theatrical cut, I've never once believed his original cut would be the better version. Sometimes you just know...