DC’s cinematic universe is now five movies deep, and fans certainly have opinions on what it’s done well so far, where it could do better, and what to expect in the future.
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Those opinions are reflected in the multitude of review scores fans submitted to ComicBook.com, and those scores contain a surprise or two. Critics and fans have differed in the past (sometimes wildly so), but aside from one exception, the DCEU movies seem to take that to an absurd degree.
Some of that is just a result of the movies themselves trying to do something different with the characters and franchises, but other parts of that can be attributed to DC and WB’s overall strategy with the universe.
Other elements can be traced to the myriad of changes in directors and overall creative vision of the universe, but DC chief creative officer Geoff Johns thinks some of that is blown out of proportion.
“Some of the stuff is true, some of it isn’t true,” Johns told Vulture. “When we talk about things or we’re making deals for people to develop scripts or whatever, sometimes, things leak; sometimes, things are misreported, and it’s frustrating. Because we do wanna go out there and talk about what our strategy is, and this stuff just muddies the water. There’s a lot of internal conversations going on about, How do we help kind of clean that up a bit?”
Fans certainly have their thoughts on how the studio can clean some of that up but guess we’ll have to take a wait and see approach. There have been a variety of highs and lows in the DCEU thus far, and you can hit the next slide to see what the DC community things of the cinematic universe so far!
‘Man of Steel’
Fan Ranking: 3.54 out of 5.
Man of Steel kicked off DC’s cinematic universe, but the launch wasn’t as smooth as the studio might’ve hoped.
Critics and fans alike are a bit split on Man of Steel, mostly stemming from its seeming disregard of some of Superman’s long-held tenants. Things like his policy on not killing and placing citizen safety at a premium were common criticisms of the film, though few would argue that Henry Cavill isn’t just about perfect for the role.
It wouldn’t be until later that the character of Superman really came into his own, but the movie was still profitable for WB. Superman brought in over $668 million worldwide, with over $291 million stateside.
Here’s the official description of the film:
“With the imminent destruction of Krypton, their home planet, Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and his wife seek to preserve their race by sending their infant son to Earth. The child’s spacecraft lands at the farm of Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Martha (Diane Lane) Kent, who name him Clark and raise him as their own son. Though his extraordinary abilities have led to the adult Clark (Henry Cavill) living on the fringe of society, he finds he must become a hero to save those he loves from a dire threat.”
Man of Steel is available on digital, Blu-ray, and DVD now.
‘Suicide Squad’
Fan Ranking: 3.63 out of 5.
Like Man of Steel, Suicide Squad is a bit divisive. Fans were relatively unanimous in their love of Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, and Deadshot was well received as well. Still, many felt the villain was severely lacking, and for all the hype of Joker there wasn’t much of him actually in the film.
The film still managed over $325 million domestically and worldwide brought in over $745 million at the box office.
Here’s the film’s official description:
“It feels good to be bad…Assemble a team of the world’s most dangerous, incarcerated Super Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government’s disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity. U.S. intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals with next to nothing to lose will do. However, once they realize they weren’t picked to succeed but chosen for their patent culpability when they inevitably fail, will the Suicide Squad resolve to die trying, or decide it’s every man for himself?”
Suicide Squad is currently available on Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD.
‘Justice League’
Fan Ranking: 3.90 out of 5.
Justice League is just as up and down as the rest of the DCEU, and that probably has something to do with it’s less than expected box office. That said, the film is still bringing in substantial ticket sales, raking in over $171 million domestically with a worldwide total of over $482 million.
While plagued by rumors of turmoil behind the scenes, the film as a whole has been generally well received by fans, though it isn’t held in as high regard as something like Wonder Woman.
Here’s the film’s official description:
“Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.”
Justice League is in theaters now.
‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’
Fan Ranking: 4.05 out of 5.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was heavily anticipated and pulled in significant box office dollars, but has had lingering effects on the DCEU.
The film has been criticized for having much too dark of a tone, but then some have come to its defense, saying it was trying to be different from Marvel’s lighter-hearted fare.
The movie has left fans split, but it still has a rather high 4.05 out of 5 in our rankings, so it seems critics and fans felt much differently.
Batman v Superman pulled in over $330 million domestically with a worldwide total of over $873 million.
Here’s the film’s official description:
“Fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.”
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is available on digital, Blu-ray, and DVD now.
‘Wonder Woman’
Fan Ranking: 4.19 out of 5.
Wonder Woman is clearly the biggest success of DC’s cinematic universe and single-handedly changed what people expect from a DC movie.
The film benefited from great word of mouth, and it showed in the box office receipts. Wonder Woman exceeded expectations and brought in over $412 million just domestically, with a worldwide box office tally of over $821 million.
Needless to say, Wonder Woman is the crown jewel of DC’s kingdom, and a sequel has already been greenlit.
Here’s the film’s official description:
“Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers and her true destiny.”
Wonder Woman is available on digital, Blu-ray, and DVD now.
