The originator of comic book movies, DC has released over 35 feature films from 1978-2021.
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Plot Synopsis: The brand that created superheroes back in the early-1930’s by one kid’s idealization of a mythological being to fight NYC criminals in Superman, DC Comics has built the greatest, most pop-culture iconic, and groundbreaking collection of comic book heroes ever: The Justice League. The journey to film has been a mixed [& ~slow] one over the last century by the sheer lore and pressure of expectations; masterpieces and failures. Ranked.
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CLC’s All-Time DC Films Ranking
A bone-chilling masterpiece/descent into madness with hypnotic blue-tinted cinematography, ultra-dark sociopathological tone, thunderous scoring, white-knuckled existential dissertation, & one of history’s greatest performances: Ledger’s Joker. One of the greatest films of All-Time. 10/10.
Breathtaking cinematography, epic genre-mixes, period/war adventure, passion, & hopeful power of presence unfelt since Reeve ’78 to change filmmaking and inspire millions of girls for generations, WW is the film DC’s 75-year-old pop icon deserves – and why we love CBM’s. 9.7/10.
Breathtaking cinematography, pure science-fiction, thematically-advanced exposition on 21st-century immigrant experiences, epic action scenes, & a sophisticated complete-restylization of the first & greatest superhero for a new modern era, MOS is a work of art. 9.5/10.
One of the most politically-provocative & powerful dystopian films of the 21st century, DC/Vertigo’s V For Vendetta is a symphony of screenwriting and cinematic intellectualism – voraciously-volatile with visceral action sequences, volitional philosophical discourse, virtuosic performances/characterization, and virile anarchic chaos. 9.4/10.
Back To The Beginning, Reeves crafts a raw, powerful, emotional, dark, mature, complex noir love-letter to Golden-Age Hollywood and Se7en/Arrow/TAS/Bogart/Daredevil/Nirvana-themed nihilistic detective Year One origin story of gloom, chiaroscuro, tragedy, criminal psychology, vigiliantism, politics, corruption, news, marxism, & rage – cherishable, despite a growing weariness of the one hero’s ciné-spotlight over DC’s preponderance of alternative icons, bad costume designs, a few miscasts, & mixedly-executed/superfluous final act, by a chef d’oeuvre old-world Giacchino score, richly-immersive Gotham City worldbuild, bold cinematography palette, wild mystery storytelling, & epic performances led by the Greatest Live-Action Batman Of All-Time: Robert Pattinson. 9.4/10.
6. Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
A cinematographical masterpiece & groundbreaking, impossible win for directorial/artistic freedom over studio-interference [the biggest since Kane], the original comic book team is finally here – with industry-changing capabilities, epic mythological scale, pure blockbuster power-of-experience, poignance of emotionalism, important psychological race/gender themes, characterization-depth for each hero given their own arc, genre-diverse fantasy/drama/action/mystery/adventure/sci-fi/horror/war/opera/romance landscape, and correction of 2017’s antagonist in-context of the greatest comic book villain of all-time. The League finally got cinematic justice – and one of the best CBM’s ever made. 9/10.
Bold, nihilistic, & one of the most gorgeously cinematographed projects ever, Watchmen is a higher class of comic book film & Snyder’s pièce de resistance. 9/10.
The original superhero movie that started it all & got golden-age comic-book Superman with perfection in Reeves’ dual-portrayal, immaculate hope-driven tone, and gamechanging stuntwork, Donner’s 1978 Superman made you believe a man could fly as one of the most important & game-changing blockbusters *ever* made. 8.9/10.
A bonkers, wildly imaginative Kaiju-esque sci-fi/fantasy film with striking cinematography, massive scale, big emotion, epic villains in Black Manta/Ocean Master, & badass Polynesian reinvention of DC’s sea-hero fueled by Momoa’s burly charm & Wan’s fresh direction. 8.7/10.
10. Joker (2019)
An ultra-dark sociopathological study steeped in deep nihilistic psychology with chilling realism & wildly-violent social commentary, Joker is A Clockwork Orange x Taxi Driver x RFAD with a career performance by Joaquin Phoenix on supervillains’ origins. 8.7/10.
A groundbreaking cinematic evolution of the comic book film, Nolan’s reimagination of the caped crusader is a dark, brooding, intelligent, nihilistic, beautifully-acted, characterization-heavy, nuanced adult-centric chef’s showcase of directorial finesse for the new millennium. 8.6/10.
12. Shazam! (2019)
A brilliant cocktail of coming-of-age story, superhero origin, Christmas movie, and hilarious comedy with a lifetime-casting in Zachary Levi, dark villain in Dr. Silvana, & nostalgic heart expertly handling the Seven Deadly Sins mythos. 8.5/10.
13. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The end of one of the most groundbreaking trilogies ever, TDKR’s brutal, animalistic Bane & sibylline Catwoman break Bruce Wayne & plunge Gotham into political authoritarian chaos: a character-driven apocalypse of exigent filmmaking pedigree of Christopher Nolan – despite several costume/visual mishaps and ending that lacked the sheer gravitas of ’08’s TDK. 8.4/10.
Pure idiosyncrasy, dark themes, indie songs, depth in characterization, huge DC comics’ mythology, and bonkers hard-R bloodsoaked Black Ops glory free of PG-13 & MCU limitations, The Suicide Squad is one of the most comic book films ever made: the morbidly-strange/twisted imagination of James Gunn unleashed; 10x superior in every aspect to the 2016 version it makes like a joke and evolves with industry-changing capabilities. 8/10.
15. Superman II: The Donner Cut (1980)
16. The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
The antithesization of BVS, TLBM is a beautifully-animated and compellingly voice-acted masterclass of edgy spoof-comedy capturing gags in everything bat/DC-related – one that is a huge breath of fresh-air showing there’s more than just grimdark capable in the DC Universe. 8/10.
17. Batman (1989)
The film that changed the world, defining in classic Tim Burton-imaginative glory the world-building & dark-toned mythology of what would become the world’s most popular superhero – and greatest villain, 1989’s Batman joins Donner’s ’78 Superman companion piece as founders of the Comic Book Movie – and a star-studded, brutalistic dark fantasy one at that here. 8/10.
18. Birds Of Prey (& The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn) [2019]
A glittery, bonkers hard-R ‘90’s indie that doubles as a comic book-antihero comedy, BOP brings together the iconic female gang in one of the funniest, most violent, & boldly-original CBM’s – despite a miscast Black Canary/C.Cain & not enough Sionis. 7.8/10.
The perfect dosage of optimism for 2020, WW84 is a Classic Golden-Age DC sequel out a time-capsule – featuring epic ’80’s nostalgia, powerful emotion, diverse genre-mixes, iconic comic book lore, valorous action scenes, allegorical complexity, & darkly-characterized villains brought to life by proficient contrastive Wiig-led performances. 7.5/10.
A chilly, unmistakably-Tim Burton film with fittingly-brooding Xmas atmospherics led by Keaton’s return as the Dark Knight & perfectly-cast Penguin in Danny Devito, despite an overdone performance in Pfeiffer’s mixed-yet-well-imagined Catwoman, Returns is good. 7.5/10.
A visionary horror-take on Superman, James Gunn spins an innovative avant-garde subversion of the lore with a child-bullying/outcast narrative, stylistic flair in (*brutal*) slasher sequences, small-town Kansas feel, and twisted coming-of-age origin that could spark a new genre division: superhero horror. 7.5/10.
A proficiently-crafted & perfectly-cast talent-showcase homage love-letter to ’78 Reeve/Donner with ~every bit of its tone, experience, & magic – a bizarre combo of awe-and-letdown by its kryptonite: lack of risk/originalty & action-scarcity. 7.6/10.
Definitively answering the question ‘What if DC made movies like the MCU?’ & showing it won’t work for the galactic expectations of heroes of *this* level of comics-lore/mythology, GL is a fine-but-average CBM – bizarre CGI/animation, charismatic Reynolds-led castings, & poor choice of origin-villain in [trilogy-end worth] Parallax. 5.6/10.
24. Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)
The world’s biggest indie movie, BvS’ fine action, epic cameo, incredible Batfleck, & corruptibility-of-power/lust-for-control themes are mixed with a poorly-scored, overstuffed, rushed doom-and-gloom narrative with sour tone; a mixed event. 5/10.
Buoyed by Adam West & Burt Ward’s effortless charisma/hysterics as the Dynamic Duo, set against a backdrop of multi-Batman rogues, this silver-to-big-screen comedy ride is okay but sadly restrained by an awful screenplay/plot. 5/10.
27. Swamp Thing (1982)
Though strongly-cast & characterized with nice team action and ZS-visual afterimages, JL is a heavily-flawed CBM in rushed production, tonal-inconsistency, passionless corporatized sterility, awful choice in villain, bad studio exec-choices, and incomplete team – failing to do the original and most storied superhero team enough justice. 4/10.
Funny yet thinly written, badly CGI’d, and disappointingly executed, Suicide Squad is a muddled attempt to bring the original villains-turned-heroes team to life. 3.7/10.
30. Batman & Robin (1995)
The arctic cool-factor of having Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, flowery toxicity of Thurman’s epic Poison Ivy, and Clooney’s suave charm cannot save this awful script, joke-overloaded, & capricious introduction of The Boy Wonder, Batgirl, & Bat-nipples. Though, its tonicism and flamboyance were ahead of its time; the MCU/Guardians Of The Galaxy of the ’90’s – and if you hate this for its jokes, be consistent. 3.7/10.
31. Supergirl (1984)
32. The Return Of Swamp Thing (1989)
33. Superman IV: The Quest For Peace (1987)
34. Batman Forever (1997)
Despite a blithe/insouciant Tommy Lee Jones Two-Face & mythical Jim Carrey Riddler for limitless charisma, Forever’s poor other castings/plot, weird Kilmer Batman, bad name, & disorientative excess-yet-boredom begs to question: hopefully this series doesn’t go on as long as its title suggests. 3.2/10.
35. Superman III (1983)
36. Jonah Hex (2010)
37. Catwoman (2004)
38. Steel (1992)
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CLC’s All-Time DC TV Series Ranking
1. Arrow (2012)
S1 – 10/10 / S2 – 9.7/10 / S3 – 8/10 / S4 – 4/10 / S5 – 9.2/10 / S6 – 6/10 / S7 – 8.7/10 / S8 – 9.5/10 /// Series Review: Dark, cinematic, beautifully-choreographed, vigilantism-complex, epic in orchestral score, & rich in character development with a brilliant island dual-plot motif and career performance by Stephen Amell as the Billionaire-Turned-Emerald-Archer, DC Comics’ 2012 Arrow is one of the greatest & most revolutionary TV Series post-2000 – proof-of-concepting Blockbuster Franchises (& The Streaming Boom) on Television. 9.5/10.
S1 – 9.7/10 / S2 – 9.3/10 / S3 – 7.1/10 / S4 – 8/10 / S5 – 9.2/10 /// Series Review: Lightning-fast, visually-stunning in game-changing VFX, full of heart, pure-comic book tone, and proficient handling of the sacred speedster lore with legendary villains, diversity in cast, and perfect geeky-CSI Barry Allen casting in Grant Gustin, The Flash gets one of DC’s most famous (and difficult) heroes near-perfectly in glorious live-action what once was only possible in animation. 9.3/10.
3. Batman: The Animated Series (1990)
The definitive portrayal of The Dark Knight that revolutionized TV animation and brought to life the Caped Crusader’s lore & Rogues’ Gallery in a way never thought possible – by way of Kevin Conroy’s iconic performance and Timm’s noir world-building. A dark, rich character study decades ahead of its time (only slightly given lower placement due to precedence following suit of Batman 1989’s establishing tone/feel of Batman, plus animation’s easier than live-action). 9.2/10.
A meta-analysis of the CBM-totalitarianism over pop culture & heavy social themes plus a Justice League TV-Series set in a hyper-realistic world painting what ‘heroes’ would be like in real life (far from the romanticized lens we expect of their powers), The Boys is a visceral, savage, genre-diverse hard-R masterpiece dosage of anti-comic book cynicism. 9.2/10.
5. Superman And Lois (2021)
6. Justice League: The Series (2003)
The ultimate Saturday morning cartoon for cereal-filled escapism, TAS perfectly captures the superheroicism & intricacy of The League’s comics mythology down to every character, hero, antihero, storyline, & villain- bringing to life the original superhero team in gorgeous sunset-hued majesty. 9.2/10.
A bold, dark new take on the team for mature audiences, Titans is an addictive Netflix-like binge with chilled mise-en-scene, near-perfect castings (except Starfire), and phenomenal indie crowd-pleaser cameos like Hawk & Dove/Wonder Girl/Doom Patrol. 9.2/10.
8. Smallville (2001)
9. Swamp Thing (2019)
A dark, operatic horror series set in the Louisiana swamps, DC’s delightfully-macabre weirdfest steeped in biological terror is – despite an early problematic Alex Holland – one of the most one-of-a-kind offerings in comic book TV. 8.7/10.
10. Batman (1966)
A kaleidoscopic technicolor pow! of pure ’60’s light-hearted fun, golden-age comic book gaiety, childlike innocence, and farcical deadpan camp-comedy w. career-roles by its dynamic-duo, Batman 1965 is a live-action TV cartoon of refreshing contrastive exposition to dark archetypes and anything you’ll ever see today – exploring the origins of superheroes while groundbreakingly popularizing them to the world of pop-culture; helping build foundations to what its become today. 8.5/10.
11. Teen Titans (2003)
12. Wonder Woman (1975)
The original mutants/misfts before Marvel copied them for X-Men, DC’s strangest hero team Doom Patrol get a masterful character study, with delightfully weird tone, majestic scoring, crass R-humor, psychotic/omniscient villain, & extreme comic-accuracy. 8/10.
14. Supergirl (2015)
Full of heart in classic-Kryptonian tonal mix wholly understanding its titular hero’s lore [& fanbase] with *perfection* in lead-casting the bubbly, gorgeous, hope-bursting Melissa Benoist, solid VFX, & storied villains – despite politicization & inconsistent writing. 7.5/10.
15. Young Justice (2010)
16. Stargirl (2019)
From its striking opening JSA scene, Stargirl breathes a pure nostalgic Golden-Age comic book lore/vibrance – boosted by a classic Nebraska-set Americana, epic CGI, Easter Eggs, youthful pop energized tone, fantastic soundtrack, iconic villain, & subversive Brec Bassinger lead. 7.2/10.
17. Gotham (2014)
With splendid acting, good characterization, and fine overall direction, Gotham is a serviceable Batman prequel but, like Krypton, just isn’t engrossing enough without the presence of its titular hero to anchor it. 7.2/10.
18. Constantine (2003)
19. Batwoman (2019)
Richly-noir in Gotham City world-building with a badass lead casting in Ruby Rose (though a bit ~rough around the edges acting-wise), vital legacy in the first LGBTQ superhero with important relevant social commentary, & one of The Bat’s trippiest villains in Mad Hatter/Hush. 7.1/10.
20. Black Lightning (2018)
S1- Great cinematography and action sequences, star-making performance by Cress Williams, and intriguing gang villain in The 100. Fresh & electrifying. 6.2/10.
21. Birds of Prey (1990)
