EJ Moreno on the essential DC films…
As we prepare to enter a new era for the DC Universe with James Gunn’s Superman, it feels like an ideal time to make a watchlist of the DC movies that brought us to this point.
It’s been a rocky road with great ups and downs, but there’s nothing quite like an amazing DC movie to bring joy to longtime fans. So, we’ve compiled ten of the greatest DC Universe movies ever. Take a look below, and be sure to let us know your must-watch movies via our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Superman: The Movie
Comic book adaptations have happened since cinema began, going as far back as the classic Batman serials. But what would soon spawn the modern era of superheroes began with 1978’s Superman: The Movie.
Richard Donner’s seminal film changed everything and became the benchmark for quite some time. Besides its cultural impact, it is just a fantastic movie to behold. Christopher Reeve is the golden standard for the Man of Steel. His performance carries a touching weight, working seamlessly through the action, comedy, romance, and drama.
Reeve would follow this performance up with a few good outings, but his earnest nature helped build this character’s legacy and made him the pop culture icon we all know.
Superman: The Movie is one of Warner Bros.’ most successful films, an Academy Award winner, and one of the must-see superhero movies ever.
Batman
Over a decade after Superman became a touchstone for comic book adaptations, Tim Burton took his shot at cementing a legacy and cooked up another superhero classic with 1989’s Batman.
Fans were hesitant about the project, as Burton was still finding his voice as a filmmaker, and the character was coming off a period when camp took over any sense of drama. As a way of standing out, the film went full goth and gave us a moody and fun film that summed up all we’d loved about Burton and Batman for decades.
Michael Keaton almost instantly found his footing in the role, even if his outfit barely let him move. Alongside a delirious Jack Nicholson as Joker, these two cooked.
To show you the impact of this one movie, Batman ’89 was the highest-grossing film based on a DC comic book until 2008’s The Dark Knight.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
While animated DC movies deserve their own list of essential classics, you can’t look at widely released DC projects and not include the brilliant Batman: Mask of the Phantasm from 1993.
This film was Warner Bros. Animation’s first production, released between seasons one and two of Batman: The Animated Series. You can see those growing pains in the box office and the scheduling. Despite that, it became a treasured classic by audiences and critics. There’s magic in this universe that always works.
After the passing of the great Kevin Conroy, this is a perfect film to revisit as a celebration of what he added to Batman’s and DC’s mythos. For me, this is the Batman movie.
You can never go wrong with viewing Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, a throwback animated beauty from a lackluster DC era.
SEE ALSO: Your Angel of Death Awaits – The Greatness of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
V for Vendetta
Not all DC films have to be superhero adaptations; some can be reworkings of graphic novels that are so deeply grounded in reality that they almost feel too shocking for the mainstream.
V for Vendetta is one of those stories. It takes the deeply political work found in Alan Moore’s novel of the same name and holds nothing back in a stunning directorial effort from James McTeigue. With the help of The Wachowskis, this became a film that mainstream blockbuster lovers were too afraid to embrace fully.
Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving turn out career-defining roles that challenge you as a viewer, giving a layered performance in an already dense story.
The film is an early example of what many superhero movies would attempt: tell an action-packed political and socially conscious story.
Superman Returns
Finding the perfect Superman movie, or even an amazing one, is no easy task. After the iconic original from Reeve, it took years to get another entry, and this one was wild.
Instead of going the reboot route as many expected (that was to come with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel), 2006’s Superman Returns decided to continue the legacy of what came before it. With that, we got a nostalgic ride to the Christopher Reeve era through Brandon Routh and his perfect Boy Scout vibes.
Not everything works, and it’s not the most memorable film, but it works as a stepping stone from one film era to another. A transitional moment that helped bridge the gap.
If you take away the film’s villain and director being actual weirdos, it’s a decent Superman film that gave fans what they’d never get again.
The Dark Knight
It’s hard to express to someone who wasn’t around in 2008 just how much this film had a grip on pop culture, but upon its release, there was no escaping The Dark Knight.
The director changed the game forever when Christopher Nolan entered the comic book movie business. Never again could these movies be campy little movies for longtime nerds. Nolan’s iconic work in The Dark Knight made every studio and filmmaker rethink what a superhero blockbuster could be, for better or worse.
Everyone wants to recapture this magic, but no one could even touch Heath Ledger’s groundbreaking work as The Joker, an Oscar-winning juggernaut of a role.
Even if everyone wanted to go the self-serious and drama route after this, it’s hard to imagine a world without The Dark Knight.
SEE ALSO: The Dark Knight: Why It’s Still the Best Superhero Movie
Watchmen
Before he became the controversial figurehead of the DC Extended Universe, Zack Snyder created an epic look at Alan Moore’s masterful graphic novel Watchmen. Would it be too bold to say it’s still his best?
Many felt bringing Moore’s Watchmen to the cinema would be impossible. It was too weird, too shocking, and had too much superhero context needed to work. Snyder took that challenge and did everything he could to make it work, and it shockingly came together quite nicely. It was like one madman filtering another’s work.
Although Zack Snyder may not be known for his best acting direction, his work with his actors, especially Jackie Earle Haley, is masterful. It’s all so grounded, even at its most comic book.
If you haven’t seen this film in a while, buckle up and brace yourself for this harrowing experience.
SEE ALSO: Zack Snyder’s Watchmen: An ambitious adaptation of a darkly complex comic book classic
Wonder Woman
It’s wild to think how vital Wonder Woman was to the early days of the DCEU and how it is still widely regarded as one of the top-tier movies from the previous DC Films installments.
The DCEU was in a rocky spot following the wild year of 2016. Patty Jenkins needed to come in with a certified banger to swing the general public in DC’s favor. She did that with Wonder Woman, which starred Gal Gadot in her best performance and was filled with heart, soul, and plenty of memorable action.
Out of all the films included here, it’s hard to name one with a scene as impactful as the No Man’s Land scene. It hits hard with the message and still manages to stun as a set piece.
Sadly, the follow-up to this wouldn’t match these heights, but we can still look back at the 2017 movie that kept DC alive.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
From the saving grace to the final chapter, Zack Snyder’s Justice League marked the end of what was once supposed to be the DC’s answer to the MCU. With this movie, we saw Snyder go all or nothing.
In 2017, DC dropped Justice League, a chopped version of what Zack Snyder started, but Joss Whedon took over after a tragedy. Years later, with a social media campaign known as Release The Snyder Cut, the filmmaker got his version out, and it was an all-out DC explosion. It was head-to-toe insanity.
For years, we’d never thought Darkseid could face off with a fully united Justice League, but this 4-hour epic took us on a journey through so much of what Snyder had planned.
While many wanted more from this universe, some fans are perfectly fine with this being the closing moment for an epic time in DC.
SEE ALSO: Re-evaluating Zack Snyder’s DCEU Trilogy: The Misunderstood Superman Saga
Joker
While the DCEU ended, an Elseworlds universe emerged where artists could tell their own versions of iconic DC stories. One of those defining films was Todd Phillips’ Joker.
When this film dropped, the world seemed ablaze in a billion-dollar Oscar-winning moment. Fans and pundits questioned its morals, the cinema bros had a massive talking point, and the general public craved a good DC story. It was a perfect moment that led to the film hitting heights no one expected, a true cinematic gem.
Joker led Joaquin Phoenix to finally winning an Oscar, giving the Joker role an Oscar win in Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. It’s genuinely unheard-of insanity.
Whether you love or hate it, it’s a film you must acknowledge as a true touchstone in the legacy of DC movies.
SEE ALSO: A DCEU Obituary: Ranking the DC Extended Universe from Worst to Best
EJ Moreno
