The success of Marvel Studios over the course of the past decade alone in the still-burgeoning field of superhero movies and comic book movie adaptations has redefined audiences' understandings of what the genre can accomplish. Yet its history of major developments goes back far beyond that and it's in the past where DC, owned in its entirety by the Time Warner group, reigns unchallenged.
Over half a century of mainstream movies, DC has had its undeniable ups and downs but which of the movies have fared the best (and worst) with critics? Let's look at the 5 most loved, and the 5 most hated, according to review aggregate site Metacritic.
10 Worst: Green Lantern (39)
Martin Campbell's big-screen debut of the titular DC superhero's origin story was seen as pretty disastrous at the time and has one of the worst reputations in the genre.
Star Ryan Reynolds would go on to forge a very successful career as a popular superhero, partially off the back of making fun of Green Lantern, and even marry his fellow romantic lead, Blake Lively, the movie itself is considered a resounding flop.
9 Best: Wonder Woman (76)
A perfect example of a successful modern origin story for DC, Wonder Woman may not have been the first time that Gal Gadot had appeared in a movie as the character but, similarly to Chadwick Boseman's debut as Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War before his successful solo movie, it was considered their first true cinematic outing.
Both critics and audiences reacted with an overwhelming positivity towards the movie, promptly greenlighting production on sequel Wonder Woman 1984.
8 Worst: Jonah Hex (33)
A mostly forgotten misfire/trainwreck adapted from a mostly forgotten DC character, Jonah Hex was released to terrible reviews the same weekend as Pixar's Toy Story 3 (the highest-grossing movie of that year) and was promptly lost to time.
Like many Certifiable Bad Movie oddities, it actually features an incredible cast, many of whom went on to great success in the superhero genre, including Josh Brolin and Michael Fassbender.
7 Best: The Dark Knight Rises (78)
Christopher Nolan's followup to his incredibly successful Batman sequel The Dark Knight was similarly big hit with audiences and critics, rounding out a generally well-regarded trilogy of movies from the director about the iconic superhero.
The Dark Knight Rises delivered on expanding the scope of the trilogy's vision as well as its own iconic villain in the form of Tom Hardy's Bane.
6 Worst: Batman & Robin (28)
One of the most frequently ridiculed superhero movies ever made, Joel Schumacher's second Batman movie was even less of a success than his first take on the character with actor Val Kilmer.
With Chris O'Donnell returning as Robin from the previous movie, George Clooney replacing Kilmer, and Arnold Schwarzenegger overshadowing them both as one of several villains, Batman & Robin was an undeniable mess but one which often produces memorably humorous results.
5 Best: Superman (80)
Richard Donner's Superman movie from 1978 is arguably yet to be topped in terms of establishing a structure for superhero movies and comic book adaptations in general.
Originally envisaged as the first of two back-to-back projects from Donner which didn't exactly pan out but his first movie turned out as perfectly as entries into the genre ever do with a central performance that is still used a yardstick for those types of roles and John Williams' theme becoming one of the most recognizable in movie history.
4 Worst: Catwoman (27)
Halle Berry's turn as the famous title character is, very much Batman & Robin, often the subject of a kind of almost loving mockery due to a number of noticeably bad creative and stylistic choices.
Berry would embrace the reputation of the movie much in the same way that Ryan Reynolds and George Clooney did with theirs, even accepting her own Razzie Award for her performance in the movie.
3 Best: Superman II (83)
Despite legendary production troubles, the sequel to Richard Donner's original Superman movie was a similarly huge hit with audiences and critics.
Fans would eventually get to see a decent approximation of Donner's intended vision for Superman II in a special cut that was released 26 years later.
2 Worst: Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (24)
Christopher Reeve's final movie as Superman was the lowest point of his run as the character and the Superman movies so far and another movie featuring the character would not be released for almost 20 years.
Despite a number of returning cast members from the earlier movies, none of the magic was recaptured and the movie's execution seemed cheap and substandard.
1 Best: The Dark Knight (84)
Often regarded as both one of the best superhero movies ever made and one of the best sequels ever made, The Dark Knight astounded fans and critics alike with its rendition of a more stripped-down crime thriller take on the Batman mythos.
Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning performance as The Joker was considered untoppable for over a decade, and still is in the eyes of many fans, with Joaquin Phoenix taking Best Actor for his version of the character in 2019.
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June 26, 2020 at 05:30AM
