DC has had some hits and many, many misses over the years. Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy was legendary, and Zack Snyder looked like he would do something brilliant with the DC Extended Universe. But, unfortunately, there have been too many duds in the mix and far too much disappointment. Let’s look at some of the worst DC movies.
8. Bird of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
After her brilliant performance in Suicide Squad, fans were excited to see Margo Robbie play Harley Quinn in a film that was more centred around her. Unfortunately, while we get a lot more Harley Quinn, the movie is a major disappointment that has earned its spot as one of the worst DC movies.
The movie tries to be about girl power and portrays men as the worst thing to ever exist on the planet. The owner of the sandwich shop is the only one not portrayed as a vicious women-hating monster. All of Detective Montoya’s co-workers and subordinates treat her like she’s a “useless woman”. It’s an unrealistic narrative pushing a message that doesn’t need to be pushed.
Harley Quinn is a violent character who has never had a problem with murder. This is the same woman that was named an accomplice to one of Robin’s murders, mercilessly tortured another into insanity and almost killed Batman to prove her love to the Joker. Birds of Prey overlooks her previous violent acts and treats her as more of a small-time scammer than one of the most deadly villains in Gotham. She’s survived the Joker, has escaped and almost killed Batman several times and is more than willing to blow up a place if she gets her hands on explosives. All of this adds up and creates a film with a weak and forgettable story.
7. Suicide Squad
While being promoted, it looked like Suicide Squad was going to be a great movie. They had the villains being villains while working together to save the world from Joker. Unfortunately, while it was a box office success, and we saw fantastic performances from Will Smith and Margot Robbie, the film received so many negative reviews that it became one of the worst DC movies.
The Joker, a character that is supposed to be captivating, terrifying and convoluted, ended up being one of the most forgettable characters in the film. He only served to make Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn better and did nothing that brought him anywhere close to the standard set by Heath Ledger.
The film seems unable to decide between being a gritty, dark tale about a group of villains forced to work for the government or a comedic movie about a gang of misfits who save the world despite everything.
There are also so many characters that some of their arcs feel rushed while others are completely forgotten (Killer Croc barely did anything the whole movie). Most of the beginning film is spent re-introducing characters we’ve already met (Deadshot has three introductions). In contrast, others get a brief “this is so-and-so” while adding random facts about their character in odd places so audiences might care about them. DC could have easily solved many of these problems if they had taken the time to introduce us to these characters in other films.
Another unfortunate thing about the film is that many of the flashback scenes that introduce the characters are more interesting than the movie itself, further proving that the film has an incredibly dull plot that adds nothing to the overall DCEU story. It feels like DC saw Deadpool and decided they wanted to try to do something similar and failed miserably.
The film is riddled with plot holes, and the editing does Suicide Squad no favours. However, fans are glad characters like Harley Quinn were given a second chance in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.
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6. Green Lantern
What do you get when you cross Ryan Reynolds with a skin-tight suit, bad CGI and a poorly characterised Hal Jordan? One of the worst DC movies. So bad that Warner Bros. had to wait for Man of Steel before they could kick off the DCEU.
Hal Jordon is one of the worst things about the movie besides the terrible CGI. In the comics, Hal Jordan is one of the most well-respected members of the Justice League and gets along well with Barry Allen, with whom he shares similar characteristics. He’s loyal, confident, kind and brave, all traits necessary to make him one of the greatest Green Lanterns ever. This is not so much the case in Green Lantern,
Ryan Reynold’s Hal is so bland that the original personality of the character is lost in poor writing. Unfortunately, none of the other characters fares much better as they are either too stiff, too over the top or not seen enough.
The film goes through too many villains. We first learn of Parallax, a villain that the comics took the time to build up to significantly impact the story when he did appear for the first time. In the film, he feels more like a vengeful cloud who takes out several members of the intergalactic police force before being defeated by a giant fist. Hector Hammond feels like he’s just there to cause drama and try to kill his dad before being unceremoniously murdered. Sinestro’s character development is sacrificed for an end-credit scene that amounted to nothing because the sequel was cancelled.
Warner Bros’s involvement behind the scenes of the film and their swapping out of directors at the last minute hurt the film and resulted in the chaotic mess that is now Green Lantern.
5. Justice League
Justice League was one of the DCEU’s biggest box office flops, and the poor critical reception added to it earning its spots as one of the worst DC movies. The plot is messy, the CGI is cheap (I don’t think anyone will forget the poor attempt to cover Henry Cavill’s moustache), and the tone is inconsistent. During some moments, the film was trying its hardest to meet the dark tones introduced in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice but the rest of the time, it seems to completely forget that it’s a DC movie.
Another reason the film did so badly is that it was trying to follow the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s formula of having the team fight and argue with each other for the whole film before finally pulling together at the end to help defeat the big bad.
Most of the characters were poorly developed because of this and incredibly unenjoyable. Diana’s characterisation was a major victim of this badly followed formula, and she and the Flash were the best parts of the movie. Ben Affleck’s Batman is nothing like the previously established character. Neither Aquaman (Jason Momoa) nor Cyborg (Ray Fisher) looks like they want to be there.
The movie failed to give us a decent superhero team-up and doesn’t focus enough on any of the characters. It feels like DC could have picked a random assortment of characters, and nothing about the movie would have really changed. Fortunately for fans of the DCEU, Zack Snyder’s Justice League managed to bring about a meaningful story and gave the Flash, Cyborg and Aquaman more prominent roles rather than just comedic relief and broody collecting of robot parts.
4. Batman Forever
The third film in Joel Schumacher and Tim Burton’s Batman series had its moments, but it has still earned its spot as one of the worst DC movies. Batman Forever replaced Michael Keaton with Val Kilmer and didn’t give him much chance to shine as the caped crusader.
The film seems to forget that it’s a Batman film sometimes. It spends so much time establishing Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) and the Riddler (Jim Carrey) that any moments including Batman, feel like after-thoughts, even though this is his movie.
This is made worse because Jones and Carrey both seem to be trying to portray a Jokerized version of two of the most iconic Batman villains. This kind of works for Carrey, but it completely ruins Jones’ Two-Face. Harvey Dent is supposed to be a tragic character with contrasting personalities that allow him to retain some of his humanity. Instead, he’s played as a completely insane character who shows no care for what he does.
Nicole Kidman’s Chase Meridian was the worst Batman love interest, especially since she spent the whole movie either obsessed with Batman (which didn’t sit well with audiences) or in love with Bruce Wayne.
The humour felt incredibly cheesy, and the tone of the film wasn’t helped by the over-the-top gothic soundtrack that picked up every time Batman moved. The Dark Knight’s movement isn’t helped by a suit that looks too stiff for him to turn his head, let alone fight in it.
3. Batman & Robin
Joel Schumacher’s second Batman film is considered one of the worst DC films of all time. It was the brightest movie of the franchise and was nothing like the brooding films that came before it. Fans had been expecting a lot from this 1997 film, and it did not deliver.
Batman (George Clooney) was far more carefree than previous iterations of his character, and there was almost no mention of the tragic loss that had shaped him into the man he had become. We see Bruce Wayne go from a man who willingly set villains on fire to someone who voluntarily placed bids on Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman).
The dialogue is ridiculous. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plays Mr Freeze (one of the most tragic villains in DC history), spends most of the film delivering poorly timed and often forced ice-related puns. As a result, the movie ruined a character that was better characterised by Batman: The Animated Series. Bane’s characterisation is even worse.
Bane is one of Batman’s most formidable opponents and has fatally wounded the dark knight more than once, as proved by 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises. However, in Batman & Robin, the criminal mastermind was reduced to nothing more than one of Poison Ivy’s henchmen.
The story did nothing to save the film. Fans expected a deep and tragic story about Mr Freeze or Poison Ivy. Instead, they got the dynamic duo fighting and a last-minute introduction to Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone).
2. Catwoman
Catwoman is by far one of the worst DC movies of all time. Not only does it completely ignore the source material and make up its own story, but it hypersexualises Halle Berry’s character to the point that it’s the only thing people remember about the movie.
Selena Kyle is meant to be a cat burglar with a flair for the dramatic. She wore the suit (with significantly more practical shoes than we’ve seen in the movies) in the comics because Batman inspires her to do so. Selena has the acrobatic skills of an Olympian and is an expert in hand-to-hand combat. Her intelligence matches that of Batman, so much so that she can hold a conversation with some of the brightest minds in Gotham while casually lifting their wallets.
Catwoman does none of that. Instead, it hypersexualises a character that received cat-like powers and mannerisms in a very oddly explained way and runs around using these powers to exact her revenge on the people that killed her. It’s a very weak film with writing so bad that one of the writers refuses to watch it. Catwoman’s suit is barely even a suit. She wears a bra and pants that are so torn up that they look like they weren’t worth the hassle of getting on. Also, what’s with DC and giving every iteration of Catwoman heels? Someone get her a practical pair of shoes, please.
It’s hard to believe that Batman Begins arrives on the scene less than a year after this dumpster fire of a movie.
1. Wonder Woman 1984
After the major success of Patty Jenkin’s Wonder Woman, fans thought her next film would be just as substantial and visually beautiful with an emotionally impactful message to match. But, unfortunately, this wasn’t the case at all. Instead, we got a film with a plot that made no sense and quickly earned its spot as one of the worst DC movies.
Poorly Used and Poorly Thought-out Villains
Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) is one of the most intelligent and devasting villains in DC comics. He manages to shatter the Justice League’s trust in each other and causes such a problem for anyone that Wonder Woman is forced to murder him to put an end to everything. Unfortunately, the movie’s version of the character shows nothing of this strength. Instead, we get an incredibly confusing character who can’t seem to decide what his motivation is.
In the beginning, all Maxwell wants is wealth enough to look after his son and give him a life he was never afforded as a young boy. However, this motivation changes into wanting overwhelming power with no explanation whatsoever, and so the jump to him becoming a villain feels unearned and cheap.
His character arc is incoherent and leaves you confused for a large chunk of the film. His change of heart at the end of the film feels equally as unearned as his jump to becoming a villain. It feels like someone wrote down basic ideas for what could happen to his character, and no one bothered to improve on them.
Barbara Minerva’s (Kristen Wigg)character arc is just as disappointing. There was an excellent opportunity to bring in a meaningful message and make Barbara realise that she didn’t need Wonder Woman’s power to be like her, only her nobility, which is inside every single one of us. It could have been a very meaningful moment, and it would have been a change of heart that actually made sense.
Instead, they wasted it and made Barbara go insane so that Diana (Gal Gadot) would have someone to fight at the end of the film. Unfortunately, we don’t even see her renounce her wish, so Barbara isn’t given a redemption arc either.
How Diana’s Wish was Handled
DC has a bad habit of weakening its strongest heroes, so their opponents stand a chance. Diana losing her powers was poorly done, and it felt like it happened so that they could do a big “power reveal” as they did in the previous film. It was highly unnecessary.
Wonder Woman 1984 didn’t handle Steve Trevor’s (Chirs Pine) return any better. Diana lectures Barbara about the ethics of her wish, while her own isn’t ever questioned. Instead, they focus solely on her loss of powers and not on the fact that they’ve essentially murdered the guy whose body Steve is borrowing. Only when Diana has to save the world does she finally renounce her wish.
Acknowledging that their time together will be brief for the sake of the man whose life they’ve taken away would’ve given the film the bit of depth that it desperately needed.
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Which do you think was the worst DC movie of all time?
