With Justice League hitting theaters this Friday, we explore DC’s long history at the movies by ranking their 29 theatrical superhero films best to worst by Tomatometer!
Critics Consensus: Dark, complex and unforgettable, The Dark Knight succeeds not just as an entertaining comic book film, but as a richly thrilling crime saga.
Superman
Year: 1978
Tomatometer: 93%
Critics Consensus: Deftly blends humor and gravitas, taking advantage of the perfectly cast Christopher Reeve to craft a loving, nostalgic tribute to an American pop culture icon.
Wonder Woman
Year: 2017
Tomatometer: 92%
Critics Consensus: Thrilling, earnest, and buoyed by Gal Gadot’s charismatic performance, Wonder Woman succeeds in spectacular fashion.
The LEGO Batman Movie
Year: 2017
Tomatometer: 91%
Critics Consensus: The Lego Batman Movie continues its block-buster franchise’s winning streak with another round of dizzyingly funny — and beautifully animated — family-friendly mayhem.
Superman II
Year: 1981
Tomatometer: 87%
Critics Consensus: The humor occasionally stumbles into slapstick territory, and the special effects are dated, but Superman II meets, if not exceeds, the standard set by its predecessor.
The Dark Knight Rises
Year: 2012
Tomatometer: 87%
Critics Consensus: An ambitious, thoughtful, and potent action film that concludes Christopher Nolan’s franchise in spectacular fashion.
Batman Begins
Year: 2005
Tomatometer: 84%
Critics Consensus: Brooding and dark, but also exciting and smart, Batman Begins is a film that understands the essence of one of the definitive superheroes.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Year: 1993
Tomatometer: 82%
Critics Consensus: Stylish and admirably respectful of the source material, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm succeeds where many of the live-action Batman adaptations have failed.
Batman: The Movie
Year: 1966
Tomatometer: 80%
Critics Consensus: Batman: The Movie elevates camp to an art form — and has a blast doing it, every gloriously tongue-in-cheek inch of the way.
Batman Returns
Year: 1992
Tomatometer: 81%
Critics Consensus: Director Tim Burton’s dark, brooding atmosphere, Michael Keaton’s work as the tormented hero, and the flawless casting of Danny DeVito as The Penguin and Christopher Walken as, well, Christopher Walken make the sequel better than the first.
Superman Returns
Year: 2006
Tomatometer: 76%
Critics Consensus: Bryan Singer’s reverent and visually decadent adaptation gives the Man of Steel welcome emotional complexity. The result: a satisfying stick-to-your-ribs adaptation.
Batman
Year: 1989
Tomatometer: 72%
Critics Consensus: An eerie, haunting spectacle, Batman succeeds as dark entertainment, even if Jack Nicholson’s Joker too often overshadows the title character.
Watchmen
Year: 2009
Tomatometer: 64%
Critics Consensus: Gritty and visually striking, Watchmen is a faithful adaptation of Alan Moore’s graphic novel, but its complex narrative structure may make it difficult for it to appeal to viewers not already familiar with the source material.
Swamp Thing
Year: 1982
Tomatometer: 65%
Critics Consensus: Unabashedly campy — often to its detriment — Swamp Thing is not without its charms, among them Adrienne Barbeau as the damsel in distress.
Man of Steel
Year: 2013
Tomatometer: 55%
Critics Consensus: Exhilarating action and spectacle can’t fully overcome its detours into generic blockbuster territory.
Constantine
Year: 2005
Tomatometer: 46%
Critics Consensus: Despite solid production values and an intriguing premise, Constantine lacks the focus of another spiritual shoot-em-up, The Matrix.
Batman Forever
Year: 1995
Tomatometer: 41%
Critics Consensus: Loud, excessively busy, and often boring, Batman Forever nonetheless has the charisma of Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones to offer mild relief.
Justice League
Year: 2017
Tomatometer: 39%
Critics Consensus: Justice League leaps over a number of DC movies, but its single bound isn’t enough to shed the murky aesthetic, thin characters, and chaotic action that continue to dog the franchise.
The Return of the Swamp Thing
Year: 1989
Tomatometer: 33%
Critics Consensus: Smothers a potentially powerful story — and some of America’s most iconic superheroes — in a grim whirlwind of effects-driven action.
Green Lantern
Year: 2011
Tomatometer: 26%
Critics Consensus: Noisy, overproduced, and thinly written, Green Lantern squanders an impressive budget and decades of comics mythology.
Superman III
Year: 1983
Tomatometer: 26%
Critics Consensus: When not overusing sight gags, slapstick, and Richard Pryor, Superman III resorts to plot points rehashed from the previous Superman flicks.
Suicide Squad
Year: 2016
Tomatometer: 26%
Critics Consensus: Suicide Squad boasts a talented cast and a little more humor than previous DCEU efforts, but they aren’t enough to save the disappointing end result from a muddled plot, thinly written characters, and choppy directing.
Superman IV: The Quest For Peace
Year: 1987
Tomatometer: 12%
Critics Consensus: The Superman series bottoms out here: the action is boring, the special effects look cheaper, and none of the actors appear interested in where the plot’s going.
Steel
Year: 1997
Tomatometer: 12%
Critics Consensus: Steel is a badly-acted movie that indulges not only in superhero cliches, but also the sappy TV-movie-of-the-week ones.
Jonah Hex
Year: 2010
Tomatometer: 12%
Critics Consensus: Josh Brolin gives it his best shot, but he can’t keep the short, unfocused Jonah Hex from collapsing on the screen.
Batman & Robin
Year: 1997
Tomatometer: 10%
Critics Consensus: Joel Schumacher’s tongue-in-cheek attitude hits an unbearable limit in Batman & Robin resulting in a frantic and mindless movie that’s too jokey to care much for.
Catwoman
Year: 2004
Tomatometer: 9%
Critics Consensus: Halle Berry is the lone bright spot, but even she can’t save this laughable action thriller.
Supergirl
Year: 1984
Tomatometer: 7%
Critics Consensus: The effects are cheesy and Supergirl‘s wide-eyed, cheery heroine simply isn’t interesting to watch for an hour and a half.
