How would you rank the movies in the DC Extended Universe?

[BluRayHiDef]

My ranking for the film in the DC Extended Universe is as follows:

• Man of Steel (10/10)
• Batman v Superman (8/10)
• Wonder Woman (7.8/10)
• Suicide Squad (6/10)

I love Man of Steel due to its abundantly packed yet well-structured story, high-quality performances, strong emotional impact, and brisk pacing. Oh, and let's not forget its incredible action sequences.

In regard to its story, you get a pretty vivid, adventurous depiction of Kal-El's origins in the prologue of the film that takes place on Krypton, as well as flash backs to his time as a youth which develop him as a character. In regard to the flashbacks, the film brilliantly transitions to them via visual cues in the present-day timeline of the film, thereby moving the core narrative forward while simultaneously building the foundation of Clark's character; this is what I consider to be one of the aspects that make MoS' screenplay so great.

As for its performances, Russel Crowe and Michael Shannon provide stellar portrayals of their characters that complement one another in a way; Crowe's Jor-El is calm and thoughtful while Shannon's Zod is excited and impulsive. Interestingly enough, Henry Cavill does a fantastic job of exhibiting the traits of Crowe's Jor-El in Kal-El, which makes the father-son relation between their characters so believable (as well as the vague resemblance between them).

Due to the calm conviction with which Crowe delivers his lines as Jor-El, every scene that features him is moving, especially the one in which he explains to Kal the meaning behind the symbol of the House of El. Additional emotional sequences are the one in which Kal learns to fly, the one in which Zod delivers a monologue just before he and Kal fight in the climactic battle of the movie, as well as the moment that Kal is forced to break Zod's neck to save a family and then collapses to his knees as he cries out in anguish.

In regard to its pacing, MoS doesn't feel as long as it is, because it's so well written that it never slows down and is always exciting. Therefore, I never find myself thinking about how much of its running time is left while watching it.

As for the action, it's unlike anything that precedes it and provides a level of intensity that I'd expect from a respectable live-action interpretation of Dragonball Z. Characters move with such speed and strike with such force that every move that they make is a feast for the eyes, and they grunt while doing so with such intensity that you can feel the effort behind each of their attacks.
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Batman v Superman isn't as cohesive as its franchisal predecessor due to setting up the foundations of the DCEU, which it admittedly does rather sloppily in some regards (e.g. the email via which the members of the League are revealed). However, it features a grounded take on how the world would react to super-powered beings like Superman, depicting a spectrum of opinions ranging from reverence for Supes as a god to fear and hatred of him so great that his departure from Earth and even his departure from the living are desired; most impressive of all is that this variety of opinions is expressed in the film from characters who are very much like every-day, regular people whom you'd find in any modern day American city.

There are also the numerous incredibly filmed action sequences, such as the depiction of Superman and Zod's battle from the perspective of Bruce Wayne and citizens of Metropolis, the Knightmare sequence which depicts an alternate-timeline of the events through which Bats procures kryptonite to defeat Superman, the chase sequence between Bats in the Batmobile and Luthor's henchmen, the titular fight between Bats and Supes, the incredible and now famous "Warehouse" fight scene, and - of course - the fight between the Trinity and Doomsday. This movie has a lot of action!

However, there are a few elements of it that I don't like, such as the transitions between numerous settings in the opening sequences of the film, which are understandable considering that BvS is a set-up movie but which make the movie sloppy and convoluted. There's also Jesse Eisenberg's depiction of Lex, which I like overall (though I would have preferred an older, tough Lex, like the one in STAS) but absolutely hate in regard to his delivery of a few lines in a few scenes here and there (e.g. Maybe if I keep everything the same, Dad will come back or You flew too close to the Sun or the entirety of his exchange with Batman while in his jail cell at the end of the movie); he delivers his lines in such a goofy manner in certain scenes that he comes across as cringy.

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Wonder Woman is a well written film with loads of enjoyable character moments, such as those in which she and Steve tell one another about their respective worlds via humorous exchanges or Diana's child-like responses to experiencing aspects of the mankind's world for the first time (e.g. when she sees a baby, when she encounters a rotating door, when she eats ice cream, etc). There are also a few genuinely emotional moments, such as when she tells her mother with a mixture of conviction and nervousness that she's leaving Themyscira to journey to mankind's world or when she boldly charges into No Man's Land to clear a path for families who want to visit their loved ones on the other side.

However, I feel as if the movie is lacking in regard to action and therefore comes across as more of a romantic war dram rather than a super-hero action movie. If it had just one more major set piece, then it would be perfect; however, because it provides so few breaks from the comedic and emotional exchanges between the characters, it is tonally exhausting. Furthermore, excluding the No Man's Land sequence and the ending fight between her and Ares, the action is boringly choreographed and shot, featuring uninteresting use of slow motion and sequences of randomly strung together shots of unorganized action (e.g. the fight on the shore of Themyscira between the Amazonians and the Germans).

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Suicide Squad features some very good performances from Will Smith (Deadshot), Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Viola Davis (Amanda Waller), and Jay Hernandez (El Diablo). However, none of them save the film from its horrendous editing, boring cliched story, and generic villains. Also, I think that Jared Leto's portrayal of the Joker is hammy. He never gets lost in the character as Heath Ledger did; instead, he comes across as what he is: a man pretending to be the Joker.