The man known as Zack Snyder is one of the best-known Hollywood directors to work on adapting superhero comics into major motion pictures. His visually stunning movies have captivated audiences with the sheer spectacle of bringing modern myths to life.
Unfortunately, not everything he has done has been great. In fact, a lot of his contributions to superhero movies are outright despised. Whether one ultimately considers his good contributions to superhero movies or his bad contributions to be more noteworthy, there is no denying the impact he has had.
10 Best: Recreating Artistic Styles of Comics
One reason for the popularity of Zack Snyder as a director is the amazing work he did adapting Frank Miller’s comic 300 onto the big screen. While this is definitely not a superhero movie, it showed that even highly stylized art in comics could be faithfully recreated in cinema.
He would go onto continue this type of adaptation in Batman vs. Superman, drawing upon elements of Miller’s art in The Dark Knight Returns.
9 Worst: Misunderstanding The Watchmen
Alan Moore wrote Watchmen as a critique on superhero stories, specifically creating the character Rorschach as a psychotic unhinged antihero whose Objectivist philosophy and unrestrained sadistic ultraviolence were meant to expose problems in the superhero genre.
Snyder’s works often have an Objectivist slant, whether intended or not. It makes sense that he did not understand Rorschach was not meant to be a hero. Unfortunately, he framed Rorschach as one in his Watchmen adaptation.
8 Best: Famous Comic Scenes on the Big Screen
While similar to adapting the styles of comic artwork, this is literally translating famous images into cinema, regardless of style. In comics, a full-page image is known as a “splash” page.
These are iconic moments meant to wow readers, like Superman boldly striking a power-pose as he hovers in the sky, or Batman knocking out a fearsome foe with one punch. Snyder has masterfully adapted many such scenes into his movies, in particular in BvS and Justice League.
7 Worst: Grimdark Superman
There is a demand for dark gritty superhero stories. Many classic characters are prone to brooding their way through grim melodramas of pain, often while perched on gargoyles jutting from skyscrapers or while obsessing over long-dead family members. But Superman is the symbol of hope.
In fact, in Man of Steel, he even says the symbol on his chest stands for hope. Yet this version of the character in the DCEU is far more cynical, motivated by the tragic loss of his father rather than a desire to inspire others. In other words, it’s not Superman.
6 Best: Kryptonian Abilities
Man of Steel has garnered polarizing reactions among fans. Many people reacted critically to the changes made to Superman’s character, while others thought this grimmer darker version of the character was an interesting update for modern times.
What cannot be disputed is that this film was the first time the full might of Kryptonians had been captured in live action. The sheer destruction unleashed upon Metropolis far surpasses anything seen in older Superman movies.
5 Worst: Giving Batman Guns
As a billionaire vigilante who goes out every night to fight crime in paramilitary equipment, there is not a lot that Batman will not do. He has blown up buildings, crippled people, and endangered the lives of everyone who’s ever gotten close to him.
Batman really only has two rules. No killing and no guns. Despite this, he uses guns as his primary weapon while fighting in Batman vs Superman. Also, the plot is about the Dark Knight trying to kill Superman, so both rules are broken.
4 Best: Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman
Batman vs. Superman is widely regarded as an awful movie, and there is no shortage of reasons to take issue with it, but there is one moment that is so great it almost makes up for everything else: the first appearance of Wonder Woman.
During the final climactic battle, she steals the show, her every strike bursting with raw kinetic power, her lasso glowing with divine radiance. The Linda Carter TV series was great for the 70s, but Wonder Woman's modern-day version is a role for the ages.
3 Worst: Making Lex Luthor Goofy
Lex Luthor has always been a serious villain: intelligent, calculating, driven by his ego and his ambition. He has neither mercy nor forgiveness in his heart, and has a force of will that comes across as a barely controlled rage.
The Lex Luthor introduced to the DCEU is a giddy loony cartoonish buffoon who seems like a stupider version of the Riddler or a saner version of the Joker. There are so many great things about Lex Luthor and none of them appear in the DCEU.
2 Best: Doomsday
Doomsday is one of Superman’s greatest villains. Lex Luthor and Brainiac will always be his rivals, but only Doomsday managed to kill the Man of Steel at his full strength.
While it would have been nice to see a more comic-accurate version of Doomsday (and to not have his appearance spoiled in the trailers), this is the first time that the fearsome villain ever appeared on the big screen, and Snyder deserves credit for bringing the character to life.
1 Worst: The Entire "Martha" Plotline
It is difficult to think of a more reviled bit of dialogue in cinema than the exchange between Superman and Batman regarding their mothers having the same name.
This line is so bad it has become an internet meme often used to reference when things are just absurdly bad.