Every Zack Snyder Movie Ranked Worst To Best (Including Army of the Dead)

Every Zack Snyder Movie Ranked Worst To Best (Including Army of the Dead)

Contents

Zack Snyder is one of the most discussed, daring and divisive filmmakers of the present day, but which of his directorial efforts ranks highest?

You Are Reading :[thien_display_title]

Every Zack Snyder Movie Ranked Worst To Best (Including Army of the Dead)

Which of Zack Snyder’s films are super, and which should be ruthlessly kicked into a pit of endless darkness by Gerard Butler? After a string of successful shorts and music videos for the likes of Rod Stewart, ZZ Top and infamously miserable vocalist of The Smiths, Morrissey, Zack Snyder made his feature-length directorial debut in 2004 with a remake of George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, bursting onto the scene in a hailstorm of blood and gore. Snyder quickly established a kinetic, high-energy style, becoming renowned for his distinctive visuals, stylistic violence, and Jesus allegories.

Zack Snyder has enjoyed a varied career encompassing zombies, spartans, CGI owls and costumed heroes, but it’s his work within the world of DC for which Snyder is perhaps best known. Warner Bros. tasked Snyder with putting a modern spin on Superman, and handed him the keys to DC’s planned shared universe… initially, at least. The souring of that relationship has been extensively covered, with Snyder’s work on Justice League butchered at the hands of the studio and replacement director, Joss Whedon, resulting in widespread demand for the fabled “Snyder cut.”

Released in March 2021 to considerable fanfare, Zack Snyder’s Justice League marked the start of a busy year that saw Snyder shift from theaters to streaming platforms, but how do his small screen releases compare to past blockbusters? Here’s every feature-length Zack Snyder directorial release ranked from worst to best.

10. Justice League

Every Zack Snyder Movie Ranked Worst To Best (Including Army of the Dead)

Considering the 2017 version of Justice League a “Zack Snyder movie” is contentious at best, especially now the world has seen how vastly changed his 4-hour long original cut actually is. Nevertheless, it’s Snyder’s name on the box. A bland and directionless movie that veers erratically in tone, the theatrical release of Justice League is a far, far cry from what Snyder intended. The director’s plans were already altered by Warner Bros. following the Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice backlash, but when Snyder stepped away from post-production due to a personal tragedy, sweeping changes began in his absence, triggering the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign in earnest.

For fans to demand an alternative so passionately, Justice League must’ve been quite the stinker and, sure enough, it’s easy to see why they were disappointed. The characters are shallow, the plot is threadbare, and the CGI is so poor Henry Cavill’s mustache became the subject of intense debate. The seams of hasty editing are completely visible, and vital DCEU plot threads such as Darkseid and Knightmare are dropped. Justice League is just about serviceable as a mindless action movie, but should’ve been exponentially better considering the characters involved. A failure at the box office, the Justice League controversy sparked a complete change in direction for the DCEU, and effectively put an end to the shared universe in its original form.

9. Sucker Punch

Every Zack Snyder Movie Ranked Worst To Best (Including Army of the Dead)

On paper, 2011’s Sucker Punch seemed like a surefire hit for Zack Snyder in the early stages of his Hollywood career. An uber-violent escape movie with a psychological twist, headed-up by an impressive cast featuring Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens and Oscar Isacc, Sucker Punch represents Snyder’s first original feature, and it’s not hard to see where that initial buzz came from. In the end, Sucker Punch also proved to be Snyder’s first true flop, both on a critical and commercial level. Snyder is often criticized of prioritizing intense in-your-face action over character and plot, and nowhere is that more apparent than Sucker Punch – a film many reviews of the day disparagingly compared to a video game.

The psychological aspect proves redundant in the whirl of violence, and although some of the visuals do, admittedly, impress, this wasn’t enough to win over critics or audiences. Sucker Punch also attracted ire for its depiction of women. Snyder has since claimed the film was misunderstood, intended as a satire on how females are viewed in geek culture, but many dismissed Sucker Punch as simply perpetuating the stereotypes and demeaning misogyny it was attempting to parody.

8. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

Every Zack Snyder Movie Ranked Worst To Best (Including Army of the Dead)

Released to a nervously eager audience in 2016, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice was intended to mark the genesis of the DCEU proper, bringing together the fabled trinity of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman and setting up a franchise that would continue for years to come, rivaling the success of Marvel’s MCU. After a strong start at the box office, Batman V Superman’s fortunes dropped severely, ultimately grossing below Warner Bros.’ expectations. Reaction from fans and critics proved even more damning. The super-serious tone, incoherent plot, and infamous “Martha” scene all came in for significant flak, while Snyder once again stood accused of not paying attention to character when there was punching to be done.

See also  Darkseid Was Absolutely Humiliated in Battle By Doomsday

If Batman V Superman offers one sole bright spot, it’s Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, who makes an instant impact ahead of her acclaimed 2017 solo adventure. Also worth noting is how the Batman V Superman “Ultimate Edition” improves significantly upon the theatrical release. Adding a solid half hour of footage, this director’s cut clarifies certain plot elements, creates a more cohesive narrative, and gives an early hint that Zack Snyder DCEU films are better without outside intervention.

7. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole

Every Zack Snyder Movie Ranked Worst To Best (Including Army of the Dead)

An oddity in Zack Snyder’s filmography (albeit not necessarily an unwelcome one), Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole released in 2010 and adapted the series of fantasy novels by Kathryn Lasky into a CGI animated feature-length film. Snyder is well known for tackling ambitious projects, but as a surprisingly dark tale with a cast comprised entirely of digital animals, Legend of the Guardians arguably tops the lot. Performing modestly at the box office, the critical response was a familiar story for Snyder, with reviews praising the slick animation and individual performances, but showing less enthusiasm for the meatier components of story and character.

But where Sucker Punch and Batman V Superman failed explicitly in their storytelling, Legend of the Guardians merely couldn’t match the top-draw visuals with an equally impressive plot. Soren’s Frodo-esque journey to defeat a terrible evil is standard fantasy fare, saving the bells and whistles for the CGI and stacked voice cast, which includes Helen Mirren, Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving and Sam Neill. As films about owls go, Legend of the Guardians can perhaps be considered underrated, and although a more refined plot would’ve been nice, the film is still a hoot in 2021.

6. Man of Steel

Every Zack Snyder Movie Ranked Worst To Best (Including Army of the Dead)

Fresh from record-breaking success with Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Warner Bros. was looking to jump-start Superman with similarly intense treatment, and hired Zack Snyder to helm a more realistic, grounded interpretation of the Kryptonian Boy Scout. 2013’s Man of Steel ticks that box, but succeeds on other levels too, reinvigorating Clark Kent after the disappointment of Superman Returns in 2006. Henry Cavill is perfectly cast as both Superman and Clark Kent, and while he may never elude the legend of Christopher Reeve, Cavill’s modern Man of Steel performance still boasts plenty of merit.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, Man of Steel prioritizes action over pacing and plotting, albeit not to the same degree as other Snyder efforts. The Clark Kent material arguably works even better than Man of Steel’s Superman scenes. The physical clashes between Supes and General Zod have a visual flair, even if comic fans did take issue with the abundance of violence Kal-El displayed, and Snyder succeeded in crafting a more believable world for DC’s most famous son. It speaks volumes that calls for Man of Steel 2 still resurface years after Cavill’s red pants first zoomed into view.

5. Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Every Zack Snyder Movie Ranked Worst To Best (Including Army of the Dead)

Considerably better than any four-hour superhero movie has the right to be, the long-awaited Snyder cut packs a punch… even if it wasn’t quite the revelatory second coming some were hoping for. Given free reign over his DCEU sandpit, Zack Snyder’s restored and renewed Justice League molds an exponentially more comprehensive picture of the six lead characters. Cyborg in particular is a man reborn compared to the neutered silhouette seen in the theatrical version. Steppenwolf is infinitely better too – both in his visual appearance, and his villainous arc as an acolyte of Darkseid – and without interference, Snyder is free to make his Justice League the darker, mature venture it was always supposed to be. The DCEU team-up is far, far better for it.

Drastically improved it might be, but Zack Snyder’s Justice League still isn’t a runaway success. As you’d expect for a film of such length, the pacing isn’t always on-point, and entire chunks of story serve as nothing more than setup for future films that most likely won’t happen. The teases are intriguing, but represent curious dead ends more than meaningful plot points, and even if there were a full-on SnyderVerse continuation in the pipeline, the burden of franchise setup would still weigh heavy on Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Mercifully, the bright spots outweigh the murk, and the style-substance balance is much improved from the days of Batman v Superman.

4. Army of the Dead

Every Zack Snyder Movie Ranked Worst To Best (Including Army of the Dead)

Making his second foray into undead territory, Zack Snyder turns the zombie formula on its head by sending Dave Bautista and his friends into an infested Las Vegas and hoping for the best. Releasing on Netflix in 2021, Snyder was afforded creative control over Army of the Dead, and the result is a visual feast that isn’t entirely unfamiliar from the zombie fare of yore, but does enough to stand out from the horde. As strange as it may sound for a film that opens with topless, rotting showgirls, Army of the Dead actually represents somewhat of a storytelling maturity for the director (or perhaps it’s just stepping away from superhero blockbusters?) – Bautista’s character is utterly watchable throughout, the political subtext (just about) works, and there’s a quirkiness that tempers the abject misery. It goes without saying, but the action sequences are great too.

See also  Black Mantas New AntiMagic Tech is Better than Batmans

Alas, some familiar problems emerge. At two-and-a-half hours, Army of the Dead is longer than it needs to be, and while Bautista excels, the rest of the main cast remain frustratingly underdeveloped. Once again, there’s a heavy emphasis on setting up future projects – although this franchise looks likely to continue, at least. Perhaps the biggest criticism Army of the Dead faces is the abundance of plot holes, with Snyder’s story showing more daylight than the stalest of cadavers. Characters act illogically, the timeline is wonky, Geeta is forgotten about, and the premise of the mission makes no sense. If Bly’s true target was an Alpha head, why not send Scott to collect that, then pay him with the profits? On the other hand, a man gets eaten by a zombie tiger, and we’re damned if that doesn’t count for something.

3. Dawn of the Dead

Every Zack Snyder Movie Ranked Worst To Best (Including Army of the Dead)

Horror remakes have been a dime a dozen since the turn of the millennium, and given Dawn of the Dead’s iconic status as the paragon of zombie cinema, Zack Snyder faced an uphill battle in modernizing the George A. Romero classic for his debut feature. So beloved was the original, Snyder’s decision to speed-up his zombies remains controversial to this day, but the Dawn of the Dead remake successfully straddles the delicate line between respecting the source material and doing something new. Typically, Snyder’s vision is typically amped-up compared to the 1978 effort, emphasizing the violence and action over Romero’s smarter subtext and social commentary.

Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead benefits from this direct approach and, combined with 25 years of improved special effects, manages to offer scares and entertainment that differ from the original without proving any less effective. By not taking itself entirely seriously, the Dawn of the Dead remake avoids the usual pitfalls of horror reinventions and leaves viewers breathless at the same time, but those deeply attached to Romero’s work are perhaps less likely to enjoy Snyder’s zombie-tastic debut. Not for the first time, the director’s style was compared to a video game – and the remark came from Romero himself on this occasion.

2. 300

Every Zack Snyder Movie Ranked Worst To Best (Including Army of the Dead)

Visceral, striking and relentlessly effective in its simplicity, Zack Snyder’s 300 has taken on somewhat iconic status since premiering in 2006. An extremely close approximation of the Frank Miller graphic novel, 300 offers a wonderfully realized cinematic take on fictionalized ancient Greek mythology, and while certainly not the smartest piece ever put to film, 300 executes its mission statement with maximum impact. Leaving a lasting impression on popular culture, 300’s unique style put Snyder on the map as a filmmaker. Detractors will point towards a lack of substance in the face of overwhelming, unapologetic blood and guts, but there’s a (well) hidden beauty in the film’s straightforward nature, and enough variation to prevent the novelty wearing off.

300 is not a film that will suit everyone’s tastes. It’s definitely not something to watch when the grandparents come around or to analyze on a super cerebral level. But Snyder gives the tale of King Leonidas an epic sense of scale and grandeur, as well as a viewing experience very few films can match. The less said about the sequel the better, but 300 remains spectacular fun for those seeking a cinematic adrenaline rush.

1. Watchmen

Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ celebrated 1980s Watchmen comic was deemed impossible to film for many years post-release, but the story’s timeless quality and enduring popularity meant a movie was inevitable as soon as a director brave enough for the challenge could be found. Released in 2009, Snyder’s Watchmen proved predictably divisive, changing the source material’s ending, darkening the tone, and stripping down the story. Watchmen might not be a verbatim interpretation of the comic, but considered on its own merits, Snyder’s DC debut remains, arguably, his strongest film yet.

As a dour take on the superhero genre, Watchmen feels suitably grimy, punctuated by moments of pure visual violence. Sndyer’s filmmaking traits suit the flawed, tragic characters of the Watchmen world, and while the comic changes stirred controversy, the new ending worked far better on the big screen than a giant squid would’ve. With Watchmen, Snyder found a way to balance his trademark brash, bold storytelling while harboring a more complex narrative beneath the surface, all without compromising the challenging shades of gray captured by Moore’s seminal comic. Watchmen continues to be a love-or-hate proposition over a decade later but, for many, it remains the finest example of Zack Snyder balancing his uncompromising style with genuine substance.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/zack-snyder-movies-ranked-worst-best/

Movies -