Ranking Every DC Comic Book Movie - From Worst to Best

8. Man Of Steel (2013)

After Superman Returns failed to set the box office alight, the character was rebooted for the second time in less than a decade, this time with Zack Snyder behind the camera. A movie that greatly divided opinion upon release, Man of Steel nonetheless went on to gross $668m at the box office and serve as the launching pad for the DC Cinematic Universe. Obviously the movie has its flaws, but as sheer spectacle Man of Steel delivers blockbuster filmmaking on a truly epic scale. On one hand, there is little character development in the movie; Amy Adams' Lois Lane is painfully underwritten, Diane Lane and Laurence Fishburne get virtually nothing to do and Superman's central conflict essentially boils down to 'daddy issues', although Henry Cavill is solid in the role. Its also hard to criticize a movie for taking itself too seriously when the first act features Russell Crowe flying on the back of a space-dragon, but at times the often-clunky script does descend into portentousness. Where Man of Steel does excel is in the action stakes; Michael Shannon's over-the-top portrayal of General Zod lends itself well to someone intent on destroying the world, and Snyder makes the most of his $225m budget to offer up some stunning Kryptonian visuals and massive-scale destruction that raises the bar for comic book set-pieces in terms of both scale and ambition. With all the pieces of the mythology in place there was the potential for a great sequel, now Superman finds himself lost in the shuffle amidst the return of Batman and the impending Justice League movie.