DC has released several controversial movies over the years, both as part of the DCEU and not, but even DC’s most hated films have exciting scenes.

•  Even the most hated DC movies have standout moments that impress audiences, such as Suicide Squad’s team coming together to defend Rick Flag.
•  Green Lantern may be considered one of the worst comic book movies, but its Parallax fight scene is a comic book fan’s dream come true.
•  Wonder Woman 1984 may have received criticism, but the Cheetah fight scene showcases the film’s potential and visually captures the essence of its comic book origins.

While there have been several DC movies that many fans failed to connect with over the years, a lot of them still have redeeming qualities, and even the 10 most hated DC movies have at least five minutes that stand out. DC is currently undergoing a major change, as this December’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom marks the end of the DCEU, with James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Universe soon taking its place. The end of the DCEU comes years after the end of the Snyderverse, which consisted of director Zack Snyder being phased out by the old DC management and the DCEU being left directionless as a consequence.

Many of the movies after Snyder left DC have received criticism for their stories, characters, and CGI. Famously, even when Snyder was leading the DCEU, the studio was far from achieving the same success Marvel Studios has seen with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, both in box office numbers and reviews. In fact, some DC movies from even before the creation of the DCEU had a hard time breaking out, with a few forgettable entries like Halle Berry’s Catwoman and some often criticized features like Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern. Despite being the most hated DC movies, all these 10 films have at least 5 minutes where everything clicks.

10Suicide Squad’s The Squad Rallies To Protect Rick Flag

2016’s Suicide Squad ended up disappointing DC fans in large part due to the studio meddling with the film. Recently, director David Ayer commented on his bad Suicide Squad experience, saying it “broke” him. While Suicide Squad fails to be an exciting DC entry, the movie features a sequence where the group of villains finally begins to feel like a team, hinting at what the film could have been. The Suicide Squad uniting to defend Rick Flag so that they aren’t 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed by Amanda Waller for letting him die is a fantastic portion of the movie, featuring the team working together as they go through several enemies, with Diablo finally unleashing his full might at the end.

9Green Lantern’s Hal Jordan Vs Parallax

Reynolds’ Green Lantern is held as one of the worst comic book movies ever, with even the Hal Jordan actor poking fun at the DC film in his two Deadpool movies. Despite its shortcomings, Green Lantern‘s Parallax fight delivers. The battle begins on Earth before transitioning to space, and that is where things go full comic book. Green Lantern uses the sun to destroy Parallax, attaching two jets made of energy constructs to himself to escape the burning star’s gravitational pull. Hal Jordan lets go of the jets in the end, using all his willpower to deliver a massive green energy punch that sends Parallax straight into the sun.

8Wonder Woman 1984’s Cheetah Fight & Golden Armor

Wonder Woman 1984 failed to be as good as the original Wonder Woman, with criticism pointed at the film’s story and choices like bringing Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor back from the dead by him taking over a random man’s body and Gal Gadot’s Diana being unbothered by it. Despite its negative status, Wonder Woman 1984 has multiple positive aspects, and the best five minutes of the film come from Wonder Woman’s fight with Cheetah. The fight scene looks like it was pulled straight out of the comics, with Wonder Woman 1984‘s golden armor adding an exciting element to the sequence as Cheetah peels away at the suit’s wings.

7Shazam! Fury Of The Gods’ Dragon Fight & Billy Batson Death

Shazam! Fury of the Gods was DC’s first box office bomb of 2023. Zachary Levi’s performance as Shazam was deemed too goofy by fans, with few showing up to watch the DCEU film after the announcement of the DC Universe reboot. Still, Shazam! Fury of the Gods‘ fight between Shazam and Kalypso and her dragon was worth the price of admission alone. After some intense back and forth, Shazam flies straight into the dragon with the Wizard’s staff while invoking a major magical thunder. Shazam manages to save the day, but in doing so, the movie shockingly sees Billy Batson die, with the character then being revived by Wonder Woman.

6Birds Of Prey’s Police Station Fight

Birds of Prey introduced several iconic female characters from DC Comics to the DCEU, with Margot Robbie’s fan-favorite Harley Quinn leading the newcomers. However, the movie’s R-rating and its release’s timing in relation to the pandemic ended up affecting Birds of Prey’s box office run. Despite being largely forgotten by DC fans, Birds of Prey features some exciting action scenes that sit among the most creative in DC’s live-action history. While Birds of Prey‘s Amusement Mile fight is a strong contender, the movie’s police station fight takes the cake. The sequence sees Harley Quinn single-handedly rescue Cassandra Cain from the police station, with great fight choreography and stunning cinematography.

5Black Adam’s Fight Against The Justice Society Of America

Dwayne Johnson promised for years that “the hierarchy of power in the DC universe is about to change,” only for Black Adam talk to fizzle out after its theatrical run, leading nowhere despite its big Superman post-credits cameo, as the new DC Universe’s first chapter was confirmed not to include Johnson’s Black Adam. While the movie was not outstanding, Black Adam had some entertaining sequences, and its depiction of the Justice Society of America was engaging. Black Adam’s fight against JSA members Doctor Fate, Hawkman, Cyclone, and Atom Smasher allowed audiences to see the JSA working as a team, with their powers complementing each other against the unstoppable Black Adam.

4The Flash’s Battle Against Zod’s Army

The Flash‘s poor CGI cameos and the many controversies surrounding star Ezra Miller contributed to the film becoming one of the biggest box office bombs of all time. Despite its bad reputation — awful CGI aside — The Flash is actually a solid film. The best five minutes in The Flash come from the major battle sequence that includes both versions of Miller’s Barry Allen, Michael Keaton’s Batman, and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl fighting against Michael Shannon’s General Zod and his army. There are many exciting moments during the battle, but the sudden deaths of Batman and Supergirl overshadow everything else due to their tragic and shocking nature.

3Justice League’s Superman Fights The League

2017’s Justice League was a complicated matter, to say the least. After Snyder left the film because of the death of his daughter, DC executives hired Joss Whedon to conduct major reshoots on the movie, doing away with most of Snyder’s vision. While the theatrical version of Justice League is not better than 2021’s Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the movie had its moments. Superman fighting the Justice League on the big screen was one of them, with Henry Cavill’s Superman showing how powerful he truly was when not holding back. Superman asking Batman, “Do you bleed,” is an impactful callback to their first fight.

2Superman Returns’ Plane Rescue

While casting Brandon Routh as Clark Kent in Superman Returns was an inspired choice, the same cannot be said for much of the movie, which is, unfortunately, a boring addition to the Man of Steel’s mythos. Still, despite all odds, Superman Returns features a scene that might be the hero’s very best in live-action. Superman giving it his all to save a plane from crashing down is beautifully shot, with the action feeling very close to the comics and a sense of urgency permeating every second up to the point Superman gets the situation handled and safely puts the plane down, then calmly talking to the passengers he just saved.

1Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’s Warehouse Fight

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice‘s problems were the turning point for DC, as criticism over the movie’s dark tone led to changes being made to multiple films, which resulted in the DCEU’s failure and the new DC Universe taking over. Despite being one of the most hated DC movies, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice features five minutes of glorious superhero cinema, with Ben Affleck’s Batman going through several mercenaries in the movie’s violent warehouse fight. While seeing Batman murder never sits right, the sequence cemented Affleck’s Batman as the best fighter in the Dark Knight’s live-action history, making it a win for DC in an otherwise troubled film.