The Worst DC Movies In 2023

It’s no secret that DC’s filmography contains a few duds. We all agree that Zack Snyder had big plans for the DC Extended Universe and that Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy was incredible, but there have also been some definite duds in the mix and a very long list of some regrettable DC Movies of 2023.

Now, let’s examine some of the worst DC movies to avoid in 2023 and the reasons they made the cut.

Related: Upcoming DC Movies In 2023

Birds of Prey

Fans eagerly anticipated seeing Margo Robbie reprise her role as Harley Quinn in a film that would exclusively center on her after her outstanding performance in Suicide Squad.

Unfortunately, we saw much more of Harley Quinn, but the film was a tremendous disappointment and certainly tops the list of the worst DC movies.

The focus of this film is on female empowerment, and it portrays men as being the worst. The proprietor of the sandwich shop, however, is not treated equally. Regrettably, many of Detective Montoya’s coworkers and subordinates treat her poorly because of her gender. It doesn’t really need to be pushed because the story is implausible.

Harley Quinn is a very erratic person, and she has never shied away from committing murder. In reality, she has assisted in one of Robin’s murders, tortured a victim into madness, and even attempted to assassinate Batman to demonstrate her devotion to the Joker!

However in “Birds of Prey,” she is portrayed more as a casual con artist than as one of Gotham’s fiercest criminals. She has managed to survive her time spent with the Joker, has come dangerously close to killing Batman on several occasions, and is more than willing to set something on fire if she can get her hands on explosives.

All of this results in a film with a thin and uninteresting plot. And sadly it’s one of the films that fell short in the 2023 DC movies watchlist.

Suicide Squad

It definitely looked like Suicide Squad was going to be a great movie when it was being promoted – the villains teaming up to save the world from Joker.

So cool! Unfortunately, despite the box office success and amazing performances from Will Smith and Margot Robbie, the film got so many bad reviews that it ended up being one of the worst DC movies. Such a bummer!

Well, the Joker in this movie was such a letdown. He turned out to be fairly forgettable rather than enthralling and threatening us. There was no way he could have matched Heath Ledger’s legendary performance; all he truly accomplished was to improve Harley Quinn’s appearance.

It appears like this film is torn between becoming a funny comedy about a group of unexpected heroes who always manage to save the day or a gritty, gloomy narrative about some criminals forced to work for the government. Which do you believe it to be?

It seems like DC missed a few opportunities here! It would have been great to get more backstory on some of the characters, as Killer Croc barely did anything throughout the whole movie, and Deadshot had three introductions!

Even the characters with brief introductions were given random facts about them in odd places, which made it hard to connect to them. DC could have easily avoided these issues by introducing us to these characters in other films. It’s a shame that the character introduction flashback sections are more captivating than the actual film! It appears that DC made an attempt to emulate Deadpool’s success but failed miserably.

Due to its weak editing and gaps in the plot, Suicide Squad was a complete failure and one of the terrible DC movies of the 2023 watchlist. Yet, thanks to James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn was given a second chance.

Green Lantern

Have you seen Green Lantern? It was one of the worst DC movies ever! Ryan Reynolds and the skin-tight suit were the only bright spots, but unfortunately, the terrible CGI and poorly-characterized Hal Jordan really brought it down.

In the comics, Hal Jordan is one of the most beloved members of the Justice League. He’s known for his loyalty, confidence, kindness, and bravery – all qualities that make him one of the greatest Green Lanterns ever.

But, sadly, the movie didn’t do him justice. Still, at least we got to see Ryan Reynolds in that suit!

It’s a real shame that none of the other characters in the film could really shine. Parallax, who was meant to be such an important villain in the comics, felt like just a vengeful cloud who was taken out with a giant fist.

Hector Hammond was there just to cause drama and was then unceremoniously killed off. And Sinestro’s character development was sacrificed in order to set up an end-credit scene that never even happened because the sequel was canceled. And it is on the list of DC movie flops in 2023.

Justice League

It’s no secret that Justice League was one of the DCEU’s worst financial failures, and the negative reviews it received didn’t help. Who can forget that terrible attempt to hide Henry Cavill’s mustache?

The plot was a complete disaster, the CGI was rather subpar, and the tone was all over the place. It seems as though it was attempting to match the menacing undertones of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice before forgetting it was a DC film.

It’s no surprise that this movie failed so hard – it was trying to copy the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s formula, but it didn’t quite pull it off! The characters were badly developed and not very enjoyable, so Diana and the Flash were the only bright spots. And sadly it is also among the list of DC movies that disappointed in 2023.

Plus, Ben Affleck’s Batman was nothing like the character we know and love, and Aquaman and Cyborg just looked like they wanted to be anywhere else!

There wasn’t much character development or exciting teamwork among the superheroes in this film. Hence, this movie is also a part of the worst DC Movies out there. It felt like DC just slapped together a bunch of characters at random and called it a movie.

Fortunately, Zack Snyder’s Justice League provided us with more than just comic relief and robot collecting by giving the Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman more substantial roles in the tale.

Batman Forever

It’s no surprise that Batman Forever is one of the worst DC movies ever – after all, it replaced Michael Keaton with Val Kilmer and gave him little to no chance to really shine as the caped crusader. Plus, the movie seems to forget that it’s a Batman film and instead spends too much time introducing Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) and the Riddler (Jim Carrey).

As a result, the few times Batman shows up, it feels like an afterthought, which is a real shame considering it’s his movie! It’s no wonder audiences didn’t take to this version of Two-Face. Jones just didn’t have the same success as Carrey in portraying a Jokerized version of one of the most iconic Batman villains.

Harvey Dent was meant to be a tragic character with a duality that kept some of his humanity alive, but instead, he was portrayed as a completely insane character without a second thought.

Chase Meridian, played by Nicole Kidman, was arguably the worst Batman love interest ever since she was constantly either obsessing over Batman or in love with Bruce Wayne. Definitely not a hit with viewers.

Batman & Robin

Have you heard about Joel Schumacher’s second Batman film? Unfortunately, it’s widely regarded as one of the worst DC films of all time. It was certainly the brightest movie in the franchise, but that was actually its downfall.

Fans had high expectations for this 1997 movie and it didn’t live up to them. George Clooney’s version of Batman was much more carefree than previous renditions, and there was barely any mention of the darkness that had shaped him.

We see Bruce Wayne go from a man who was willing to set villains on fire to someone who was willing to bid on Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman). Pretty wild, right? It’s no wonder fans were disappointed with Batman & Robin. Mr. Freeze’s character, one of the most tragic villains in DC history, was ruined by the movie’s awful dialogue and poorly-timed ice puns.

But that’s not all – Bane, one of Batman’s most formidable foes, was also completely butchered. We all remember how he was portrayed in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, but in Batman & Robin, he was reduced to nothing more than one of Poison Ivy’s henchmen. Talk about a letdown!

Catwoman

It’s no secret that “Catwoman” is one of the worst DC movies of all time. Not only did it stray from the source material, but it also hypersexualized Halle Berry’s character, making it the only thing people remember about the movie.

In the comics, Selena Kyle is a cat burglar with a flair for the dramatic—she wears the suit because Batman inspired her to do so.

She’s an acrobatic, combat-trained genius who can hold her own against the brightest minds in Gotham… while also stealing their wallets. Catwoman got a pretty rough deal with this movie. Instead of empowering the superheroine, it was hypersexualized and her cat-like powers were explained in an odd way. Plus, the writing was so bad that one of the writers wouldn’t even watch it!

It’s no wonder Catwoman’s suit looks like it was barely worth the effort to put on and why is DC giving her heels? Practical shoes, please! It’s amazing that Batman Begins came out less than a year after this poorly-made movie.

Wonder Woman 1984

Fans had high hopes for Patty Jenkin’s next film after the massive success of Wonder Woman – but were sadly left disappointed.

Instead of a movie that was visually stunning and emotionally resonant, what they got was a disjointed plot and a Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) who was nothing like the powerful, intelligent villain he is in the comics.

His confusing motivations caused such a problem that Wonder Woman was forced to take his life to stop it – a far cry from the menacing character he was supposed to be.

It seems like DC has this bad habit of weakening their heroes, so their opponents have a chance. Diana losing her powers in Wonder Woman 1984 was really unnecessary and done purely for a big “power reveal,” which was a mistake.

Even Steve Trevor’s (Chris Pine) return wasn’t handled any better. Diana lectures Barbara about the ethics of her wish but doesn’t question her own. They focused on Diana’s loss of powers rather than the fact that they’ve essentially killed the guy whose body Steve is using. It’s only when Diana has to save the world that she renounces her wish. sadly, this movie is also among the list of worst DC Movies of all time.

Related: Where To Watch DC Animated Movies In Order