DirectorZack Snydermakes polarizing films.
His hyper-aggressive visual style can be a wonder to behold or it can overload the senses.
Below, Ive looked back at Snyders filmography and ranked his films from worst to best.
Along the way, I discuss what makes him such an exciting yet frustrating visionary.
9.)
Sucker Punch
Sucker Punchis, at best, a woefully misguided feminist treatise.
Image via Warner Bros.
At worst, its an unbearable slog of total hypocrisy drenched in empty machismo.
We dont know what Babydoll loves because we never know her as a character.
Why does she care about clockwork zombie Nazis?
Image via Warner Bros.
Did she have a grandfather figure who doled out fortune cookie wisdom?
Those elements are Snyder stepping out from behind the camera intending to chastise but instead coming off as complicit.
The sucker punch results in a miss and a faceplant.
Image via Warner Bros.
8.)
Batman v Supermans biggest sin isnt that its dark, but rather that its dull.
That’s not to mention the weird “Knightmare” scene and time-traveling Flash.
Image via HBO Max
7.)
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of GaHoole
Did you forget this film existed?
Did you forget that Zack Snyder directed it?
Image via Netflix
6.)
that the film carries with it.
It has to stand on its own, and that’s whereJustice Leaguestruggles.
Image via Warner Bros.
5.)
That makesArmy of the Deadfun at times and other times a film that can be surprisingly plodding and slow.
4.)
Image via Warner Bros.
Man of Steel
For a moment, lets set aside the controversial climax ofMan of Steel.
We can even set aside preconceived notions of Superman.
Man of Steelsets Kal-El/Clark/Superman (Henry Cavill) as the son of two fathers and two worlds.
Image via Universal Pictures
Jor-El believes that Kal-El will be a beacon of hope to the human race.
The sigil of their house means hope.
Clark is a muddled character who shouldnt have a moral compass thanks to his dads teachings.
Image via Warner Bros.
So his dads death is meaningless and Clark picked up his moral compass from…somewhere.
Clark also doesnt really interact with people.
The climax of the film isnt saving people, but saving the world in the abstract.
Any humans are as meaningless as the buildings in the background.
To Snyders credit,Man of Steelat least sticks as a film wewantto talk about.
He ditches the speed-ramping and goes for something more handheld and organic.
3.)
Watchmen (Director’s Cut)
WhenWatchmencame out in 2009, I was a pretty big fan.
The graphic novel was having a conversation with other superhero comics at the time.
Its having a conversation with Batman in Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley).
Its having a conversation with Superman in Doctor Manhattan (Billy Crudup).
By making aWatchmenmovie, Snyder removed that context but kept the visuals to himself.
These 3D recreations may be stunning, but theyre still recreations of another artists work.
2.)
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
This film is far better than it has any right to be.
Tilt too far to the horror side and all you feel is just dread without the fun.
The big sacrifice is that the movie has no interest in any subtext whatsoever.
Its a movie thats merciless and yet oddly compassionate.
1.)
The set pieces in300are thrilling, painfully earnest, and absolutely drenched in pitiless bloodshed.
And yet when it comes to subtext, Snyder is unquestioning with his source material.
The cost of blood.
These are theheroesof the movie.
