Zack Snyder’s best movies, ranked!

Best Zack Snyder movies
(Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Zack Snyder has been making waves since his feature film debut back in 2004 (a new spin on 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Dawn of the Dead). While he's certainly a polarizing 𒈔filmmaker, you can't deny the impact he's made on the film industry –&🎃nbsp;and his considerable fanbase (hello, Snyder Cut). 

If you’re only familiar with his DC output, it might come as some surprise to learn that Zack Snyder’s body of work is considerably d🐭eeper and far more interesting than it seems at first glance. Snyder has gone from Sparta to Mars; dived into animation and re-energized the zombie genre – all while delivering his own inimitable brand of adrenaline-pumping action and modern-day mythmaking.

But which of his films is the best? Snyder, inevitably, has caused some heated debate. We’ve polled writers on GamesRadar+ and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Total Film to arrive at a final ranking that could prove controversial. Here are ♌the best Zack Snyder movies, ranked, and up to date with both parts of Rebel Moon – but we’re only taking theatrical cuts into account here. Don’t @ us. Please?

12. Justice League (2017)

Superman in Justice League

(Image credit: DC/Warner Bros.)

Let’s be clear, this movie is here on a technicality. Yes, Zack Snyder’s name is listed as director but, as we’ve seen from the '澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Snyder Cut' on HBO Max, it’s very much not his work. In fact, Snyder has never seen the theatrical cut of 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Justice League.

Having stepped down from production after a family tragedy, Snyder was replaced by Avengers director Joss Whedon. Whedon then set about chopping and changing various aspects of the DC team-up. The story of Superman’s resurrection and the unification of the wo༒rld’s greatest heroes against Steppenwolf – including newcomer Cyborg – was delivered with a messy, inconsistent tone that relied too heavily on quips and distracting CGI. Henry Cavill’s upper lip – need we say more?

While Justice League ultimately arrived amid unfortunate circumstances, that doesn’t excuse the rushed finished product. The exact same story was made bigger, better, and more in line with Snyder’s vision in 2021’s 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

11. Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole

Best Zack Snyder movies

(Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

AKA, The Zack Snyder Movie You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of. Legends of the Gu🌳ardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, to give it its impossibly long-winded tiꦑtle, sees Snyder turn his attention towards animation 🎃in a by-the-numbers fantasy adventure.

Barn owls Soren (Jim Sturgess) and Kludd (Ryan Kwanten) are captured by the evil Pure Ones after a bout of sibling jealousy goes wrong, and it eventually falls on Sorꩵen’s feathered shoulders to attempt to save the owl kingdoms from the clutches of Joel Edgerton’s fearsome Metal Beak.

While The Owls of Ga’Hoole might have you cravi𓃲ng some meatier fantasy, it’s still a kid’s movie with some serious edge – and more than one horrific death. It also shows off Snyder’s deft hand as one of the finest adapters of source material around (Owls of Ga’Hoole is based on a '00s book series). Ultimately, though, it’s the animation, not Snyder’s vision, that catches the eye in this solid, if forgettable, flick.

10. Rebel Moon: Part Two – The Scargiver

Rebel Moon

(Image credit: Netflix)

Released hot on the heels of Part One, 💦澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Rebel Moon: Part Two – T💃he Scargiver picks up in the aftermath of its predecessor, and shows the peaceful farming moon of Veldt making its last stand againstꦕ the might of🦄 the Imperium. 

The film is packed with action and reveals more about its main cast's enigmatic pasts, but ends on another cliffhanger – meaning we still haven't got the full s🤡tory of Rebel Moon. Part Two also very much focuses on battle, so if you're not after an all-out war movie, you might not enjoy The Scargiver. 

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Snyder hღas an idea for a third movie, though, so this might not🐻 be the last we've seen of h🉐is intergalactic story. 

9. Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire

Rebel Moon

(Image credit: Netflix)

Snyder kicked off his space epic with 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Rebel Moo☂n: Part One &ඣndash; A Child of Fire, which introduces us to Sofia Boutella's Kora and her rag-tag group of rebels. Kora has a mysteri🔥ous past with the all-powerful Mot🍌herworld, and she must face off with the sinister Admiral Noble, played by Ed Skrein. 

The movie is🐟 a fun showcase of Snyder's excellent eye for visuals and his detailed, mythological world building, but many critics took issue with itsꦉ similarity to its inspirations (at one point, Rebel Moon was a Star Wars pitch), and how, as a Part One, it feels a tad incomplete. 

8. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

best Zack Snyder movies

(Image credit: Warner Bros./DC)

Dark, moody, and definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice followed Man of Steel as the second installment in Snyder’s DCEU trilogy. While it’s become something of a Snyder fan-favorite since its release, it was not well received by broader audiences or critics. Many didn’t like its gritty portrayal of the titular characters, the movie's violence, or Jesse Eisenberg’s turn as a more manic Lex Luthor. Plus, famously, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:that Martha scene has been memed almost to death.

Still, Wonder Woman’s DCEU entrance is a major highlight, and Snyder’s trademark visuals and intense action sequences are present and accounted for. Ben𒆙 Affleck’s Batman is also one of the more popular live-action iterations of th🍎e Caped Crusader. Love it or hate it, Batman v Superman certainly got everyone talking.

7. Sucker Punch

Best Zack Snyder movies

(Image credit: Warner Bros. Picture)

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Sucker Punch signified the moment where Zack Snyder finally struck out on his own. The 2011 actioner is, predictably, not short 💦on imagination – even if the execution is lacking and the director’s supposedly ironic take on male gaze falls a little flat.

Emily Browning plays ‘Babydoll’, a woman wrongly institutionalized after being framed for murder by her abusive stepfather. Ahead of her impend🌠ing lobotomy, she fanta♔sizes a series of increasingly surreal and bizarre scenarios in an attempt to escape her fate.

The film flits from mobsters to ‘Feudal Japan’ and beyond in a series of hit-and-miss action sequences that really are a case of style – incredible style, it has to be said &ndaဣsh; over substance. For better or worse, there’s not a film out there like Sucker Punch, even if it stands as a microcosm of some of Snyder’s most pressing flaws.

6. Army of the Dead

Now we’re getting to the good stuff. 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Army of the Dead is the most recent entry on this list and shows off what Snyder can do away from the confines of a pre-established universe. Army of the Dead features Dave Bautista’s Scott Ward leading a rag♚tag group of mercenaries (as well as his own estranged daughter) as they head into a zombie-infested Las Vegas in search of a score of a lifetime.

Unlike Dawn of the Dead, Snyder chooses to revel in action over horror – taking cues from action m🐟ovies such as Die Hard and Aliens to create an intense, gory, over-the-top caper filled with larger-than-life characters and a zombie tig💖er. It’s uneven in places and the most un-Snyder of things – safe – in others, but this is by far the director’s breeziest film to date. Well worth firing up on Netflix.

5. Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Zack Snyder's Justice League

(Image credit: HBO Max)

The so-called Snyder Cut achieved near-mythic sta🎀tus after the release of 2017’s Justice League, with theatrical release having almost no resemblance to Snyder’s original vision. And when Zack Snyder’s Justice League finally arrived on HBO Max, the new version did not disappoint. 

While it’s long (very long), the Snyder cut delivered a complex and interesting v♊illain in Steppenwolf, restored Ray Fisher’s Cyborg to the heart of the movie, and featured tons of slo-mo action. It might not be considered DCEU canon, and the "Restore the SnyderVerse" campaign might never secure those sequels, but the Snyder Cut still stands alone as an impressive team-up – and a fascinating slice of film history.

4. Man of Steel

Henry Cavill in Man of Steel

(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Man of Steel maಞrked Snyder’s second foray into the world of DC Comics adaptations, after his take on Watchmen. The director took a serious approach to Henry Cavill’s eponymous hero, giving us a Superman who’s struggling to find his place ♎in the world – before going up against Michael Shannon’s General Zod in a hugely destructive final fight that practically wipes out Metropolis.

While the darker tone wasn’t for everyone, it did kickstart the now infamous SnyderVerse, and paved the way for the rest of the DCEU (which could be a good thing or a bad th♕ing, depending on your point of view♍). As Cavill’s only solo Superman movie, it’s a more than worthy addition to the super-canon.

3. Dawn of the Dead

Best Zack Snyder movies

(Image credit: Universal Pictures)

Zack Snyde🦄r had the unenviable task of following in the footsteps of horror icon George A. Romero for his first directorial effort, Dawn of the Dead. Acting as a remake of the 1978⛄ classic, Snyder adds a dash of his own kinetic, restless energy which is best characterized by the shamblers of the original being replaced by faster, more menacing zombies.

Bolstered by a script co-written by none other than a certain 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:James Gunn, Dawn of the Dead may tread the same paths – a shopping mall, a small group of survivors, an all-out siege – but Snyder (as would become his outspoken trademark) beats to the sound of his own drum. Dawn of the Dead is a sinewy, snappy horror that, whisper it, might even be more watchable today than the original.

2. 300

300

(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Snyder’s ultra-macho take on the Battle of Thermopylae sees most of its star-studded cast strutting around in little more than capes and helmets – and also features the emergence of his trademark hyper-stylized visuals. Snyder’s second movie, 300 fol♛lowed his ♓directorial debut Dawn of the Dead. 

Focussing on the 300 Spartan soldiers as they attempt to stop Persia’s considerably larger army from invading. Slow-mo, intense color grading, blood, bravery, guts, and glory: 300 has it all. A bold, imaginative, and immersive take on the classic historical story, adapted from Frank Miller and Lynn Varley’s comic book series of the same name, so it’s no surprise it’s landed so high on our list. It made enough of a mark that, chances are, even if you haven’t seen the movie, you’ve probably seen Gerard Butler roar ‘This. Is. SPARTA!’ before.

1. Watchmen

Best Zack Snyder movies

(Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

You’ve waited the entire list for a controversial statement, so let’s not disappoint: Watchmen is a masterpiece. Truth be told, much of that is down to the 🍨exceptionally strong source material, but Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ seminal graphic novel was long thought to be impossible to adapt. Somehow, Snyder made it work.

His opening sequence, scored to Bob Dylan’s "The Times They Are a-Changing", sets the scene for a confident, chaotic retelling of a story involving a world which has cynically turned🎀 its backs on superheroes.

It’s hard work to wrangle all the interweavi𒅌ng storylines of the Batman-esque Rorscharch hunting for clues, a murder conspiracy, and the origins and omniscience of Doctor Manhattan, but Snyder’s sculpted production crams it all in there. Crucially, he does so without making the adaptation feel incomplete or otherwise missing the heart and soul of what makes Watchmen still so timeless. Better yet, the tweaked ending feels like a slight improvement on what was the graphic novel’s silliest hour as the clock ticked closer to Doomsday and an artificial squid turned up in Manhattan. This is, simply put, Snyder at his bold, brilliant best.

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, fo💙cusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lꦉost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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