In every film, the climax is the most important part. The climax of a film is meant to be the turning point, the moment where everything comes to a head, where the good guys either win or lose and everything can change forever. However, it's easy to do a bad climax.
DCEU is a prime example. While the DC-centric cinematic universe has had a few great films in recent years, it's had a number of flops, and as such, the climaxes have either been great, ok, mediocre, or just terrible. Here is every DCEU climax, ranked from worst to best.
Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice
Typically, when a film is called something like Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, one would expect the climax to be an epic showdown between Batman and Superman, as the title suggests. Instead, fans got a rushed wrap-up to their feud with the mention of Martha in place of another threat.
What fans got, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman teaming up to fight a cave troll–sorry, Doomsday--should have been the climax of another movie entirely. It took away from what made fans want to see BVS, in place of a random CGI slog-fest.
Justice League
When the DCEU began, there were signs and signals that this was meant to be their version of the MCU. However, from the get-go, DC seemed to be rushing through everything in order to keep up, with the final battle of Justice League feeling loose and messy without the proper buildup or films to make it really work.
From Superman flying in randomly to save the day to the team fighting a poorly CGI'd army and a villain that looked like humanoid oatmeal, the few good moments of the final fight were bogged down immensely, something the infamous Snyder Cut may change.
Suicide Squad
From the start, Suicide Squad suffered from multiple issues, the most frequent being how the team was treated. Instead of being handled as they should have been, as villains, they were made out to be like the Guardians Of The Galaxy, with the audience being forced to care for a group of psychopaths without any real development or change.
When the climax, full of over the top CG, cliche after cliche, and a dancing witch arrived, the film couldn't save itself. Not even the strong performances of Margot Robbie, Will Smith, and Viola Davis could make the finale worthwhile.
Man Of Steel
There are moments, in certain films, where the third act can be something anyone really remembers from the film. While Zach Snyder's Man Of Steel, had some memorable moments, the showdown between Superman and General Zod carries the feature.
Flying around Metropolis, pounding into one another is one thing, but what sells the final fight is the emotional conflict between Clark and Zod at the end, with the last remains of Krypton battling one another at the expense of destroying their planets legacy, a point that's punctuated by the brutal and emotional reaction to Zod's death.
Birds Of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn)
So many times in films are audiences submitted to the same thing. By the time the third act arrives, audiences are subjected to the same thing: a CGI filled final battle with no idea what's happening, too many edits, and confusing action.
However, Birds Of Prey is a surprising outlier from the pack. Although it has a bit of CG and there are a few strange editing decisions, Birds Of Prey has some amazing hand to hand combat with badasses like Harley Quinn, Black Canary, and Huntress fighting in a battle that all leads up to a hilariously brutal death for the big bad.
Aquaman
Now, Aquaman is a fine film, full of amazing moments. From the action to the cinematography to Jason Momoa delivering great performances, the finale of Aquaman could have been stunning and stupendous.
Yet, despite some great moments, the finale felt very strained due to the over usage of CGI as well as a little rushed, with the entire film feeling like three in one. From the army of fish to the strange lighting and feel of Arthur fighting Orm, the CG, unfortunately, took away from what was a great fight, weakening the film and the ending overall despite its success.
Wonder Woman
Among others, Wonder Woman is considered to be one of the best super-hero films out there today. A movie that not only sets Gal Gadot as a fantastic Wonder Woman but also had some amazing and well thought out battles in the WWI setting.
When Wonder Woman reached its climax, a battle between Ares, the God of War, and Diana, it's a fight many look back on as being memorable for the action as well as the emotional beats hidden within. Despite some CG issues, the fight conveys enough emotion and epic visuals to finish the movie on a high note.
Shazam!
In just about every super-hero flick today, the climax is almost always the same. The bad guy comes in with some world-destroying device and the heroes grimly set about trying to stop him. It's a repetitive climax that most superhero film mimics.
With Shazam!, the climax is simple, down to earth and yet amazing, from great CGI to the fantastic final fight between Shazam and Dr.Sivani that has the right amount of comedy, not to mention the surprise appearance of the Shazam family flying around and showcasing their powers without going overboard like so many others.