Super heroes. Zombies. Extreme close-ups. Blue and yellow visual tones. Over the years, Zack Snyder has developed a style completely his own. Some hate it, some revere it. Truth is, most people fall in the middle. There’s no denying that Snyder’s style of filmmaking is unique. And for that – at the very least – he’s worth celebrating. So today, we’re going to rank the best Zack Snyder movies, from bottom to top! By the end, you’ll know where to look to see all Zack Snyder movies.

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Zack Snyder Films List

Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Best Zack Snyder Movies  •  Justice League Trailer

The two-hour theatrical release of Justice League was bad. The good news? That cut was never the cut Snyder wanted to make. In 2021, after years of fanfare and petitioning, Zack Snyder released a special directorial cut. The bad news? His cut wasn’t much better. 

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is four-hours long. Yes, you read that right. Four hours. Longer than Gone With the Wind, Once Upon A Time in America, and Lawrence of Arabia. That might lead you to believe a lot happens – but you’d be dead wrong. No amount of color grading, aspect ratios, or reworked CGI could save Justice League from the unbearable weight of its nonsense plot and wooden performances.

25%
story
40%
direction
60%
visuals
42%
OVERALL SCORE
  • Better Than Original
  • Some Strong Visuals
  • N/A
  • Acting
  • Forgettable Villain
  • Too Long

Movies Directed by Zack Snyder

Conclusion

If you’re not a DC fan, you probably won’t enjoy the four hour #SnyderCut. However, it is remarkable that the cut was made.

Best Zack Snyder Movies

Sucker Punch

Zack Snyder Films List  •  Sucker Punch Trailer

Zack Snyder was on top of the movie-world during the development of Sucker Punch. His first three movies – Dawn of the Dead, 300, and Watchmen – were all moderately acclaimed and successful at the box-office. So, Warner Bros. agreed to distribute his new movie: Sucker Punch.

There’s a lot going on in Sucker Punch; a story of mental disarmament and those who fall victim to it. Emily Browning stars as Babydoll, a young woman who’s wrongfully sent to an insane asylum and set-up for a lobotomy. To escape, she must secure five items across dimensions. Is Sucker Punch a fetch-quest? Or a commentary on fetch-quests? There’s certainly a lot of trope-ish commentary – but it never adds up to anything truly subversive.

30%
story
50%
direction
50%
visuals
43%
OVERALL SCORE
  • Some Great Prod. Design
  • Noble Intent
  • Big-Name Cast
  • Inconsistent Camera
  • Some Acting
  • Falls Short of Ambition

Zack Snyder Filmography

Conclusion

Sucker Punch could have been a great movie – but as it stands, it’s simply a swing and a miss in the Zack Snyder filmography. 

Movies Directed by Zack Snyder

Legend of the Guardians

Zack Snyder Movies List  •  Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole Trailer

Legend of the Guardians, or as it’s more formally known Legend of the Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole, belongs on the short list of animated movies that nobody knew were made by Hollywood titans. Fun facts: did you know that Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted was co-written by Noah Baumbach? Or that Happy Feet/Happy Feet 2 was written and directed by George Miller? Hollywood is truly full of surprises.

The Owls of Ga’Hoole is a kids movie through and through. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing – but in this case, it is. Although there’s nothing flagrantly wrong about an “owls save the world” movie, there’s nothing especially intriguing about it either. 

30%
story
50%
direction
70%
visuals
50%
OVERALL SCORE
  • Animation (For Its Time)
  • Voice Acting
  • Unique Setting
  • Deviates From Book
  • Forgettable
  • Aimed at Kids

Best Zack Snyder Movies

Conclusion

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole is a mostly forgettable affair – but is still widely appreciated for its art-style and animation.

Zack Snyder Films List 

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

Best Zack Snyder Movies  •  Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Trailer

I don’t think I’ve ever been so pleasantly surprised with the first half of a movie and so thoroughly disappointed with the second half of a movie as I was with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The first half of the movie is rife with socio-political commentary, religious allegory, and layered character drama. The second half of the movie is bad.

Like a kid smashing two action figures together bad.

When Snyder is on, he’s combining action, drama, and crazy visuals to create a cinematic cocktail. When Snyder is off, he’s forcing a concoction that simply doesn’t mix. Don’t believe me? Just watch Dawn of Justice.

60%
story
40%
direction
50%
visuals
50%
OVERALL SCORE
  • Establishing Themes
  • Cavill/Affleck
  • N/A
  • Uneven Story
  • Awful Second-Half
  • Too Long

Zack Snyder Movies List

Conclusion

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice had all the makings of a Eugene O’Neill tragedy – but abandoned its artistic intent in favor of the fluff of a Saturday morning filler cartoon. 

Best Zack Snyder Movies

Dawn of the Dead

Zack Snyder Films List  •  Dawn of the Dead Trailer

Oh, early 2000s movies, how thee have aged horribly. I suppose it isn’t their fault. Burgeoning visual effects and camera technology caused many early 2000s movies to look washed out and faded; Dawn of the Dead is no exception. Visual filter aside, Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead is a fun and campy re-imagining of George Romero’s classic. 

Both Snyder’s version and Romero’s consistently rank in lists of the best zombie movies ever made

70%
story
70%
direction
50%
visuals
63%
OVERALL SCORE
  • Opening Act
  • Pioneering Dir.
  • Prod. Design
  • Aged Visuals
  • Not That Deep
  • N/A

Zack Snyder Filmography

Conclusion

The enormous box-office success of Dawn of the Dead set Zack Snyder up for a career directing Hollywood films.

Zack Snyder Movies List

300

Zack Snyder Best Movies  •  300

How does one truly judge 300? As the movie it is? Or as the stylistic breakthrough it was? When 300 was released in 2007, people hadn’t seen anything like it. Intense color saturation. Extreme – and I mean extreme close-ups. Overcranking to 11. It was a movie that looked like no other.

I don’t want to discredit Snyder’s vision, but 300 really does seem comical by today’s standards. Perhaps it always was; we were just caught up in the revolution.

40%
story
90%
direction
60%
visuals
63%
OVERALL SCORE
  • Visionary Dir.
  • Campy
  • Iconic Visuals
  • Too Much Color Sat.
  • Basic Story
  • N/A

Best Zack Snyder Movies

Conclusion

This may be Sparta, but it isn’t must-see cinema. Still, cinematographers should study 300 for its iconic look.

Zack Snyder Directed Movies

Army of the Dead

Best Zack Snyder Movies  •  Army of the Dead Trailer

Here’s the pitch for Army of the Dead: bank heist in a city full of zombies. That’s literally it. And somehow it took 12 years of development hell to make it a reality.

Army of the Dead burst onto Netflix during the COVID-19 pandemic, which certainly helped it become one of the most watched Netflix movies of all-time. The film was also surprisingly decent – with a big twist that set-up a sequel titled Planet of the Dead.

60%
story
70%
direction
80%
visuals
70%
OVERALL SCORE
  • Dave Bautista
  • Ending
  • Campy and Fun
  • Extreme CUs
  • Contrived Elements
  • N/A

Zack Snyder Films List

Conclusion

Army of the Dead is a pretty fun movie, all things considered. Just don’t go into it expecting much in the way of character drama.

Best Zack Snyder Movies

Man of Steel

Movies Directed by Zack Snyder  •  Man of Steel Trailer

Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel may not have been quite the successor to The Dark Knight Trilogy many were hoping it would be – but it was a moderately successful reboot for the son of Krypton.

Man of Steel was certainly a star-making turn for Henry Cavill, who admitted to missing Zack Snyder’s casting call due to a World of Warcraft dungeon. In all seriousness, Man of Steel may be Snyder’s most consistent effort from start to finish.

80%
story
80%
direction
85%
visuals
82%
OVERALL SCORE
  • Great Cast
  • State of the Art SFX
  • Consistent Story
  • Empty-Action
  • N/A
  • N/A

Zack Snyder’s Movies

Conclusion

We as a people may not be able to agree on much – but hopefully we can agree that the Man of Steel trailer is one of the best movie trailers of all-time.

Zack Snyder’s Movies Ranked

Watchmen

Zack Snyder Best Movies  •  Watchmen Trailer

Who watches the Watchmen? Well, as it turns out, a whole lot of people. Watchmen grossed a reported $185.3 million at the box-office and consistently ranks on lists of the best superhero movies. Watchmen, based on the DC Comics series of the same name, proved to be the dark and gritty superhero movie audiences wanted to see.

That said, Watchmen isn’t a perfect movie. Dialogue is sometimes rough. And the story is sometimes hard to follow. But through the looking glass, (that’s a Watchmen TV reference for you fans at home), you’ll see a movie that truly reveres its source material.

80%
story
85%
direction
80%
visuals
82%
OVERALL SCORE
  • Unique Tone
  • Solid Cast
  • Ending
  • Some Dialogue
  • N/A
  • N/A

Best Zack Snyder Movies

Conclusion

Watchmen (the 2009) movie is a perfect preamble for one of the Best HBO shows, also named Watchmen (released in 2019).

Up Next

Zack Snyder’s Directing Style Explained

There’s no doubt about it: Zack Snyder is a singular filmmaker. Not all of his movies are successful – but most are unique. Want to learn more about Zack Snyder’s directing style? Check out our next article in which we break down speed ramping, color synergy, and more. By the end, you’ll know how to diagnose a variety of techniques Snyder employs!

Up Next: Techniques from Zack Snyder Movies →
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