Is Watchmen objectively the best Zack Snyder DC film?

[BatmanBegins05]

I think it might be. But really, that's not saying much. Considering Zack also directed Sucker Punch.

 

[Eddie Dean]

I guess.

 

[Enriquespy]

It is.
It's still not saying much.

 

[Babillygunn]

Here’s my take: Snyder is annoying and immature and Snyder’s immaturity is Watchmen’s demise. Specifically I have trouble with the fact that he cannot show restraint.
Case in point, there is no denying that Watchmen is a violent comic and it has a good deal of sexual content, but Snyder ramps those aspects up 100-fold and makes it all very uncomfortable. From the slow motion shooting of Veidt’s secretary to the use of a saw on Big Figure’s henchman, Snyder takes bloody comic frames and adds tons of hamburger. The end result isn’t better, it’s just more excessive. The same goes for the infamous sex scene that has ruined Leonard Cohen forever. Snyder seems to think that sex and gore = adult. It doesn’t.
I remember when BvS was announced, it was done in epic fashion at a comic con with Harry Lennix reading the “I want you to remember, Clark...” line from TDKR and then the Batman logo appearing on the screen around the Superman crest. It was a cool moment and the crowd went wild. But then it was ruined with Snyder yelling into a microphone “what the sh$& was that!!?” Like he was a 13 year old. It was so juvenile and really made no sense whatsoever why he did that, but it is exemplary of why I think giving him the reins of the DCEU was a bad idea.
That type of juvenile behavior leads to decisions like the one in BvS where Snyder has a well written scene between Lois and Clark discussing the world’s response to Superman, and they have the luxury of one of the world’s most renowned actresses in Amy Adams playing Lois, and Snyder decides “you know what would be cool...let’s have Lois be naked in a bathtub during this scene.” Seriously, the dude just wasn’t grown up enough to handle the DC properties.

But to answer the original question I’d rank MoS or his owl cartoon higher than Watchmen

 

[Batmannerism]

Hmmmmmm..... well film quality can't be a truly objective measure, but is it his best film ?

Personally, I feel that Man of Steel is a better film ( because it's more original) but with Watchmen Snyder did a pretty good job of sticking to the source material ( I prefer the film ending, because even back in 1987 the giant alien squid attack made zero sense, and even less sense now - but that was Alex Tse rather than Snyder ).

What lets the film down are some lacklustre performances and so so casting choices. In contrast, Jackie Earle Haley carries a lot of the film with his note perfect portrayal of Rorschach.

All in all I thought it a good adaptation, and Snyder deserves credit for knowing enough not to mess too much with a classic.

It's a lot better than anything he's done since Man of Steel, that's for sure.

 

[Micromind]

BvS Ultimate Cut > Man of Steel > Watchmen > 300 > Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole > Sucker Punch.

 

[Enriquespy]

No wait. if 300 is DC then its a tough call.

One of those two.

 

[Micromind]

No wait. if 300 is DC then its a tough call.

One of those two.

Well, I just listed most of the ZS movies I have seen, so my post was not exactly answering the question OP asked, my bad. (300 movie is based on Dark Horse Comics' graphic novel and I haven't seen Dawn of the Dead, so didn't include it here.)

As for DC movies,

BvS Ultimate Cut > Man of Steel > Watchmen.

 

[psylockolussus]

Yes.

 

[Flint Marko]

There's no "objective" but yeah I like Watchmen. I'd say it's his best, because I've never understood the love for 300 and I've never seen Dawn of the Dead.

 

[Cain]

I wouldn't say it is. Man of Steel was. Watchmen enrages me the same way BvS pisses many of you on this site off.

 

[Cain]

As for DC movies,

BvS Ultimate Cut > Man of Steel > Watchmen.

I'd rank em the same way but I don't think that objectively others would.

 

[Travesty]

BvS: Directors Cut>MOS>Watchmen>Dawn of the Dead>300

I haven't seen the Owl movie or Sucker Punch, but overall, I think he's an ok director. He's not terrible like his haters claim, and he's not this genius that his fans make him out to be, either. He's a solid 7/10 director. I actually find the haters to be 100x more annoying and persistent than his crazy fans, who the haters claim wont shut up about him, when they themselves obsess over him more than his fanboys. Which is odd....

 

[writer0327]

Dawn of the Dead remains my favorite ZS film, its also his highest rated amongst critics. Even though I would count myself as a ZS critic, I actually like most of his films. 300, MoS, JL, Watchmen and DotD are all good films, occasionally great at times. I think my biggest gripe is he has huge ideas, takes on these huge properties but leaves a lot on the table in terms of story and character. He nails it with spectacle however.