With three movies already released, the DCEU is looking great - but from one point of view only. The movies have proven to be wildly successful, especially if we take into account the mixed and very poor reviews they have received.

But I guess this is the whole point of the industry - to make as much money as possible. It isn't as if anybody expects to see a comic book movie being nominated for an Academy Award in a major category anytime soon"¦

Anyway, the huge revenues have proven one thing: the general audiences (and some of the fans) have enjoyed these flicks. So what can we, the viewers, do to make the most of our movie-going experience? What should we take into account in order to not feel let down when finally seeing a DCEU movie?

Well, here are a few suggestions - obviously, they are personal opinions and they should be taken as such.

DCEU and not MCU

13 movies in, the MCU has never had a single movie to be a critical or a box office flop. Yes, I can mention here The Incredible Hulk (which is highly underrated, in my opinion), which didn't do well with the critics and barely managed to make a profit.

Well, the DCEU has in no way the same kind of track record, because it has released just three movies until now. The formula hasn't been yet found, and Warner Bros. is still searching for it - Suicide Squad is the best example, with extensive reshoots being ordered after the first reviews of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice were released.

So, for the time being, I cannot expect to see a shared universe rivaling the one from Marvel. What I can expect is experiments in the superhero genre, but experiments that still manage to stay true (to a high degree) to the comics.

Which is great, as far as I am concerned. Don't tell me you didn't feel excited when Batman and Superman started trading punches, even if the brawl didn’t last long enough. Concerning this scene, I can say that Warner Bros. managed with this fight what Marvel achieved much later on, in Age of Ultron, with the extended fight between Hulk and Iron Man.

The plan

As Taika Waititi recently said, everything is going according to plan with Thor: Ragnarok, particularly because there was no plan at all. Obviously, he was just joking. The MCU is so tightly scheduled that there is no time at all for spin-offs and additional movies (Spider-Man is, of course, the big exception).

As said, Warner Bros. is still experimenting. And I can say that because they listen to what the fans say - which is great, in its own way. So that is why I don't expect all of the already announced movies to be released.

And, more than likely, new projects will be announced pretty soon. To make my point, Warner Bros. has already signed Margot Robbie for a spin-off featuring Harley Quinn. And that means that movies are being added, permanently changing the plan, according to the audiences' response.

And this is great. In a way, we don't know what will happen next. Which is great for this particular genre, who lacks the unpredictable. I'll watch the Harley Quinn movie, just like I'll watch the Teen Titans one.

The Mastermind

Zack Snyder is, for many, all about the visuals. The story doesn't count as much as how it all looks on the big screen. And maybe that is why, until now, the movies have been so poorly received. He is first and foremost a visual director, and only afterwards a storyteller and a producer.

Naturally, everybody blames him for the critical response to the DCEU movies released thus far. But is it really just his fault? It isn't as if he were given a sack of money and told to do whatever he wants with it.

Anyway, Zack Snyder's reign is over. And his fate as a director in the DCEU lands solely on the Justice League flick. So, obviously, Warner Bros. is experimenting in this way as well - by changing the vision set at the beginning of the DCEU.

And I don't know what to think about that. Ben Affleck is a great director and producer, while Geoff Johns has plenty of knowledge about comic books. So it could turn out to be great. But still"¦

I actually dig the visuals from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. They are, basically, artistic photos in motion. And I don't really want that to change.

At least the stories will be better, right?

Speaking of which"¦

The history

The Dark Knight Trilogy is, without a doubt, the best comic book movie trilogy ever. So at least Warner Bros. and DC have that, right? Well, while this is a great trump card (we are reminded of that every time a DC fanboy bashes the MCU without a reason), it’s also something that makes the current movies less satisfying.

And that is because they will always be compared to the awesome Christopher Nolan movies. The current Joker is now worse because Heath Ledger's was perfect. The current storylines are filled with plot holes because the Nolan ones had fewer. The score, the actors, and so on and so forth - they will never (hopefully, this won't be the case) match the Dark Knight Trilogy.

So the best thing to do is go to the movies without thinking about the previous movies.

As an example, Age of Ultron was an awesome spectacle. However, it was considered disappointing because the previous Avengers movie was better.

So, whenever going to see a DC and Warner Bros. movie, try not to think too much about other movies. And this should happen with every flick, no matter what genre it is.

Studio problems

Unfortunately, you cannot overcome this difficulty - I know I can't. It seems to me that the studio keeps interfering with the creative process. It was more than obvious in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, just like it was in Suicide Squad. And why?

Maybe because there isn't a plan in place. Maybe because the vision isn't the right one. Maybe because the current movies don't rise up to the expectations (set by The Dark Knight Trilogy). Maybe it is all of these. And Warner Bros. doesn't like losing money, so they keep interfering.

And I guess it all started with Man of Steel, which was an incredibly divisive movie. But I like it - yes, even with Superman killing Zod. It was a realistic take on the genre. It was a different vision.

Batman v Superman got chopped to pieces and so did Suicide Squad. Will it happen the same with Wonder Woman? Hopefully, it won't.

And, unfortunately, the studio will keep meddling until the perfect balance between realism, tone, comedy, action, and so on is found.

The trailers

If you want to enjoy a DCEU movie, don't believe the trailers!

Do you remember how awesome the first trailer for Batman v Superman was? It was excellent. And then the third one arrived, signaling that something was wrong. And then the movie revealed that the trailers were better movies by themselves than the actual flick.

And then came the Suicide Squad trailers - and they were even more awesome! Even if some of the jokes fell flat, they still teased an awesome action movie starring bad guys. All of the clips were awesome - and, unfortunately, they contained everything that was all right with the movie (to make it clear, I don't blame David Ayer for Suicide Squad being hacked).

And now we have the Wonder Woman trailer - which is superb visually and symbolically. Were we tricked yet again?

I guess it is safe to play it safe than be sorry. So I guess one should try not getting too excited about some two-minute clips. Even if they look amazing! The best thing to do is avoid the trailers and go in and see the movie without any previous knowledge.

You won't be disappointed!

Tone

This is a major issue and one the studio tries to fix. However, in my opinion, the tone isn't the problem with the DCEU, but rather the poor scripts. Anyway, Warner Bros is trying to make the movies more appealing to all the audiences, thus hurting the fans.

And the tone of the movies (not the palette of colors) is actually their realism. This new Superman is still seeking his path, so he is in no way the Richard Donner version. This Batman is wearier and more paranoid than how Nolan and Tim Burton portrayed him.

But this is the appeal of these movies - their novelty. So if you expect to see more of the same, you may end up disappointed. However, if you want to see new interpretations of the characters, then the DCEU is for you.

Of course, at this point, some might say that the MCU is for children, while the more realistic DCEU is for grownups. I don't share this opinion. However, diversity is what spices up life. And if I can have a darker comic book movie universe as well as a lighter one, then bring on more movies!

The actors

Whenever a comic book movie character is cast, you can hear the fans cringing. It has happened with Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, with Ben Affleck as Batman, with Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Will Smith as Deadshot, Jared Leto as the Joker, and the list continues.

And there are hits and misses, just like with any other endeavor. But it doesn't matter if Ben Affleck is hailed as the best Batman/Bruce Wayne ever, or Jared Leto as the worst Joker. They are here to stay, and they will appear in quite a few other movies from here on.

It isn't as if Warner Bros. will retire the Joker (or recast him) just because the fans didn't enjoy Leto's performance. And Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor will return. Just like all the other actors.

Which is a great thing. I do hope that until a Flashpoint erases the timeline, all of these actors will remain. I am certain that, in the end, all of them will be counted among the best.

Never mix TV and movie universes

Whenever a character is rumored to appear on the big screen, everybody looks at the TV shows and demands that the same actor be used. It has happened with Flash, it has happened with Deathstroke, with Green Arrow, and so on and so forth.

It may be, at times, confusing, having two versions of the Flash at the same time. And the idea of the multiverse doesn't really explain too much to the casual fans. And, obviously, the MCU is mentioned.

But maybe it’s for the better to have two separate universes. In this way, we can have different stories on the small and big screens. Furthermore, by having separate universes, it will be easier to understand what is happening in them.

And, at the same time, the writers and the producers won't have to burden themselves with keeping track of what's happening in the other medium. It's neater this way. And I’m actually happy they aren't mixed.

So in order to enjoy the DCEU movies, you'd better forget about having the actors from the small screen cameoing on the silver.

Catch up

Maybe this is the biggest problem with the DCEU - trying to play catch up with the MCU. And this is also a problem for the fans, comparing the two distinct universes from this point of view.

But Warner Bros. can only screw things up if it tries to equal the shared universe from Marvel. Wouldn't it have been better if they were actually planning all the movies, without interfering with the schedule each time the fans demanded it?

Maybe it would have been better to have solo flicks for the heroes before the ensemble movies. Even if that meant drawing even more comparisons to the MCU, everybody would have been accustomed to the new versions of the characters.

And it wouldn't have been so extraordinary to see a violent Superman or a gun-wielding Batman.

So maybe we should have patience and understand that, despite whatever we may think, Warner Bros. needs to take its time with the DCEU.