Blue Beetle has the DCEU’s best Rotten Tomatoes score since 2021

Lucy-Jo Finnighan
blue beetle

Blue Beetle has managed to beat the odds and become the best-received movie in the DCEU on Rotten Tomatoes since 2021.

The DCEU is currently in turmoil, with movies being panned and axed all over the place. However, that hasn’t stopped the new Blue Beetle movie from being released. The film’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally here.

And from what we’ve seen, it’s a pretty good movie. As we wrote in our three-star review of the film, “While no masterpiece, Blue Beetle has clearly accomplished what it’s set out to do. The characters are likable, the action fun, and the escapism easy. And at its core, it will make you feel what it wants you to feel, which is a triumph in its own right.”

But it also seems like other critics are loving this movie, as now Blue Beetle is the highest-rated DCEU film on Rotten Tomatoes from the past two years.

Blue Beetle beats out other DCEU movies on Rotten Tomatoes

Blue Beetle had a strong critical reception out of the gate, initially gaining a 88% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie now sits at 79%, but that’s still an impressive score, especially compared to some other DCEU movies as of late.

In the wake of James Gunn’s new DCU reboot, it seems like many of the recent DC movie adaptations have been thoughtless at best, and biggest superhero flops at worst. Because of this, Blue Beetle has managed to surprisingly come out on top when comparing it to the movies of the past two years, especially when you check out the way the DCEU movies are ranked on Rotten Tomatoes.

Rotten Tomatoes has recently made a list ranking all the DCEU projects’ critical scores, with Blue Beetle being among the highest. Wonder Woman still remains the highest-rated movie overall, but considering that film came out in 2017, we’ve fallen quite far in the past six years.

Check out the list below:

  • Peacemaker Season 1 (2022) – 94%
  • Wonder Woman (2017) – 93%
  • Shazam! (2019) – 90%
  • The Suicide Squad (2021) – 90%
  • Blue Beetle (2023) – 79%
  • Birds of Prey (2020) – 78%
  • Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) – 72%
  • Aquaman (2018) – 65%
  • The Flash (2023) – 64%
  • Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) – 58%
  • Man of Steel (2013) – 56%
  • Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) – 49%
  • Justice League (2017) – 39%
  • Black Adam (2022) – 38%
  • Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) – 29%
  • Suicide Squad (2016) – 26%

Perhaps the reason Blue Beetle managed to come out on top despite its notoriety is because, like Wonder Woman, the movie chooses earnestness over edgy quips, like Suicide Squad or 2017’s Justice League.

As we continue in our review: “It’s been obvious from the beginning that Blue Beetle is set to be a DCEU movie that we all forget, but you can’t help but feel a twinge of sadness for that. Because for what it lacks in originality, it more than makes up for in heart.”

Blue Beetle is now in cinemas. For more DC content, click here, and you can check out our other coverage below:

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About The Author

Lucy-Jo is a Movies and TV Writer at Dexerto, and has previously written for Screen Rant and Girls on Tops. After earning a Master's Degree in Film and Literature, Lucy-Jo now loves covering films, TV shows, and anime, especially if it's something by Mike Flanagan, or anything drenched in camp. You can contact her at lucyjo.finnighan@dexerto.com