Every Live-Action Batman Movie, Ranked by Rewatchability
Not counting ensemble teams, there was a grand total of 10 live actions Batman movies over the years. Across seven different Batmans and six different directors, these films have a wide variety of tones and styles, from campy comedy to macabre horror to action-packed neo-noir.
Movies also have varying degrees of quality and therefore varying degrees of viewability. For example, it is difficult to attend even a single viewing of batman and robinwhile a masterpiece like The black Knight will never grow old.
ten Batman and Robin (1997)
The movie that nearly killed the franchise for good in the 90s, batman and robin, is hard to pass once, let alone multiple rewatches. According to VultureGeorge Clooney has repeatedly apologized for this film.
Joel Schumacher’s second Batman movie recalls the campy tone of the Adam West series, but it goes way overboard with bat lips, bat nipples, and a bat credit card.
9 Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Zack Snyder’s inflated runtime batman versus superman damages its re-watchability. Snyder crams a bunch of movie stories into one giant, confusing, overloaded film. BvS is a reboot of Batman, a sequel to Steel manand a precursor to Justice League all in one. It also combines elements of The Death of Superman and Return of the Dark Knightjumping to the end of each flagship hero’s story from the start of the cinematic universe.
The Bruce Wayne in this movie is sadly misrepresented as a gunslinger, but he’s redeemed by a great performance from Ben Affleck that perfectly captures the character’s rage.
8 Batman Forever (1995)
Joel Schumacher’s first Batman film is slightly more enjoyable than his second. batman forever marked a radical tonal departure from the Burton/Keaton films.
Val Kilmer is a delightfully understated Batman opposite Jim Carrey and the hilariously goofy villain Tommy Lee Jones acting as Riddler and Two-Face respectively.
7 The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Bat-finale by Christopher Nolan, The dark knight rises, is too big for its own good. The drunken threequel attempted the impossible feat of surpassing the scale and spectacle of The black Knight. Bruce Wayne spends most of the film in a hole in the ground with his back broken. Meanwhile, Bane brings the French Revolution to the streets of Gotham.
The dark knight rises has some saving graces. The opening plane extraction is a standout sequence that gives the film an exciting start and Tom Hardy gives an undeniably iconic turn as Bane.
6 Batman Begins (2005)
Nolan’s debut Batman movie, aptly titled batman begins, explored the Bat’s origin story in greater depth than any previous film. The original films are inherently less rewatchable than their more action-packed sequels that can dive into superhero spectacle from the get-go.
But batman begins is a solid comic book movie with a clear “hero’s journey” for Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne. Nolan’s reboot inspired a wave of gritty realism in the genre (with mixed results).
5 Batman: The Movie (1966)
1966’s delightfully camp batman: the movie is even goofier than the classic TV show it was based on. His tone borders on psychedelic. The bat fends off a shark attack with the Bat-shark repellent. The villains team up for world domination with a “dehydrator” that turns people to dust.
Arriving in theaters after the show’s first season ended airing, batman: the movie brings back most of Adam West’s equally iconic co-stars from the TV series: Burt Ward as Robin, Cesar Romero as Joker, Burgess Meredith as Penguin, and more.
4 Batman Returns (1992)
Tim Burton’s second Bat movie, Return of Batman, is even darker, darker, and scarier than the first. It’s less a superhero movie than a horror movie.
The sequel is packed with iconic performances: Michael Keaton is more at home than ever as Bruce Wayne, Michelle Pfeiffer is the definitive Catwoman, and Danny DeVito delivers a wonderfully unnerving turn as Penguin.
3 The Batman (2022)
Robert Pattinson recently introduced audiences to his dark, brooding, and painfully awkward version of Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves’ action-packed neo-noir epic. The Batman. It’s a Se7frserial killer thriller starring Batman and Jim Gordon on the trail of a zodiac-inspired Riddler.
It’s three hours long, but Greig Fraser’s cinematography is atmospheric and immersive, bringing a rain-soaked and neon-soaked Gotham to life, so it’s easy to sit back and enjoy the ride, despite the length of the ride. grueling execution. The Batman has jaw-dropping action, genuinely effective jumping, and a palpable sense of Hitchcockian tension that make it endlessly enjoyable.
2 Batman (1989)
Tim Burton made Batman cool again two decades after the heyday of the West with his groundbreaking 1989 Batman film, one of the first blockbusters that established the popularity of the superhero genre.
Batman ’89 avoids the usual re-watchability problem with the original films. You don’t have to dive deep into Bruce’s childhood and combat training like batman begins; it goes from murdering the Waynes to a Batman’s vigilante crusade at its peak.
1 The Dark Knight (2008)
The central chapter of Nolan’s Bat trilogy, The black Knight, has been universally hailed as one of the greatest films ever made. Nolan directed Michael Mann’s sprawling metropolitan action Heat in the fictional setting of Gotham City.
Thanks to Heath Ledger’s riveting Joker performance, a character study that tests Batman’s moral code, and heart-pounding IMAX action sequences like the opening bank robbery, truck overturn, and scuffle in the interrogation room, The black Knight never gets old.
About the Author