There has been ten theatrically released live-action Batman movies to come out. As you may know, I love Batman, so I thought it would be fun to make a ranking of all of them. For the purposes of this list, I am not including the theatrical serials from the 40’s, and I feel like if I did, they would be at the very bottom of the list anyway. I would also like to give a shout out to the two theatrically released animated Batman movies, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) and The LEGO Batman Movie (2017). If these were to be included, Mask of the Phantasm would be number 2 and the LEGO Batman Movie would be number 5. Now, without further ado, I present my own personal objective ranking of the ten theatrical Batman movies.
10. Batman v. Superman (2016)
This is the only Batman movie I dislike. Even then, I don't hate this movie. I just... don't like it. Unlike most people, I don't hate the fact that this Batman kills people because he kills people, I hate it because of how Zack Snyder talks about it. That’s about all I have to say about this movie
8. The Dark Knight Rises
Granted, I haven’t watched it in a while, but from what I remember, most of the movie is good, great even, but the third act kind of falls apart. Tom Hardy’s Bane is great, though I am still holding out hope for a more comic accurate Bane on the big screen, and I think he should have been the big bad, not a surprise henchman to a boring leader.
7. Batman Returns
What happens when you give Tim Burton unbridled creative control over your Batman movie that you are trying to market to families and kids? You piss off McDonald’s, apparently. Yes, the fast-food company was actually upset at the dark and gross content in this movie after they signed off on a toy deal for Happy Meals (despite this movie coming out a decade before I was born, I somehow remember having a couple of these toys as a kid. No idea where they came from though). It’s no wonder why Mickey D’s was upset, as Batman Returns is decidedly not a kid’s movie. To be fair to Burton, the first one wasn’t exactly a kid’s film either, but it certainly wasn’t as dark as this one. Thanks to Danny DeVito’s Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman, this movie features plenty of grotesque and disturbing imagery, or at least enough graphic imagery to give little Simon nightmares. Also, Christopher Walken is in this movie.
9. Batman 66
The very definition of a stupid fun movie. Some people seem to think that they weren’t aware of how silly this movie was when they made it, but the pure camp of this movie and the accompanying television series, was 100% intentional. Just don’t think of the plot too much while you’re watching and it’s a fun time.
6. Batman Begins
A very good beginning to a very solid trilogy of movies. The more I watch it, the more I get the Year One vibes it was going for. As played out as origin stories tend to be, it’s always kind of fun seeing Bruce develop the persona of the Batman. I also think that Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow is a massively underrated comic book movie villain. He is intimidating, funny, and campy. This man literally rides around on a horse through the city streets while chaos happens around him.
5. Batman and Robin (1997)
Oh, Batman and Robin, they could never make me hate you. That doesn’t mean that it’s a good movie, by any means, but adding a certain amount of nostalgia to anything can make it seem like the best movie in the world. Perhaps it is too over the top. Perhaps the ice puns from Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) can get a bit frosty. Perhaps George Clooney is not a believable Batman, and don’t even get me started on the Bat-Credit Card. Regardless, this is a bad movie. It is also movie. If you’re in the right mood, Batman and Robin is a silly, campy, cool, fun time.
4. The Dark Knight (2008)
If I'm being honest with myself, this is probably the best made movie on this list, period. It consistently has the best reviews and scores out of every movie on this list across every review site I've checked. And honestly, yeah, I agree. Christopher Nolan is easily the greatest director of our time, and this, according to Rotten Tomatoes, is his best film. Again, I agree. That being said, if I was given the choice, right now, which movie I would rather watch right now, it would probably one of the three proceeding movies.
3. The Batman (2022)
A great modern adaptation for an 85-year-old character. Robert Pattinson plays this year two Batman as an angsty loner, still working out some kinks in his gear and his detective skills. With an ensemble of actors representing the criminal underworld of Gotham (Colin Feral as Penguin, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, etc.), none affects Batman as much as Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle and Paul Dano as the Riddler. The Riddler has more of a domestic terrorist/school shooter vibe than his usual game master vibe in this one, with a dark and sadly realistic tone in this performance.
2. Batman Forever (1995)
I think this movie has held me hostage. I can't explain exactly why it's this high on my list, but it is. Perhaps it’s nostalgia, or perhaps it’s the recent and tragic passing of the movies main actor, Val Kilmer. Or it’s an underrated masterpiece that serves as an interesting look at why Batman does what he does, as well as the duality between Batman and Bruce Wayne, mirrored by the duality in Harvey “Two-Face” Dent (Tommy Lee Jones). Throw in a zany yet menacing version of the Riddler (Jim Carrey), and an oddly mid-twenties Robin (Chris O’Donnell) and you have a toy commercial that has a surprising amount of artistry from director Joel Schumacher.
1. Batman (1989)
The perfect take on uber gothic Batman aesthetic. Everything is shot dark and moody, no doubt due to the very specific style of Tim Burton and the old gothic movies he took inspiration from (Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari). Jack Nicholson plays the more mobster version of the Joker perfectly, being equally funny and terrifying (the hand buzzer scene still creeps me out). Michael Keaton has a very reserved Bruce Wayne and Batman, and his romance with Kim Bassinger’s Vicki Vale is surprisingly believable and prescient throughout the movie.