Summary
Batmanis an undisputed icon in pop culture, and not only is he DC Comics’ favorite hero, but he also seems to be the favorite of creators and audiences alike.Batmanhas featured in a multitude of movies, whether that’s animated or live-action. Batman is extremely popular, and every Batman movie deserves a watch, even if they aren’t exactly the greatest movies put to screen.
There’s something in every depiction of Batman, and whether it’s all live-action Batman movies or the infinite library of animated movies, audiences can always sit down and enjoy the brooding presence of the Caped Crusader andhis mission against villainyin Gotham City.
11Batman & Robin
A Campy Batman Flick That Gets Too Silly
Batman and Robin fight for Gotham City, but they often become divided in their methods, leading to confrontations that thwart the hero’s attempts at stopping more villains that have popped up on the scene. Poison Ivy and her seduced lackey Bane make for quite the troublesome duo, all whilst Mister Freeze tries to bring Gotham City into a new ice age.
Batman & Robinis not exactly the best Batman film ever, and its overreliance on the campy aspects of the character’s story just leaves audiences cringing. The lack of care in the mythos makes Batman and his rogues gallery somewhat of a joke, leading to a wild ride for kids, but a puzzling piece for adults.
10Batman Forever
A Batman With Potential, But Plagued By Camp Villains and Choppy Editing
Batman continues his fight against Gotham City’s criminals, where this time he has to face up against the likes of Two-Face and the Riddler, two criminal masterminds who will stop at nothing to turn Gotham City against the Batman and force it into chaos through their own equally devious desires.
Whilst Val Kilmer’s stint as Batman and Bruce Wayne was one that shouldn’t be overlooked,Batman Foreverdoesn’t exactly work as a follow-up to the dark aspects of the character that audiences had expected.Batman Forevercan be fun in a campy way, and the much-desired Joel Schumacher cut ofBatman Foreverwill forever remain a desire for those wantinga more intricate epic.
9The Lego Batman Movie
A Funny Animated Movie That Makes Fun of Batman in the Right Ways
Enter into a world of plastic, where the LEGO world has its own Gotham City, filled with iconic Batman villains, and a Caped Crusader who works alone.The Lego Batman Moviepokes fun at Batman in all the right ways, providing audiences with ways to laugh with and at Batman without the jokes going too far to insult the mythology of the character.
The Lego Batman Movieis a lot of fun for kids and adults, and Will Arnett’s Batman voice is great to listen to as he tries to reheat lobster and figure out what to do in a Gotham City that has been essentially cured of crime, all whilst trying to manage an orphan he didn’t even want.
8Batman Returns
A Broody Batman Saves A Gloomy Gotham City
Gotham City is threatened once more, but this time, the threat comes from the sewers, where a disfigured man known as the Penguin attempts to take control of Gotham City through political means. All the while, Batman must stop the Penguin and thwart the seductive Catwoman’s own agenda through Gotham.
Batman Returnsis far more broody and dark than its predecessor, but it does a lot of things right. Gotham is as dark as ever, and Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer’s chemistry as Batman and Catwoman is perfect for the relationship of the characters, leading to an exciting Batman adventure.
7Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
An Animated Retelling of Batman’s Early Days and His Hunt for a Murderer
The Batman’s image is threatened, as the vigilante is framed for being a cold-blooded killer. Accused of several murders across Gotham City, Bruce Wayne must reconcile with his past and handle the burden of being Batman to uncover the murders and the former girlfriend who may be the prime suspect.Batman: Mask of the Phantasmis gorgeously animated and wonderfully brooding in all the right ways.
The art style forBatman: Mask of the Phantasmproves how this titanic character works in animated format and live-action, and the dramatic voice of Kevin Conroy makes for the perfect Batman. The movie itself involves drama, action, romance, and tragedy that befalls the Dark Knight audiences know and love.
6Batman Begins
A More Grounded Take on Batman’s Origin Story
Another reboot of Batman brings further realism into his gritty world, and this younger Bruce Wayne witnesses the murder of his parents, thrusting him into a life of fighting against the criminals of Gotham City for justice.Batman Beginstakes Bruce Wayne through the training that would see him engulfedin a life of crime-fighting as Batman.
Batman Beginsworks as a perfect origin story movie, where audiences can immerse in the youth and tragedy of Bruce Wayne, and learn of how he developed the skills and philosophy to be Batman. Whilst far from perfect, it’s a promising beginning from the iconic vision of Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale as Batman.
5Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Ultimate Edition)
Batman and Superman Share the Big Screen For the First Time
Batman is consumed by a feeling of powerlessness in a world where meta-humans have the ability to destroy cities. Still reeling from the destruction of Metropolis in Superman’s fight against Zod, an older and more experienced Batman believes that Superman must die to save humanity, all whilst Superman must deal with a crisis of identity as the population both worships him and resents him.
The Ultimate Edition ofBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceisfar better than the theatrical version, and provides greater context for scenes that were needlessly cut.Batman v Supermanis an excellent movie, even if divisive, for its political themes around Superman and the broken philosophy of a Batman who is manipulated into breaking his one rule for the good of humanity.
4The Dark Knight Rises
Batman Returns After Eight Years to Fight a Terrorist Group For Gotham
After being framed for the murder of Harvey Dent, Bruce Wayne is forced to retire the Batman persona and wallows in grief after the loss hesuffered from the Joker’s reignover Gotham City. Yet, eight years later, Bruce Wayne is forced to don the cape and cowl to save Gotham from a terrorist, Bane, who seeks to engulf Gotham in hellfire.
The Dark Knight Risesis an incredible finale that concludes Christopher Nolan’sDark Knight Trilogy. Nolan’s realistic Gotham is thrown into a war between cops and criminals, and Christian Bale’s Batman must struggle with mortality which makes for an inspiring and equally intense watch.
3Batman (1989)
The Blueprint For Future Batman Stories
The maskedvigilante of Gotham Citycontinues his fight against evil, and the worst threat is yet to come with the Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime who threatens to descend Gotham into chaos. Batman’s one-man war on crime is about to hit its hardest night as the crazed and unpredictable nature of the Joker dances with the devil.
Batman(1989) is an iconic classic that brought the dark tones of Batman to the big screen. Doing away with what audiences thought at the time with the campiness of the 60s, 1989’sBatmanbrought the gothic visions of Tim Burton to life, and Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson’s stint as Batman and Joker is always rewatchable.
2The Batman
Gritty and Realistic, Batman Investigates a Serial Killer Plot
The most recent reboot of the Batman mythos comes from Matt Reeves, who takes Gotham City into a claustrophobic sewage of crime and corruption, where Batman must become more than a symbol of fear if he is to change the city he promises to protect, all whilst he deals with a web of corruption that is unfolded by a masked man killing political figures.
The Batmanis intense, with strong thriller hits that bring the World’s Greatest Detective to the big screen with an involving and immersive mystery that is easily rewatchable thanks to the performances of Robert Pattinson as Batman and the entire cast and crew thatbring this gritty Gotham to reality.
