All the movie talk in the world this month leads to the Caped Crusader, as Matt Reeves’ THE BATMAN has landed in theatres as a trifecta hit; with fans, critics, and the box office (read Reel Speak’s review HERE). The film is being hailed as one of the best Batman movies of all time. Where does it fall for this Blogger? Read on…
Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Batman had his comic book debut in March of 1939. Four years later, the character would hit movie screens as a 15-part serial with Lewis Wilson becoming the first to don the cap and cowl. Since then, the character has seen many ups and downs on the silver screen; ranging from hits, misses, box office champions, massive flops, cultural mainstays, and Academy Award glory. The character has also seen success in animation, with MASK OF THE PHANTASM (1993), and THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE (2017), earning top honors. Similar to James Bond, Batman has been reinvented many times for the big screen, and has appeared in a total of 12 live-action films. For this list, this Blogger will take into consideration every live-action appearance the Bat has made, even if it was just a cameo.
Now…to the Batpole!
12. SUICIDE SQUAD (2016)
Ben Affleck’s second appearance as Bruce Wayne/Batman came in this pile of nonsense that was doomed from the start. Directed by David Ayer, SUICIDE SQUAD gathered together Batman’s greatest enemies…and then relegated Batman to a small cameo. Although Affleck’s version of The Bat was excellent, his show-stealing short scene just showed how much better the movie could have been, which wound up as a critical and box office bomb. How bad was it? So bad that parent studio Warner Bros. rebooted the whole thing just a few years later. But still no Bat.
11. JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017)
Ben Affleck’s third appearance as the Bat resulted in this embarrassment which was later recut into a four-hour version that landed on HBO MAX (notice the trend?). Affleck’s Bruce Wayne works to gather the world’s finest heroes to counter an incoming cosmic threat in a decent plotline, but a troubled production led to a theatrical release that felt like half-a-movie. To make matters worse, the four-hour version was basically the same film, just a lot longer.
10. BATMAN AND ROBIN (1997)
Just keep scrolling.
9. BATMAN FOREVER (1995)
Joel Schumacher directed two consecutive Batman films which are both considered to be two of the worst superhero films of all time. For FOREVER, Val Kilmer took on the role of the Bat and acted like a plank of wood stuck in the mud. Two years later George Clooney entered the franchise in BATMAN AND ROBIN and seemed lost. Both movies also suffered from over-the-top humor and action, headache-inducing setpieces, and an atmosphere that made the Batman cartoons look like LAWRENCE OF ARABIA.
8. BATMAN (1966)
Based on the popular television series with Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin, this was the first full-length theatrical try at the character. Today, it is just as ridiculous, campy, and fun as the TV series, but it knows it…and doesn’t pretend to be anything more than that. This was a Batman movie that knew its own business.
7. BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (2016)
Ben Affleck’s first appearance as Batman came in this dour and overlong mess which later had (sigh, again), an extended edition released to try and iron out the many issues. This Batman’s debut had some of the best moments ever for the character on film; ranging from a spooky first-appearance, a mighty warehouse fight, and yes…his big dustup with the Man of Steel. DAWN OF JUSTICE tried to be epic by throwing in a lot, and felt like 16 movies crammed into one with plotlines involving Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, Doomsday, politics, ethics in journalism, a photograph, bizarre dream sequences, kryptonite, CIA spies, a dead Kryptonian general, and let’s not forget Martha. A mess, which was a shame because Affleck’s Batman was excellent in and out of the suit.
6. BATMAN RETURNS (1992)
Tim Burton returned to the directing chair and Michael Keaton reprised his role as Batman in this follow-up to their 1989 hit. RETURNS was the first superhero film to start piling on the villains, with Danny DeVito coming in as the Penguin, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. Burton turns up the stakes and balances the ridiculous with the darker elements of Gotham City, and over the years the holiday setting has made the film a favorite to revisit every December.
5. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)
Christopher Nolan’s third and final film in his DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY, which sees Gotham City under siege by Batman’s beefy big-bad, Bane (Tom Hardy). Hardy turns in a chilling performance, and the scope and scale of this one trots the globe and puts Bruce Wayne through all kinds of hell. Anne Hathaway comes in as an excellent Catwoman and is paired nicely with lead actor Christian Bale. The film is bookended by two massive action setpieces; starting with a breathtaking air hijacking and ending with an all-out war.
4. BATMAN (1989)
This Blogger has always found this one to be grossly overrated, but there is no denying the film’s massive popularity even after 33 years. Tim Burton directs, Michael Keaton plays the Bat, and Jack Nicholson puts on the purple suit of the Joker in this rollicking dust-up that has become a cultural hit in more ways than one.
3. THE BATMAN (2022)
Matt Reeves directs and Robert Pattinson dons the cowl in this stunning presentation that turns the tables on how we have perceived the character, while staying true to its comic origins and paying homage to films of the past. Batman takes on the Riddler (a chilling Paul Dano), in a psychological game that has far-reaches into the bowels of Gotham, and our caped crusader is put under the microscope in new and refreshing ways. Time will tell how THE BATMAN will hold up, but for now it deserves a high ranking.
2. BATMAN BEGINS (2005)
Christopher Nolan’s tremendous reboot of Batman that reinvented the character and flushed the stink of the 1990’s films down the drain for good. Christian Bale takes on the lead role in the first of three films that explores the deep roots that made the Bat become the Bat. For the first time in ages, a comic book movie was shot and treated like serious cinema, and the world took notice.
1. THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
And it was the Academy who took notice of Christopher Nolan’s sequel to Batman Begins, by nominating it for eight Oscars and awarding the late Heath Ledger Best Supporting Actor for his jaw-dropping role as the Joker; making this Bat-film the first of the comic book films to take home a win in a major Oscar category. The win was well-deserved, as this Joker dug below the cockles of Gotham, concocting schemes that would challenge of the ethics of Batman, Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman), and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). THE DARK KNIGHT would be a game-changer for superheroes on film and for blockbusters, and set a standard that every Bat has been chasing since.
REEL SPEAK'S RANKING OF THE LIVE-ACTION BATMAN FILMS
- THE DARK KNIGHT
- BATMAN BEGINS
- THE BATMAN
- BATMAN (1989)
- THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS
- BATMAN RETURNS
- BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE
- BATMAN (1966)
- BATMAN FOREVER
- BATMAN AND ROBIN
- JUSTICE LEAGUE
- SUICIDE SQUAD
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