For over 50 years, Batman has patrolled the silver screen in live action across multiple eras and iterations.
But which take on the Caped Crusader truly rules the screen?
14Batman & Robin
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The franchise killer.
Batman and Robin attempt to thwart a punny Mr. Freeze, eco-terrorist Poison Ivy, and the monstrously steroidal Bane from enacting a catastrophic plot to freeze Gotham City.
Cast
Batman and Robin attempt to thwart a punny Mr. Everything about Batman & Robin just feels like a desperate attempt to sell toys to kids.
It’s definitely the worst Batman movie, caring nothing for integrity.
13Batman: The Movie
West’s Bright Knight.
12Suicide Squad
Batfleck cameo for the win.
Suicide Squad criminally squandered its potential, yet deserves an honorable mention for Batman’s minor but entertaining role.
But Batman himself provides a bright spot amidst the messy production.
His screen time is brief, limited to acar chase confrontation with Harley, and a tinyshowdown with Deadshot.
Turns out Affleck captures Batman’s intimidating presence better than Leto does the Clown Prince of Crime.
11The Flash
Multiverse spectacle, two Batmen?
Director Andy Muschietti nailed homages to Burton’s gothic aesthetic that should delight fans.
But the convoluted reality-altering plot left coherence near the popcorn machines.
The idea of two Batmen potentially colliding brought major nostalgic appeal to fans.
Too sad it never actually happened.
The Flash clearly aims more for frenetic comic book spectacle than dramatic weight.
Miller’s jittery charm meshes well with Keatons gravitas to provide lively chemistry, enhanced by propulsive action scenes.
When Batman and Robin face off against a quartet of their most notorious foes who unite to take them down using a dehydration device, Batman must deploy his “Shark Repellent Bat-Spray” among other gadgets to prevail.
10Batman Forever
Kilmer’s decent sequel.
Tommy Lee Jones camped it up to rival Carrey’s hyena-esque giggling as vengeful Two-Face.
Even the Bat-suits and production design gleamed it up a bit, delivering a visual treat.
9Justice League
Rushed cinematic universe builder.
It’s obvious that DC aimed to craft an Avengers-style crossover with 2017’s Justice League.
But directorZack Snyder stepping down mid-production(very understandably so) meant extensive reshoots overseen by Joss Whedon.
Suicide Squad focuses on a team of criminals and supervillains, brought together in the wake of Superman’s death to combat metahumans under the control of US government official Amanda Waller.
The clashing visions resulted in a blenderized concoction lacking focus.
Ben Affleck’s world-weary Batman found himself marginalized amidst the haphazard world-building and weak villain.
Lackluster action scenes against a forgettable CGI villain Steppenwolf failed to showcase Batman’s strategic leadership or abilities.
8Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Snyder’s Batfleck showcase.
Deeper dives into his tragic backstory finally added a shade of humanity to the character.
But even his gravitas couldn’t fully overcome Snyder’s signature leaden pacing and oppressively gray gloomy aesthetic.
The film arguably improved upon Joss Whedon’s scattershot theatrical cut via focused world-building.
However, critics still derided the bloated four-hour runtime, chemical color palette, and thinly sketched characters.
Even Batfleck’s boosted presence couldn’t save the League from feeling like a dour CGI spectacle.
7Batman Returns
Creepy-good Burton sequel.
Danny DeVito startled as the grotesque yet oddly sympathetic Penguin, developing political aspirations that masked his criminal intent.
But the provocative feline chemistry between Michael Keaton’s Batman and Michelle Pfeiffer’s leather-clad Catwoman dominated the film.
Their morally complex bond transcended hero and villain dynamism, showing two conflicted kindred spirits beneath the masks.
The villains' twisted carnival-inspired designs encapsulated Burton’s delight in showcasing flamboyantly abnormal outcasts.
Batman himself had a dreamier, more softly-lit look contrasting the harsh urban shadows.
The Flash accidentally time travels between parallel realities, meeting an older grizzled Batman played by Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton’s returning classic Caped Crusader.
Returns embraced edgier themes than its predecessor, from Penguin’s implied incestuous origins to Catwoman’s liberating sexuality.
The movie shook up expectations, but Burton’s vision did maintain a stylistic continuity of sorts.
6The Dark Knight Rises
Flawed epic trilogy finale.
However, inevitable complaints emerged around pacing issues, lackluster plotting, and empty bombast outweighing substance.
In a way, the audiences were almost primed for disappointment.
Honestly, awe-inspiring set pieces like the midair plane hijacking showcased Nolan’s ambitious scope.
5Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice
DC’s ultimate clash.
This grimmer, crueler Batman felt to some an inaccurate betrayal of the character’s legacy.
For better or worse, Batman v Superman depicted DC’s icons as an operatic spectacle.
Batman and his new sidekick Robin strive to stop the flamboyantly sinister Riddler and Two-Face from using brain manipulation to learn the secret identities of Gotham’s heroes.
Batman joins forces with Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash to revive Superman and defend Earth together against the invading forces of the evil cosmic tyrant Steppenwolf.
Batman takes on a mentor role assembling the Justice League to fight Steppenwolf’s invasion of Earth, while grappling with the world-changing consequences of Superman’s death.
Batman clashes with the sinister Penguin, who seeks power over Gotham, and shares a complex bond with the dangerous Catwoman.
Broken and reclusive after years in seclusion, Batman must rise again to save Gotham City from Bane and Talia Al Ghul’s reign of brutality and terror that culminates in a nuclear bomb attack.
Batman prepares to battle Superman, seeing him as an unchecked threat, but the two iconic heroes eventually unite against the monstrous Doomsday and Lex Luthor’s manipulations.
