5. Batman Begins (2005)
There is no Batman story quite like Batman Begins. Not in the movies. Not in the cartoons. Not in the comic books. Before Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy kickoff, we had pieced together Batman’s origin through fragments. The alley, the dead parents, the tumble down the well, the bats, and the vengeance vow. David Goyer and Christopher Nolan’s script brings them all together in one tight narrative for the first time.
In addition, Batman Begins solidifies Bruce Wayne’s tragic relationship with fear by replacing the Wayne family’s late-night screening of The Mark of Zorro with Boito’s Mefistofele. The little kid can’t take the bat-demons writhing on the stage, causing Thomas and Martha to depart prematurely. That early exit puts them chest-to-gun with Joe Chill. Bruce Wayne’s fear kills his parents, and he adopts the Batman purpose to counter this colossal shame.
Nolan doesn’t quite have the action down in Batman Begins, and the exposition runs awkwardly rampant, but the mission statement has never felt more attainable for audiences. Richard Donner’s Superman made us believe a man could fly. Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins made us believe a billionaire would play flittermouse, and the cops and the wretched city would allow it. (Brad Gullickson)
4. Batman (1989)
Remember when we thought this was what a dark Batman movie looks like? Compared to the Nolan, Snyder, and Reeves takes on the Caped Crusader, Tim Burton’s first movie fits in pretty well with the Joel Schumacher pair. Well, the Oscar-winning art direction makes its mark for the dark aesthetic along with the designs of the sets, costumes, and Michael Keaton’s performance. And Jack Nicholson and the Joker’s palette is a nice contrast, just like the Prince soundtrack versus the Danny Elfman score. Batman movies are often about duality, but the balance here is so extremely improbable that it’s all the more amazing that it works perfectly.
The blend of the serious and silly hasn’t been attempted let alone achieved outside of the Burton Batmans, and not even Batman Returns really means to in the same way (and I have to acknowledge that The Batman manages a hint of the cartoonish in its grounded take but again it’s not the same). To a degree, it’s all almost too artificial and claustrophobic in its staging and its themes, both of which are rather neat and confined. Of course, that made it special, too, distinct from the spacious airiness of the Superman movies. Batman was a new and wonderful toy for moviegoers at the time, and it’s no wonder it hit so big despite now looking so minimal and modest. (Christopher Campbell)
3. The Batman (2022)
Bruce Wayne, the world’s greatest detective. They keep telling us that, but we’ve yet to see it on the big screen. Until now. Matt Reeves’ The Batman features a legit mystery, and Bruce Wayne doesn’t solve it with his knuckles. Even better, the answers he finds on the other end of the Riddler’s clues force the Caped Crusader to reevaluate his vengeance mission. The miracle is that The Batman we meet at the story’s start is not The Batman we’re left with at the story’s end.
Robert Pattinson portrays the Dark Knight as a vigilante on the verge of destruction. Not at the hands of some nasty Gotham City rogue, but by the lack of progress his arrival on the scene has stirred. He’s only one Bat-costumed lunatic fighting against a poisonous system. The muggers and the stickup goons will never cease as long as Gotham’s power players maintain their strangle on the people. The Batman is not a fist; he must provide an outreached hand.
Nearly every second of this three-hour epic is a punishing one. Batman has never been this far removed from Adam West’s ’60s-era Bright Knight. There are times when it feels too much, but then Matt Reeves offers his final reveal — no, not that one — and it realigns everything that came before. The Batman is changed, and hopefully, many watching are as well. The Batman can be so much more. We wait on the sequel to prove it. (Brad Gullickson)
2. The Dark Knight (2008)
I’m not counting out Matt Reeves just yet, but my guess is that Christopher Nolan’s trilogy of Batman films will go down as the character’s definitive cinematic appearance. They succeed where Tim Burton and the DCEU couldn’t in crafting a complete and highly satisfying character arc set against engaging stories, charismatic villains, and thrilling action set-pieces. Of the three films, it’s the middle entry that stands tallest.
It’s the most visceral and emotionally explosive, features the best action beats, and succeeds at overcoming Nolan’s disinterest in logic with pure spectacle and personality. There are some incredibly dumb beats here – not as bad as Rises, but pretty dumb – but we just don’t care. We forgive it all as Heath Ledger wows as the Joker, iconic dialogue sears into our brain, and pure exhilaration flows through our veins. The Dark Knight is big, glorious entertainment that grabs hold no matter how many times you’ve seen it. (Rob Hunter)
1. Batman Returns (1992)
It’s wild to look back and see that Warner Bros. ultimately viewed Batman Returns as a letdown. It didn’t make quite the same splash as its predecessor and the studio blamed that on the film’s darker tone, ultimately opting for a lighter direction with Batman Forever. But in the 30 years since its release, many a Batman movie has gone in search of the masterful tone that Burton achieved in this film.
In his second outing, Michael Keaton’s balance between Batman and Bruce Wayne was finely tuned. And instead of a single — and singular — antagonist, Batman was faced with multiple foes, each dynamic in their own way. Michelle Pfeiffer suffered through 12-14 hour days in her latex Catwoman costume and delivered perhaps the most iconic villain performance in any Batman movie. Danny DeVito delivers an inspired, uninhibited performance as The Penguin. And Christopher Walken tops it all off with big hair and an even bigger, more-maniacal performance as Max Shreck. All dropped into a beautifully designed, snowy Gotham City and bolstered by Danny Elfman’s magnificent score.
It’s dense and dark, a perfect representation of Tim Burton at his most confident and indulgent. And despite the fact that the studio immediately wanted lighter, family-friendly films to follow it, history has made clear that dark, broody Batman stories are where the party’s at — because all the best of what’s come since, from Christopher Nolan’s trilogy to Matt Reeves’ fresh vision, owe a great deal to Tim Burton’s masterpiece. (Neil Miller)
Related Topics: Batman
