Ranking every live-action Batman movie from worst to best

7. Batman: The Movie (1966)

Having this film placed this far down on the list may seem disrespectful to some. However we must remember this was just a cinematic version of the Batman we had on television.

There wasn’t anything more or less amazing than what we’ve seen from Adam West’s Batman and Burt Ward’s Robin and the film’s campy nature undoubtedly served as an inspiration behind Joel Schumacher’s later films.

Martinson’s film featured Catwoman, Riddler, Penguin, and Joker with the four Batman Rogues teaming up to take over Gotham in a way that only works for this movie.

Catwoman disguises herself as a Russian (Soviet) journalist with an insanely long name, unbeknownst to Batman who ends up falling for Catwoman’s Russian persona. Penguin successfully schemes his way into the Batcave using a disguise of his own, but things quickly unravel for the rogues.

The bad guys end up losing after Batman’s genius kicks in and he identifies their scheme. There’s even a message about giving people the freedom of free will from Batman.

This version of Batman hasn’t exactly held up well. It’s almost unfair to compare the film to more recent titles since Leslie Martinson’s Batman: The Movie was the first to his the big screen. Batman: The Movie is still funny, though, and it doesn’t waver from what it is throughout the film.