The Caped Crusader is one of cinema’s greatest legends, but which of the Batman movies reign supreme over all of the others?
The crime-fighting vigilante known the world over as The Dark Knight has headlined more than his fair share of silver screen showdowns. Arguably the most popular superhero and comic book character of all time, Batman is a Hollywood Heavyweight (and has been one for decades), Bam, Smack and Powing his way to success every time he leads a new DC Comics adventure to cinemas.
He first debuted on the big screen in a feature-length film back in 1966, with Adam West taking his iconic portrayal from the small screen to the big one, and now the Caped Crusader’s newest offerings have come in 2022 with Robert Pattinson putting on the cowl in live-action reboot The Batman and a classic Batman’s substantial return in 2023’s The Flash. A lot has happened in the decades in between, with A-listers like Michael Keaton, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck bringing the dark avenger to life as names like Tim Burton, Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder directed them from behind the camera.
Yes, the time-tested hero has had quite the rich cinematic history so far and it shows no signs of slowing down. The release of Matt Reeves’ The Batman in 2022 has started a new chapter for the World’s Greatest Detective, and we will also see a new actor take on the role in the DC Universe. With those new additions in mind, let’s take some time to reflect on that history to see which of his movies reign supreme as the best of the best.
With that in mind, we are ranking all of the Batman movies from worst to best. Where will your favorite Caped Crusader movie rank?
13. Justice League
Never has there been a more disappointing superhero movie than Justice League. You might think such a statement bold to say but you’d be hard-pressed to find a film that had such high expectations going into it only to absolutely crumble under the weight of them (and a sorely underdeveloped shared universe).
The turbulent production is well-documented as Joss Whedon took over from Zack Snyder and diminished any sense of coherency that the original film had offered, robbing fans of what we now know to be stunning action sequences and, more importantly, standout character moments.
Batman felt lost for a purpose, yes, and that automatically puts this at the bottom of our Batman movies list, but that was one of the lesser evils of Justice League. A bland, poorly-edited and all-round flat product, it struggled to gain any kind of momentum due to the mismatch of styles between directors and it failed every single one of the heroes on the titular team.
The world was ready for Justice League a long time ago, but the DCEU was not and this movie ultimately killed the original vision of a shared universe that was already losing fan interest. The release of the superior Zack Snyder’s Justice League allows us to officially denounce the 2017 film but the damage had been unfortunately done.
12. Batman & Robin
Batman and Robin is a bit of an anomaly. The absolute bottom of a bottomless pit when it comes to depths that the Dark Knight has sunk to over the years, it took some of the worst parts of its admittedly decent predecessor and multiplied them by a gazillion, producing one of the most preposterously over-the-top campy spectacles human eyes have ever witnessed (complete with Bat nipples and ice puns to boot).
The antithesis of the modern Batman movie, it killed the franchise and set the comic book genre back decades, offering up nothing but a less clever and annoyingly louder adaptation of the 1966 TV series. And yet, it has its charms.
It’s interesting watching it back now because, with the Batman franchise once again thriving, you might find yourself drawn to forgive it for the atrocities that it committed. You might then find yourself intrigued by its goofy plot and expositional fist-clenching monologues. And then you might even, dare I say it, enjoy what you see.
Taken at face value, Batman & Robin is a senselessly loud ’90s movie made for sheer popcorn entertainment and toy sales. And sometimes that’s all you need, especially when it has Uma Thurman committing to it with such an OTT performance that she’s still considered the definitive Poison Ivy to this day.
11. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Warner Bros.’ official attempt to launch a shared universe that would compete with Marvel Studios’ MCU came with 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. A sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel, it was also a beginning of its own for the DCEU and the result is, well, mixed.
There is no denying that Batman v Superman isn’t dripping in potential but only occasionally does it live up to it (well, the theatrical version at least). For every fantastic performance from Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot (and, believe me, they are fantastic), there is a baffling story decision, an underdeveloped (or cut) subplot and just too much grimness for the launch of a shared universe involving two of the most hopeful superheroes of all time.
Zack Snyder produces a visual masterpiece with some stunning sequences that pay tribute to comic books like The Dark Knight Returns and The Death of Superman but the story in between isn’t all that coherent and it ultimately disappoints. The extended “Ultimate Edition” is so much better than this (and far more coherent) but the decision to launch a shared universe with a Man of Steel spin-off without giving us a standalone Batman movie first was incredibly misguided – and it showed.
10. Zack Snyder’s Justice League
If you read our DCEU movie ranking list, you’ll know that we think very highly of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. It’s a far superior movie to the theatrical release and is honestly just an all-around better cinematic experience. However, it’s not exactly a Batman movie, and it still leans into some of the more divisive aspects of the DCEU version of the character (which is why it doesn’t rank quite as highly on this list).
That being said, it makes up for some of the previous DCEU movies’ most glaring issues. For example, he doesn’t crack cringey one-liners like he did in the theatrical version and he certainly doesn’t rush into battle with murderous intentions like he did in Batman v Superman; so there is growth there – and enough of it to take it a more interesting Batman movie than the other DCEU outings.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League is an experience. It’s a thrill-ride for the ages that feels like the payoff that the first chapter of the DCEU deserved. Batman gets a lot more nuanced moments, and there are just much stronger moments the whole way throughout. This is the Justice League movie we should have gotten in theaters.
9. Batman: The Movie (1966)
The first ever feature-length motion picture to feature the Dynamic Duo owed a lot to the pair’s success on the small screen. Filmed between the first and second seasons of the legendary TV series, Batman: The Movie saw Adam West and Burt Ward reprise their roles as Batman and Robin, while familiar faces Burgess Meredith, Cesar Romero and Frank Gorshin also returned as The Penguin, The Joker and The Riddler. Lee Meriwether stepped into the role of Catwoman for Julie Newmar and quickly made it her own, stealing scenes from an otherwise male-dominated cast.
The rather direct trailer for Batman promises that the movie would be bigger than its TV counterpart and, on that front, it more than succeeds. Making use of the bigger budget and better cameras, it is a much larger-than-life adventure than any of the show’s 120 episodes, taking the heroes across the city, the sea and into the air – just like West promised.
The reason that this one succeeds is simply down to the fact that it captured everything that made the series such a success, with West’s Batman remaining a standout amid all the colorful personalities. And it’s a nostalgic reminder of just how fun the Caped Crusaders used to be.
8. Batman Forever
Arguably the most underrated Batman movie in existence, Batman Forever normally finds itself no higher on fans’ movie rankings than at the top of the low half. That essentially sums up its place in the franchise’s history because it is by no means the worst of the Caped Crusader’s silver screen showdowns but it did bridge the gap between greatness and ghastly so that the most notorious of them could emerge.
So, yes, Batman Forever might have a lot to answer for. Does that make it any less of an entertaining movie? Absolutely not. Much is the case with its successor, if you can get over what the light-hearted and campier direction did to the franchise, you can enjoy the Joel Schumacher spectacle. Unlike Batman & Robin, however, this one actually has the makings of a great movie.
There is something of a disconnect as the script attempts to give us a serious story but the final product forsakes that for a loud, in-your-face production complete with neon lights and fluorescent face paint. It’s a case of trying to be two interesting things at once but being unable to reconcile those two elements with each other, leaving you to wonder what the film could have looked like if it had chosen to go down either one of its two paths.
Nonetheless, Batman Forever has a lot going for it as Val Kilmer is a highly underrated Bruce Wayne and he gives us a Batman that is so good, he would have been totally at home in a darker movie. He is joined by the deliciously cartoonish duo of Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-Face and Jim Carrey’s Riddler – both of whom commit to the madness fully and often steal the show whenever they’re on screen. Moreover, we also get a competent adaptation of Robin’s origins, with Chris O’Donnell proving to be a solid Boy Wonder.
7. The Flash
There was a bit of a running joke heading into The Flash in that it was looking like more of a Batman movie than the cinematic debut of DC’s Scarlet Speedster. Of course, the finished product had a lot more Flash than the trailers suggested it would, but that doesn’t change the fact that The Dark Knight was still very much at the heart of it.
Michael Keaton was brought in to reprise his most iconic role, bringing his Bruce Wayne back for the first time in three decades, and he was nothing short of incredible. The film revealed that Bruce had become a recluse in the years since giving up crimefighting, and even though he was happy the city no longer needed his protection, he lacked purpose. That all changed when Barry Allen sped into his life and required assistance in saving the world from Zod and restoring the timeline.
The Flash is an incredibly entertaining movie with flaws, but none of those flaws are present in the middle act of the movie when Batman shows up. The characterization of Keaton’s Batman is so accurate and it was such a fulfilling moment to see him back in the role that changed the course of his career. For years, we’ve said that Keaton could be the best Batman, and The Flash only furthered that case. It enhanced the legacy that was already there and allowed us all to marvel at an entertaining and nostalgic adventure that gave us the best Batman of all back in action.
6. The Dark Knight Rises
Christopher Nolan’s revered Dark Knight trilogy closed out with a larger-than-life battle for the remnants of Gotham City’s soul involving Bane, the League of Shadows, Selina Kyle and Talia Al Guhl as Bruce Wayne’s demons came back to haunt him one more time.
The film may not be as tight as its predecessors, falling victim to numerous plot holes and a somewhat convoluted story, but The Dark Knight Rises is justifiably regarded as a worthy conclusion to the storied trilogy. At its heart, it’s about bringing Batman’s story to a close in a way that felt true to this version of the character and that’s exactly what it does.
Bane is a threat that could best the battered hero in a way no one else ever could and Tom Hardy never falters stepping into the villain role after Heath Ledger’s Academy Award-winning performance in the previous movie, nailing the intimidating presence of Bane and delivering a version of the character that felt totally at home in Nolan’s grounded reality. And his plan, albeit a convoluted one, sets the stage for the Dark Knight’s well-earned redemption.
An overlooked classic, The Dark Knight Rises delivers on its promises to give Christian Bale’s Batman the epic send-off he deserves and the ensemble cast are, once again, glorious in putting that send-off together.
5. Batman Begins
Left with the uncertainty that the future of the Batman franchise was submerged in, Christopher Nolan stepped up to the plate and did the unthinkable: He brought the franchise back from Batman and Robin and single-handedly made the Dark Knight cool again.
The movie with which he accomplished that was Batman Begins. A movie renowned for setting the stage for two larger, more successful adventures, there’s a quiet brilliance to the 2005 film that often gets overlooked. Like its two successors, it’s gritty, compelling and complex, but Nolan’s affinity for realism hadn’t quite taken over yet, so there is a Gothic, almost supernatural-like aura about this one that the sequels did not boast.
It seems unthinkable that there were a time when Bruce Wayne’s origins wasn’t the only story live-action portrayals wanted to tell, but Batman Begins is the reason that those origins generated such interest. With a well-dramatized beginning for Bruce’s journey to fight injustice and a star-studded ensemble cast consisting of the likes of Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy and Liam Neeson’s formidable Ra’s Al Guhl, Begins is a well-oiled machine that flows beautifully from start to finish. And it’s all capped off by an absolutely enthralling performance from Christian Bale.
With glimpses of the crime dramas that would follow and some eerie visuals to boot, Batman Begins is, in many ways, the perfect mature comic book movie.
4. The Batman
The newest arrival in the everlasting franchise, The Batman underwent a few reinventions before its eventual manifestation into the Matt Reeves detective classic. But when it did arrive, it made a quick – and unforgettable – impression on moviegoers.
The Batman is a near-three-hour thriller designed to highlight the fact that the title character is also known as “The World’s Greatest Detective” (the first of Batman’s silver screen offerings to do so). And highlight it it does through an immensely compelling script centred on the mysterious Riddler and his killings of high profile Gotham City figures.
At the heart of that mystery is Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight, who engages viewers with his apparent disconnect from the world and his undying determination to root out the corrupt in Gotham through vengeance, and the terror he instils doing so.
It’s definitely the bleakest Batman movie yet, but effectively so, reeling audiences in with a villain so unnerving that he will no doubt find himself on greatest antagonist lists in the future, and a story so utterly thrilling, you can’t help but sit closer and investigate yourself (even if you want to look away). And after a few misses in the Batman franchise, Matt Reeves’ dark reboot is exactly the kickstart the Caped Crusader needed.
3. The Dark Knight
You’d be hard-pressed to find a cinema fan who wasn’t impressed by some aspect of The Dark Knight. The movie is celebrated as not just one of the finest in the comic book genre but in the history of filmmaking itself. That speaks volumes as to what Christopher Nolan and the creative team accomplished here, as they turned a genre that people once turned their noses up at into a celebrated, award-winning piece of history.
What makes The Dark Knight so successful? The fact that it followed up the already-adored established world of Nolan’s Batman Begins certainly helped, but it was the elements introduced in the movie itself that offered up its greatest attributes. Elements like the grounded and complex storytelling of the crime thriller kind, as Christian Bale’s brooding hero found himself caught in the middle of a war with a crime-lord interested in nothing but anarchy itself, setting up a battle of many layers between the corrupt and the incorruptible.
Its greatest attribute comes from that very crime lord, with the late, great Heath Ledger delivering a truly remarkable performance as The Joker, etching his name in history as one of the greatest movie villains – if not the greatest – of all time.
Contrary to what the genre critics say, this is cinema. And it’s cinema at its finest.
2. Batman Returns
Tim Burton changed the game with Batman back in 1989, but he had much more fun crafting its sequel. That is abundantly clear from the opening scene of Batman Returns, which reveals a vividly eerie cityscape that looks corrupt even under a Christmas glow. A much more traditional Tim Burton movie, the director threw the few remaining characters from the first film into a world that was much weirder and far darker.
Michael Keaton brought his stoic Dark Knight back and it was clear that he was in his element, turning in an even more confident performance than his previous one. And that was enough to make the character alluring in spite of the fact that he was never really at the center of the story this time around. No, that spotlight belonged to Danny DeVito’s terrifying Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer’s captivating Catwoman – both of whom stole every single scene that they were in.
Batman Returns may be an unusual watch, but beneath all that strangeness, it’s an incredibly clever movie – one that shows us that its greatest heroes and worst villains are all victims of the morally corrupt Gotham City. It just took a visionary like Tim Burton to personify that corruptness through the most eerie Gotham City the screen has ever seen.
1. Batman
It’s hard to imagine where the Dark Knight, or comic book movies in general would be, if Tim Burton’s revolutionary Batman never came along in 1989. A movie that was over a decade in the making, it brought Batman into the mainstream for the first time since the Adam West TV series and changed the face of the character forever.
There are many ways to appreciate Batman. You can admire the classic mobster movie aesthetic that it boasts or the unique art deco set design that makes Gotham City look like it was ripped from the pages of a comic book. You can admire the conviction with which it brings these legendary characters into a mostly realistic filmscape, drawing from noir and other familiar tropes to make it appeal to a wider audience. But most of all, you can admire how seamlessly this eclectic mix of styles came together to gift the world with the Batman movie they had been waiting for.
Batman shouldn’t have worked, and some at the time didn’t think it did, but it did and it does. Its plot may not be as complex as some of the cinematic tales that followed but its characters are. Michael Keaton proved the critics wrong with his peculiar and reserved take on Bruce Wayne and not only did he hold his own against a show-stealing Jack Nicholson, he delivered the performance that is held up among fans as the definitive Dark Knight.
Like the artwork in the Flugelheim Museum after The Joker’s attack, Batman is a myriad of mismatched styles that oddly come together to form something else entirely. And that is the real work of art. It just doesn’t get better than Batman.
Which of the Batman movies are your favorites? Did you enjoy The Batman and The Flash?