Ranking Every Batman Movie I've Seen

 

I love me some Batman. I fucking love me some Batman! I grew up on the animated series in the 90s and then Batman Beyond and I've read a decent amount of comics and played most of the Arkham games. I love the atmosphere, the detective aspects, and especially the villains. I adore most of the movies as well so I thought it would be pretty fun to rank the Batman movies. This includes everything from live-action to animated. I'm going to get this out of the way immediately and let you know I have not seen all of the Batman movies so not all of them are going to be on this list. I intentionally left out Batman Assault on Arkham as I consider it a Suicide Squad movie. I'm pretty sure it only had Batman on the title for branding purposes.

S-Tier: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman Gotham by Gaslight, Batman Beyond Return of the Joker, Batman Under the Red Hood, Batman Mask of the Phantasm

The cream of the crop, the crem de la crem. These are the absolute best Batman movies! Batman Begins didn't get the credit it deserved when it released in 2005. Despite it being eight years since Batman & Robin came out I believe the stigma of that movie and Forever kept Begins from getting box office and popularity that it should've received. I vaguely remember seeing trailers for it which the marketing probably also contributed to it. I recall asking a classmate around this time what villain is in the movie and he told me Scarecrow and that the movie was good. I still never saw the movie until years later maybe in 07 or 08 before That Dark Knight came out. When I did get around to it I loved it. Christopher Nolan did Batman's origin story a service with excellent writing, a great cast, and presentation. Gotham City had a raw edge to it that I loved and it had the most hype teaser of all-time.

The Dark Knight is definitely the better movie, but I like the feel of Batman Begins more. The Dark Knight is still one of the greatest comic book movies of all time however. The cinematography and action was cranked up in this sequel and it goes without saying how great The Joker was in this film. The cast was really good too. The only one I didn't like was the actress who played Rachel Dawes. I liked the girl from the first movie better. The Dark Knight was a breakout success and Heath Ledger's Joker became a standard for live-action portrayals. I do feel like the movie is just a little too long on rewatches and Batman killed Harvey Dent which is out of character. I remember when it first came out people on the internet said Harvey wasn't dead, but just unconscious and when The Dark Knight Rises trailer came out they speculated he was just in prison, but when it actually came out, nope he was  actually dead so in retrospective it does hurt, but it's not enough for me to bring this movie down a lot.

The Dark Knight Returns is based on the 80s Frank Miller comic by the same name and by damn if this shit isn't damn good. This is one of the few movies on here where I've read the comic its based on, but it's been so long ago that I can't tell you any differences between the two. This is a story of Bruce Wayne coming out of retirement to stop The Joker one last time. It's been a good while since I've last watched this, but The Dark Knight Returns has some incredible storytelling and action beats and this is also the story that's famous for its Batman vs Superman fight scene.

Batman Gotham by Gaslight is one of the DC films I recently watched. I overlooked it when it first released and didn't decide to watch it until I saw a YouTuber I follow post a video up about it. It was on HBO Max so I went ahead and gave it a watch. I was mad that I didn't watch it sooner. It is definitely one of the best Batman movies ever. Batman is at his best when he's a detective which is why I love these animated movies so much more than the live-action ones. Batman Gotham by Gaslight is based on the 1989 comic that takes place in an alternate universe where Jack the Ripper is in Gotham City and Batman is hunting him down. I brushed this off as just a steampunk Batman, but I really shouldn't have been dismissive of it. This is an extremely good mystery story and the concept makes for a good Batman story, but at the same time it is kind of creepy because Jack the Ripper was a real life serial killer that was never caught.

There is a lot of tension around trying to figure just who could be Jack the Ripper. The studio did a good job of making you question multiple people and when the reveal finally happened I never saw it coming. There were a couple of clues here and there, but it never came to mind when I watched it the first time which is a mark for great storytelling. The only gripe I have with the reveal done is how it was done. It's not a major issue though, but spoilers ahead! So when Bruce says he won't give up his identity Selina says she would and goes to find Gordon. She goes to the police station and finds Harvey Dent right outside. He tells her Gordon isn't here and to meet him near the Ferris wheel. Meanwhile, Bruce escapes from prison and knowing Selina is going to see Gordon he goes directly to Gordon's house instead of to the police station like Selina did. There he notices some scratches leading to Gordon's basement door and finds all the evidence linking him to Jack the Ripper. My problem is Batman going directly to Gordon's house without explaining why. Maybe Batman knew Gordon had the day off which is why he went straight to his house, but then he had to have been at the station for Harvey to know where is he unless Gordon was off and told him to tell anyone looking for him that he would be at the Ferris wheel. Still, Batman would know that Selina wouldn't know Gordon's schedule and would go to the station first unless he assumed that she did, but by the time he got out he figured she'd already been to the station and would go visit him at his home. But I think that's a big leap I'm making if that was the case they could've simply had a scene with Bruce on the horse saying "Today's Thursday, Gordon has the day off." After I typed all that out it sounds like a major complaint, but not really. I really didn't think about it like that on my first watch and was too caught up in the reveal and the falling out for me to think about it.

Spoilers are officially over. I would say the relationship between Bruce and Selina in this might be my favorite yet. I'm not sure how to describe it, but they just seem good together. I like a lot of the side characters in this actually. Leslie Thompkins, Bruce's family doctor friend, is a nun in this movie. Harvey Dent is Bruce's friend, but acts two-faced to him behind his back, and Alfred is still a warming as always. The ending of this movie was sweet, but left questions open, but I feel like it made sense given the history of Jack the Ripper.

Batman Beyond Return of the Joker is way better than it had any right to be. I enjoy the Batman Beyond cartoon, but not anywhere near the level of the animated series or shows like The Justice League or Young Justice so when I watched it for the first time I was just expecting it to be okay. This movie turned out to have one of the most WTF twists ever! I have not seen this in quite a while so I can't give a lot of story specifics, but I did love the reveal of how Joker came back and his battle with Terry. I believe in this film you also see how each of the Bat family members currently feel about Bruce. Bruce seems to drive the people closest to him away and it's sad to see.

Batman Under The Red is a remarkable telling of how one of Batman's greatest allies turned into his enemy. This was one of my first times hearing someone other than Mark Hamill voice The Joker and he did a damn good job. The fights in this film are fantastic too.

Batman Mask of The Phantasm is a certified classic. This was a theatrical release set in the same universe as the 90s animated series. It takes place early in Batman's career where another vigilante is going through Gotham killing mobsters. It's also a love story as Bruce's first love Andrea comes back into town. The tale is compelling and the relationship between Bruce and Andrea is heartwarming. The Joker also makes an appearance in this and he's as good as ever. The one issue I do have with it is that it can feel boring in certain parts, like certain parts kind of drag. It's been years since I've seen this so I can't name any specifics at the moment, but that's just what I remember.

 

 

A-Tier: Batman Sub-Zero, Batman: The Long Halloween

These films are pretty good, but they fall just short of becoming the greatest ever. Mr. Freeze is one of my favorite villains so I definitely have an interest in it. Batman: The Long Halloween was the last Batman movie I watched and it's a damn good one. It does start slow. It feels slow mainly because of the audio in the first few scenes. The first 7 minutes or so are dead quiet. There is nothing but the dialogue; no music, no ambience so it just makes things feel dreadful. Complete silence like that should be used sparingly like to emphasize a dramatic scene or to create tension, not for regular conversations. Aside from that The Long Halloween is a compelling story. Like Gotham by Gaslight, this is a murder mystery that starts on Halloween. Each following murder was committed on another holiday.

As much of a story this is about finding the holiday killer it is also a Harvey Dent story. I definitely see some of the similarities between this and The Dark Knight. Christopher Nolan said he took The Long Halloween as inspiration and this is reflected in Harvey's struggle with taking down the mob while keeping his ethics and his personal life with his wife. This is one of the best Batman movies one can watch. One other gripe I do have with is the usage of the other villains in the story. Calendar Man is done great, but all of the others just come across as random. Overall, still a great movie and these movies are known for their twists and this one also does not disappoint.

 

B-Tier: Batman Returns, Batman vs. Robin, Superman/Batman Apocalypse,

These movies are good, but there's something in their stories or writing that keep them from achieving greatness. Batman 89 may get all of the praise, but Batman Returns is definitely the better Tim Burton Batman movie. I love the aesthetics of this movie. Tim Burton must've had some limits in this movie compared to the first because his usual goth crazy shit was in full force in this film. Aside from one mishap with Burton making Batman kill a guy with a bomb he was true to his character. Michael Keaton does a fine job as Bruce Wayne, but really Michelle Pfeifer's Catwoman steals this movie. Catwoman is just so much fun in this movie. She's sexy, acrobatic, and just full of so much life. Now, Danny Devito also does a good job as The Penguin. Tim Burton's Penguin is a freak in this movie and while writing this I'm thinking, no I know for sure Danny Devito could have pulled off a fantastic comic-accurate version of The Penguin. Danny Devito killed it in Goodfellas so I know for a fact he could've done a mobster Penguin.

The plot of the movie itself is okay. It's still kind of corny in some parts and not all that compelling, but it's still mostly a fun time. Batman Returns is one of the few superhero movies I rewatch every once in a while.

Batman vs. Robin is based on the Scott Snyder's Court of Owls story by Scott Snyder. This was my first introduction to The Court of Owls and it was a pretty damn good story. They're a great addition to Batman's rogues gallery and it feels like they've always been around due to their lore. I also quite like Dollmaker in this movie. He appears briefly in the beginning, but his inclusion leaves a lasting impression. He's voiced by Weird Al too, which caught me off guard when I read the credits. I have gripes with Damian, but overall it's a good film.

With Superman/Batman Apocalypse I actually remember the comic more than the movie. I've only watched it once, but I remember it being good. It's almost exactly like the comic, but I think it was missing Krypto sadly. There's a ton of action and Supergirl's battle at the Kent house was super cool. It is a fun time. I have to watch it again.

C-Tier: Batman Hush, Batman 89, The Lego Batman Movie, Batman Gotham Knights, Son of Batman, The Dark Knight Rises, Batman Year One, Batman/Superman Public Enemies

These movies aren't really bad, they're okay. They do their job in entertaining me, but they overall have a lot of flaws that bring them down. Batman Hush is a good example. I haven't seen it since it came out, but I remember being pissed as hell at the ending. It's dumb. I never read Batman Hush, but that shit still aggravated me. Spoilers ahead. Skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to see it, but the reveal of Hush actually being The Riddler was dumb. The Riddler and Hush are two completely different characters. Why not just let Hush be Thomas Elliot. It's doesn't even make sense for The Riddler to be Hush. Riddler is a narcissistic man who's obsessed with riddles and puzzles. Hush is a guy who has a personal vendetta against Bruce Wayne because Bruce's family saved his mother when he tried to kill her. Yeah, Hush is insane. From what I remember the movie was fine aside from that, but that twist brought the whole thing down.

 

The Dark Knight Rises. It's been a minute since I've seen this one too. I liked this one when I saw it for the first time when it released, but I haven't seen it since so it's too hard for me to rank it here. I do feel like maybe the general fanbase is affecting my ranking here, but as a follow-up to the fantastic The Dark Knight it did elevate the stakes. Bane was a threatening villain and it was cool they put Talia in the movie. I did wish Catwoman had more to do in it though.

I just recently watched The Lego Batman movie. It's a more comedic and child friendly take on The Caped Crusader. The movie is funny, but I feel that it starts to drag towards the end.

I've watched Batman 89 at least twice. This was the movie that put Batman in the mainstream after the Adam West show. That being said though I think it's kind of boring. Jack Nicholson does a fine job as The Joker and all, but this was sort of too slow and a little boring to me.

Son of Batman is a cool movie. It has some great action and I was able to see how Damian was introduced into the Batman cannon. While Damian is annoying I don't find as bad as most people, but I'm only going off the movies and not the comics. There's some nice development between Bruce and Damian in this film. The main thing that bothered me though was Damian beating Deathstroke. There is no way this ten-year old should be able to beat the world's greatest assassin.

Batman Year-One I honestly don't remember so I just stuck it here. The comic its based on is decent though. Same thing with Batman/Superman Public Enemies.

 

 

D-Tier: Batman & Robin, Batman Bad Blood, Batman Forever, Batman v Superman

I honestly have not seen Batman & Robin since I was a child so I feel like my disdain for it just comes from internet peers because I did enjoy watching this when I was little. I've only seen clips here and there since then, but sorry I can't say much else about this movie or justify why I think it's the worst. It was campy from what I remember. I have the same regards for Batman Forever.

Batman Bad Blood is the worst one from recent memory, but honestly I don't remember much from it or why I disliked it so much. If I don't like something I don't attempt to rewatch it and I haven't seen this since the year it came out. Sorry, I can't say much about this. One of my favorite YouTubers Krystalogy, made a commentary video on it and the clips I saw from it didn't seem that bad. I might have to rewatch it, but Batman v. Superman though? First thing, casting Jessie Eisenburg as Lex Luthor was the worst choice ever. Why in the hell would you cast this dorky young dude to play older suave and charismatic Lex Luthor? This movie is bad. The theatrical release and the director's cut.

Well, that's all of the Batman movies I've seen ranked. Let me know in the comments what some of your favorite and least favorite Batman movies are. I love Batman. He's my favorite superhero, but honestly I do feel like DC should slow down on making movies about him, Superman, and the Justice League. I would love to see other characters get films too like The Question, Zatanna, Green Lantern, and Vixen needs a redo.