Ranking the Batman movies

[Guest]

What order would you rank the Batman movies? Are there any you haven't seen?

I haven't kept up with the animated films and not all are worth mentioning, but I'll include a few. I also haven't seen The Batman.

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My least favourite is The Lego Batman Movie. I loved The Lego Movie so had high expectations, but it just didn't do it for me. I think I only got one laugh out if it when Robin puts on the old costume with the "revealing" shorts.

Under the Red Hood isn't much better. The story of Jason Todd is just too over-told. I was looking forward to hearing John DiMaggio's take on the Joker, but it sounded like he was trying too hard to emulate Mark Hamill.

I'm not sure if Justice League should count as a Batman movie, but I'll include it. I actually liked the theatrical cut more than the Snyder version. Neither are good, but at least the original wasn't as self-serious and was shorter so there is less of it to hate.

The Dark Knight Rises is... okay, but it has too many plotholes. The worst two are, how did Bruce get back to Gotham when all his assets were frozen, and why would every single cop in the city go into the sewers after Bane? They're big issues that the plot hinges on, so it all falls apart as a result.

I really do like Mask of the Phantasm, but I think it's a bit overrated. The plot is predictable, Joker feels tacked on, and it's paced like a 30 minute episode that got stretched out to feature length. But that said, BtAS is always good and the opening theme and credits are absolutely amazing.

Next is Subzero. This is where it starts getting positive. BtAS did a great job of reinventing Mr. Freeze, and I feel like this is the perfect conclusion to his story.

Batman Begins was the perfect way to reboot the franchise, and I love Scarecrow.

Batman Forever used to be one of my favourites, but after rewatching it recently I had to drop it a few points. I think Val Kilmer is a great Bruce Wayne, but isn't as imposing as he should be as Batman. Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones are the clear standouts.

I actually rank Batman & Robin a lot higher now than I used to. If you think of it as a sequel to the Adam West Batman movie instead of the Tim Burton movies, it's actually really great. Speaking of...

Batman '66 is one of the best comedies I've ever seen. A lot of older comedies don't hold up because the jokes age too much, but this one makes me laugh every time.

Batman v Superman is a lot better than people give it credit for. What cemented it for me was the scene where the cops are raiding a building and Batman is lurking inside. It's the first time a movie has nailed the stealth and fear that Batman is supposed to employ. Also, it fully realizes that Bruce Wayne is nuts. You can complain about how violent he is, or "Martha" all you want, but all of Snyder's DC films are a deconstruction of superheroes to reveal how they would look in the real world. As a result it humanizes Batman instead of mythologizing him.

The Dark Knight is just awesome. Heath Ledger's Joker is the all-time best. But it's at the bottom of my top three because it feels like Batman is barely in it. It's more of a Joker movie.

Batman '89 is the one that set the tone for everything outside of the comics going forward. It is the quintessential Batman movie, but it's no...

Batman Returns. It's not quite the perfect Batman movie, but it's a perfect Tim Burton movie. He clearly had a lot more control over this one. I just love the style. It's darker without being too serious, and it redesigned Gotham as a decaying art deco metropolis. It'll always be my favorite Batman movie.

[Melooon]

Wow there's a lot here and I feel like maybe I should sit down and watch them all again! (Im sure Iv seen most but I cant separate them in my mind). The lego batman does not surprise me, that was always gonna be a cash grab; the modern ones Iv never been a big fan of, too serious; and I actively hated Joker - I do understand though, I got what it was saying about anarchy, phycological distress and the fragility of society; and I can see why that fits the zeitgeist at the moment, but that just not the energy I want to absorb

I suppose the same could be said for the 90s ones too? Although they seem more camp and funky now; I like the mood of them, and In contrast to you Id say I really enjoyed Batman from 1989 (although maybe I need to compare it to the others). I have it on VHS and its a movie that really suits the grainy playback you get on an 80s TVs.

Also I dropped in here to say that Mick Gough who played Alfred in the 90s movies used to be my neighbour; we had dinner with him a few times, I don't remember much but he once asked me how I was and I said "Fine" and he said "No you're not; you're 12 and you're bored out of your mind, you're bloody well not fine". That was the day I learned not to give people generic answers and say what I really felt! Him and his wife also gave me a cool gothic looking chair for my birthday once. Im sad he died and I wish Id been smart enough to know him a little better

All that aside, I guess I still have a soft spot for the old live action TV show, that was what I grew up with (It was normal for Irish TV in the early 2000s to be 80% re-runs of 60s and 70s shows/movies, Im not sure if the rest of the world was like that) and I reaaaalllyyy wanted to be THAT batman when I was 6. So I guess the 1966 movie would be my favourite, I still aspire to be batman from the 60s!

EDIT: Just finished watching the 1966 movie and its so bad, I loved it!

[Guest]

Also I dropped in here to say that Mick Gough who played Alfred in the 90s movies used to be my neighbour; we had dinner with him a few times, I don't remember much but he once asked me how I was and I said "Fine" and he said "No you're not; you're 12 and you're bored out of your mind, you're bloody well not fine". That was the day I learned not to give people generic answers and say what I really felt! Him and his wife also gave me a cool gothic looking chair for my birthday once. Im sad he died and I wish Id been smart enough to know him a little better

That's really interesting. I've never known a celebrity in my everyday life like that. Since he was the only consistent thing about those four movies, I mentally refer to them as the Alfred Quadrilogy.

All that aside, I guess I still have a soft spot for the old live action TV show, that was what I grew up with (It was normal for Irish TV in the early 2000s to be 80% re-runs of 60s and 70s shows/movies, Im not sure if the rest of the world was like that) and I reaaaalllyyy wanted to be THAT batman when I was 6. So I guess the 1966 movie would be my favourite, I still aspire to be batman from the 60s!

EDIT: Just finished watching the 1966 movie and its so bad, I loved it!

The '66 movie got me into the old series as well. When I was in college a friend and I would each buy a $6 bottle of Arbor Mist and spend our nights drinking and watching old Batman and Power Rangers reruns. We were the coolest kids in school.