It’s been true for several decades: No matter what villain(s) he has to fight or who’s under that cape and cowl, Batman can take over a movie screen like no other superhero.
The Dark Knight and his billionaire alter ego Bruce Wayne have been dominating the box office as well as pop culture for more than 50 years, played by A-listers (Michael Keaton, Ben Affleck, Robert Pattinson), Oscar favorites (George Clooney, Christian Bale) and beloved TV stars (Adam West, Kevin Conroy). And that’s not even counting all the colorful rogues (from Michelle Pfeiffer to the late Heath Ledger) who are just as much a draw as the dude with the Batarangs.
Feel like a superhero binge to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight”? Here are all the Batman movies (now streaming on Max and on-demand platforms), definitively ranked.
13. ‘Batman & Robin’ (1997)
Where do you even start with everything wrong here, from a miscast Clooney (good Bruce Wayne, bad Batman) to a litany of terrible zingers via Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze. The most criminal aspect of them all in director Joel Schumacher’s campy nightmare, however, is the complete waste of Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy.
12. ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ (2016)
Affleck’s grumpy Dark Knight fights Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel until they figure out they’re both on the same side (and each one knows someone named Martha!) in Zack Snyder’s messy superhero jumble. It hasn’t aged well, though at least it gave us Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. Silver linings!
11. ‘Justice League’ (2017/2021)
Whether you prefer Joss Whedon’s original theatrical release or Snyder’s improved four-hour director’s cut, either way you get Affleck’s best Bat-outing by far as the middle-aged dude who has to recruit a superteam to stave off an otherworldly assault. (Batman drops an F-bomb in the Snyder Cut so if you’ve got time to kill, go with that one.)
‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’:The six coolest new scenes (including Batman’s F-bomb)
10. ‘Batman Forever’ (1995)
As a lighthearted, neon-drenched departure from Tim Burton’s gothic Bat-flicks, Schumacher’s first outing mostly did its job. Square-jawed Val Kilmer is a low-key solid Caped Crusader, Jim Carrey’s out of his mind as the Riddler and you can’t fault Tommy Lee Jones for giving Two-Face a go even if he seems like he wandered into the wrong movie.
9. ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (2012)
Christopher Nolan’s third Bat-film was not quite the charm. The filmmaker set such a high bar with the first two parts of his “Dark Knight” trilogy that a pretty good one seems disappointing. After Gotham’s taken over by powerhouse Bane (Tom Hardy, with some questionable vocal decisions) Bale’s Batman has to rise back up from broken man to city savior in time for an awesome climax, though the ride’s a bit bumpy to get there.
8. ‘Batman: The Movie’ (1966)
Shortly after the first season of the smash ’60s “Batman” TV show, West’s Batman and Burt Ward’s Robin hit the big screen for an adventure that famously involved the Batboat, shark repellent and a pesky bomb. This movie, though, was all about its all-star villain squad, with Lee Meriwether making her debut as Catwoman alongside Cesar Romero’s Joker, Frank Gorshin’s Riddler and Burgess Meredith’s Penguin.
7. ‘Batman: Mask of the Phantasm’ (1993)
Like its ’60s counterpart, the influential ’90s Batman animated TV series also spawned a noteworthy theatrical release. Batman (voiced by Conroy) is faced with a mysterious foe targeting mobsters in a narrative that also delves into the superhero’s origins. There are flashbacks to his early years as Bruce Wayne weighs whether to embrace love or keep the vow he made his late parents to fight crime.
6. ‘The Lego Batman Movie’ (2017)
For younger Bat-fans, there’s no better introduction to Gotham City than this madcap animated “Lego Movie” comedy spinoff featuring Will Arnett voicing the supremely macho Lego Batman and Zach Galifianakis as a weirdly sensitive Joker. Come for the high-profile guest stars (Mariah Carey, Conan O’Brien), stay for Batman learning a ton of necessary life lessons when not rapping.
5. ‘Batman Returns’ (1992)
Burton’s second Bat-film was darker and weirder than his first, with a Christmas setting and Danny DeVito as the most insane depiction of the Penguin ever. (It also totally works.) The waddling villain and an evil tycoon (Christopher Walken) are hellbent on taking over Gotham, and Keaton’s Dark Knight dives into a romance with Catwoman, deliciously played by Michelle Pfeiffer at the height of her slinky prowess.
4. ‘Batman Begins’ (2005)
Nolan’s rebooted trilogy begins with an outstanding depiction of the Dark Knight’s origin amid a twisty, action-packed and expertly crafted affair. Scenes of Bruce Wayne (Bale) being trained as an assassin overseas after his parents’ death leads to the comic book hero’s decision to dress up as a bat, his reunion with an old flame (Katie Holmes) and a face-off with the freaky Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) who’s trying to poison the Gotham populace.
3. ‘The Batman’ (2022)
Reeves leans into the “World’s Greatest Detective” label from the comics with a neo-noir plot where Pattinson’s Batman navigates puzzling clues and ciphers to hunt down the Riddler (Paul Dano). The formerly giggly weirdo villain has been retooled as a creepy serial killer, while the Penguin (Colin Farrell) – who’s getting his own Max spinoff show – and Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz) also receive modern makeovers in an excellent reboot that strips away the flamboyance of these iconic personalities to find their reality.
2. ‘Batman’ (1989)
Burton’s wildly stylish masterpiece was a pop-culture comeback for the legendary character, defining Batman’s world for years to come. With the help of the coolest Batmobile ever and Danny Elfman’s classic musical theme, Keaton turned out to be the best Batman (so far) – and a slightly crazy Bruce Wayne who you’d believe was a nighttime vigilante – while Kim Basinger aced her role as love interest Vicki Vale and an inspired Jack Nicholson brought his signature kooky charisma to the Joker.
1. ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)
Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance as a chaotic, unpredictable Joker is legit one of the all-time best villain performances. He completely hijacks Nolan’s breathtaking Bat-sequel, and yet the movie still does right by its title hero: While dealing with this colorful psychopath, Bale’s Dark Knight wrestles with personal choices and his role as Gotham’s resident protector in a film that interestingly tackles the fine line between good and evil.
Ranked:Every big-screen Joker (from Heath Ledger to Joaquin Phoenix)
