Now the boards are closing - BATMAN FILMS RANKED! (prepare to hate me)
I wasn't going to, cause I knew how much shtick I'd get. But the forums are closing, so why not! :)
I rewatched all the movies, and now I'm ranking all the live-action Batman films in an order nobody in the world will agree with. Prepare to hate me the further down the list you read. Seriously, there won't be a person in the world who will agree with this order.
I'm not ranking based on reputation, or impact, or any of that. Purely on appeal to me. This isn't about 'grimdark or get out'. I'm heavily focused on how well the film writes it's own version of Batman and his world, and how well constructed a film it is in general.
(by the way, please don't attack my understanding of Batman in your replies - I'm a BIG Batman buff, and more than familiar with all the myriad shows and movies (animated and live-action) 90s onwards (plus Adam West), as well as a huge amount of the comics and graphic novels, and all the different games, and so on and so on - basically, all the different interpretations there's been)
Here goes (oh and, if it needs to be said - I'm NOT trolling, these are my genuine opinions!)
1. The Dark Knight
Pros: - Nolan and Bale
- Heath Ledger as the Joker, plus Two Face
- Intense, dramatic, intelligent
- The acting, writing and direction throughout
- Lucius Fox
- Gary Oldman as Gordon, and given a lot of spotlight as he should
- Zimmer's score
Cons: - Bale's voice at times
- That whole sonic cellphone thing
- Gotham itself not that visually interesting
- No room for the more inventive and exciting aspects of the world of Batman and his rogues
2. Batman Begins
Pros: - ORIGIN STORY. Have often put it at the number one spot, and was very close to doing it again, because I love origin stories and this one was very well done
- Scarecrow
- Same other pros as no. 1, minus Heath and Two-Face
- For the first time could actually see how Batman could be intimidating and scary to villains, instead of just silly
- Zimmer's score
Cons: - Ra's Al Ghul could have been more impressive
- Train show down a bit anticlimactic
- Not quite as dramatic and intense as Dark Knight
- Gotham itself not that visually interesting
- No room for the more inventive and exciting aspects of the world of Batman and his rogues
3. The Dark Knight Rises
Pros: - More Nolan and Bale
- More or less the same pros as no.1
- High stakes and big setpieces
- Breaking of the Bat
- Zimmer's score
Cons: - Bale's voice at times
- Bane's voice
- Anne Hathaway
- Tacked on happy ending ruining the self-sacrifice
- Gotham itself not that visually interesting
- Not as good as what came before
- No room for the more inventive and exciting aspects of the world of Batman and his rogues
4. Batman v Superman
Pros: - Smart, thoughtful, dramatic, intense
- Confrontation between Batman v Superman
- Warehouse scene best Batman fight yet
- Batman in a duster with a gun
- Ben Affleck best Batman so far and closest to comics
- Ultimate Edition even better
- Zimmer's score
Cons: - Lex Luthor
- Very little time in the classic Batsuit
- Needed more Batman in general (not just Bruce Wayne)
- A little messy in terms of structure, shoehorned in scenes etc.
- Lack of colour
5. Batman Forever
Pros: - Like a live-action cartoon
- Fun and relentlessly entertaining and madcap
- Jim Carrey's interpretation of the Riddler
- 'Holy Rusted Metal Batman'
- Great visuals, full of bold, neon colours, Gotham looks great
- Fairly true to Robin's origin
Cons: - Can't look away from Val Kilmer's lips
- Two Face needed to be more of a straight man to the Riddler's mania rather than echoing it
- Gordon doesn't have much of a presence
- Jim Carrey's interpretation of the Riddler
6. Batman & Robin
Pros: - Like a live-action cartoon
- Even more madcap and silly
- Consistent with the sillier interpretation of Batman in the comics
- Attention given to cool but lesser used rogues, like Mr Freeze and Poison Ivy
- Once more, great dark+neon visuals for an exciting and vibrant Gotham
- Like a reinvented Adam West film in a way
- Arnie as Mr Freeze
- ARNIE AS MR FREEZE
Cons: - Bat-nipples
- There is no Bruce Wayne or Batman, just George Clooney
- Robin is a bit of a drag
- Batgirl is meh and enters too late (but hey, at least they tried huh? What other Batfilm did?)
- Bane
- Mr Freeze's puns often don't even try to be good puns, I didn't even hear an 'ice to see you', or a 'snow place like home'
- Some pretty lame lines in general
- Gordon doesn't have much of a presence and seems useless
- Poison Ivy's cone hair.
7. Batman (1966)
Pros: - Adam West
- Makes sense within its own rules from beginning to end
- Funny and enjoyably silly
- Shark-repellent and trying to get rid of the bomb, and the insane leaps of logic/trains of thought
- "Batman, I've got a stitch.", "Let's hope it's a stitch in time Robin"
Cons: - It's basically just an extended episode of the TV series, nothing more
8. Batman (1989)
Pros: - Dark and vibrantly colourful Gotham (that would go on to inspire Schumacher's films), some nice cinematography
- Danny Elfman score
- The car
- Fun, sort of
- Style over substance
Cons: - A Tim Burton film, not a Batman film
- Style over substance
- Not much attention or interest given to Batman
- Michael Keaton is not at all imposing or intimidating
- Barely any fighting, and when there is, no fight choreography and Batman seems ineffectual
- Tim Burton has only ever read The Killing Joke, and it shows
- Haphazardly written, with a so-so script
- Gotham, while looks nice, just seems entirely to be a couple of soundstages, with a total population of about 20
- Presents itself as a dark interpretation of Batman but is actually pretty cheesy
- Where is Gordon?!
- The Joker is just Jack Nicholson
- Gets carried away with itself i.e. Prince Song
9. Batman Returns
Pros: - Same pros as no. 8
- Even better aesthetics than no. 8, especially at the beginning
Cons: - All the same cons as no. 9 (bar Joker and Prince song), but even moreso
- Really messily written, a patchwork movie of different writers and it shows... plotlines come out of nowhere (rocket penguins) and disappear just as fast
- Walken's character is pointless and his plot goes nowhere
- Characters couldn't be further from the source material (like Catwoman and Penguin)
- Under its own rules, makes less sense than any other Batman film
- Tonally all over the place, tries to be dark but is regularly high camp
- Did Batman even show up in this film? Does Tim Burton even know who Batman is?
- 'Miaow'
There we go. Now I'm sure you're all nodding your heads in agreement and thinking "yup, he's right on the money..."
If you want a better explanation of why I put Batman Returns last, when it's so beloved, here's my bigger post on the issue that just about everybody extremely disagreed with http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103776/board/thread/259030563
What's your personal ranking?