Ranking The Batman Movies: Worst to Best

To go along with our rankings, here are the Batman movies in chronological order:

Batman: The Movie (1966)

Batman (1989)

Batman Returns (1992)

Batman Forever (1995)

Batman & Robin (1997)

Batman Begins (2005)

The Dark Knight (2008)

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The character, Batman, was first created for a 1939 issue of Detective Comics (which is worth an awful lot of money if you can find it), and since his creation there have been endless more comics, cartoons, graphic novels and of course movies containing the Caped Crusader. Batman movies are beloved by fans of the character and by action movie fans in general, and from the Tim Burton Batman to Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, there is certainly a rich history of Batman in film.

Some of the films have been good, some have been bad and this is a topic that is up for debate. So here is my attempts to rank the Batman movies from Worst to Best. Please note that I am only including live action movies here, as these are the most famous and I certainly have not seen the many animated Batman movies that exist out there.

So here goes:

Well, I'm pretty sure that anyone familiar with Batman movies will not be surprised to see this hideous effort from Director Joel Schumacher coming in at the bottom spot of our list. With Val Kilmer dropping out of the franchise due to scheduling conflicts, George Clooney, who I love by the way, took over as our hero. I'll bet he wishes he didn't. Containing some of the dumbest bad guys in history, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze and Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy, the film was basically a childish cartoon in live action format. Chris O'Donnell was horrible as Robin and Alicia Silverstone jumped in as Batgirl to an equal lack of success.

Quite simply one of the worst comic book movies ever made, it was highly nominated at the industries Razzie anti-award ceremony. It didn't completely tank at the box office of course, due to the Batman brand, but avoid this one at all costs.

Many of you probably remember or have at least heard of the old Batman TV show starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin. Well known for it's hilarious comic book style (HOLY SCHNIKEES BATMAN!) the series is often laughed at, but was strangely witty and inventive. If you're a fan of film history, and in for a bit of old fashioned entertainment you could certainly watch worse films. Not the best Batman movie but certainly a must see for fans.

The first effort by director Joel Schumacher was definitely much better than the second. Taking over from Tim Burton was certainly no easy task, and with Batman Forever, he certainly made a respectable effort. Val Kilmer took over as our hero for the one and only time, and was joined by Chris O'Donnell as Robin. The villains are always so important to a superhero movie and Jim Carrey as Riddler was manic but entertaining. Tommy Lee Jones wasn't a great fit for Two-Face but he did a serviceable job.

Where the film fails is that it is often a little boring and unfortunately far more campy than Tim Burton's batman, which set the stage for the horror that was Batman & Robin.

Tim Burton's second Batman movie, 'Batman Returns' is a film that is actually somewhat polarizing. Many review sites have it rated very favorably while many people say it was a big step down for his first Batman movie. I tend to lean somewhere in the middle, but it was definitely one of the most entertaining of the bunch. The film had some fantastic, dark set pieces, and a tone that was really quite menacing at times. Danny DeVito is great as Penguin, although that character is a little silly really. But his vicious violence is quite brutal at times, and combining this with Michelle Pfeiffer's sexiness as Catwoman, the film packs a punch.

Michael Keaton reprises his role as Batman, which he again excels in despite many people's massive complains prior to him taking on the role in the first Tim Burton Batman movie.

After a long hiatus for the franchise, which saw many ideas for sequels fall apart for a variety of reasons, Batman was reborn by director Christopher Nolan in the form of an origin story about the creation of the Caped Crusader. Nolan was already known for his prowess, and with Batman Begins he created a world that was so real it immediately brought a sense that he was onto something epic.

He casted Christian Bale as Batman, and a host of other amazing actors including Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman and Cillian Murphy. Katie Holmes also joined on but of course he character was replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal in the following film.

With great acting, a wonderful and complex plot, incredible cinematography and a fantastic take on much of the technology and gadgets, the film was truly the beginning of something great, which we now know as 'The Dark Knight Trilogy'.

After the success of 'The Dark Knight', the anticipation continued to build for another sequel from Christopher Nolan and company. Then, when he announced that it would be his last and that he would cap things off as a trilogy, it grew even more. Often that kind of hype can be difficult to live up to, but with Nolan at the helm it was never in doubt for me.

He brought back much of the same cast of the previous film, along with the additions of Tom Hardy as Bane and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. While Heath Ledger's Joker will forever be considered one of the best villains of all time, in my opinion Tom Hardy was about as close to matching that performance as he could have been. Bane truly gave us all the feeling that Batman had finally met his match, which even The Joker never quite did.

With so much going on, it would be easy for the plot to be too convoluted, but in true Christopher Nolan fashion, what he did was create a movie that was truly epic in scale. A great way to cap off the Dark Knight trilogy.

The battle for the top spot is actually a lot closer in my book than many people might think. However, coming in at number two is the original Tim Burton Batman movie, simply titled 'Batman' which starred Michael Keaton as our hero, and of course Jack Nicholson in an iconic performance as the manic Joker. While Keaton was a controversial, but eventually successful choice, there was never any doubt that Nicholson was perfect for such a role. He is the reason that this film almost stole number one and was certainly a solid inspiration for Heath Ledger's future attempt.

Tim Burton's films take on a very distinct look, and this was no different. It had a tone that made it look very much like a comic book on the movie screen, but it was also truly dark and menacing in it's visual style. The Joker brought a humor to the proceedings, but in a rather sickening way and there was certainly nothing nice about his pranks.

In terms of pure cinematic enjoyment, there is an argument to be made for this as the best Batman movies ever made, and I personally could watch it over and over. A very close second.

To very few people's surprise, Christopher Nolan's second Batman movie, The Dark Knight, comes in as the best Batman movie ever made. With Batman Begins being a great critical and commercial success, a sequel was almost certain, but few expected something just as brilliant as what Nolan delivered.

When the news hit that he had signed on the late Heath Ledger to attempt to recreate The Joker, people went crazy. Having to follow Jack Nicholson's iconic Joker is no small feat, and very few people felt that Ledger was up to the job. However, after months of dedication and obsession in crafting his voice and mannerisms, what we got was perhaps the greatest villain ever portrayed on screen, which would eventually earn him an Academy Award. Unfortunately he had tragically passed away before being able to college his Oscar.

With a cast even bigger and better than it's predecessor, the acting here was insanely good, and the story was full of complexity, character development and moral questions which are on par with any political or crime thriller out there now. Real life and real world themes were blended seamlessly into a modern day Gotham city world that was not that different from the world we live in now, but just different enough to make it feel like a superhero movie.

Truly brilliant stuff, that will go down as not just the best Batman movie ever, but one of the best movies ever made.

Well, there's my list. Please feel free to let me know what you think, what you agree with and of course what you think is complete and utter nonsense. This is all up for debate! Except Batman & Robin. If you tell me that's not the worst, we'll have a problem!

For another perspective, check out the rankings below based on both Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB.