By Jacoby Lambert
Well first to answer that question we have to know what qualifies as a “Batman” movie. Does the movie have to be about Batman or does it have to just have Batman in it to qualify. I think it has to be all about Batman, Batman has to be in the title and he has to be the main character to qualify as a Batman movie. Now that got rid of 4 movies the Suicide Squad (2016), Justice League (2017), Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021), and The Flash (2023). Batman appears in these movies but it is not a Batman movie. We have 12 movies that we can look at. Now how do we decide which is the best movie?
I think it should be a mixture of a few things; number one what ratings did the movie get. Number two was the Director’s vision and tone for the movie. Is it more comic book or is it more gothic and dark. Number three the quality of the villains; every Batman movie has a villain and I think how the villains are written shows a lot about Batman in a movie. Number four the balance between Batman and Bruce Wayne; you can not have a good batman without a good Bruce Wayne they go hand and hand. Number five technical craftsmanship; how does Gotham City look, what does the batmobile look like and what does the batsuite look like? These things hold a significant value to the movie. Okay, now that we have the grading system set up lets break it down.
We are starting with 12 batman movies off the bat we can get rid of every batman movie Directed by Joel Schumacher. These movies along with every Batman movie made before 1989 have the lowest ratings and are clowned on the internet for being too silly, not directed well and many other things.
The two movies directed by Tim Burton are okay Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) these are good movies along with good ratings. The villains are amazing and were well written. Although there is little Bruce Wayne in these movies. The technical craftsmanship of these movies are well produced but could have been better. The batsuite was too comic like and the batmobile was good but they should have spent more time on creating them. The Director’s vision and tone for the movie jumps around between being silly and unrealistic although the dark and gothic scenes stood out. The movie was good, but there are better.
Let us get to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) this movie could have been done better. This was the worst rated Batman movie. It had a bad Balance Between Batman and Bruce Wayne, bad Technical Craftsmanship, and the worst story.
Then we reach the dark knight series Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), now these movies have the highest ratings of all the batman movies of all time.
The Director’s vision and tone for the movie is gritty with uncompromising realism. Each movie is treated as their own movie and story but can be connected as we follow the story. These movies had the best villains by far The Joker played by Heath Ledger is known as the best villains ever because of the actors’ portrayal of the Joker. The balance between Batman and Bruce Wayne is amazing. There is plenty of time spent on the character development of Batman and Bruce Wayne. The story line was played so well they could be like their own separate person. The technical craftsmanship of the movies are amazing. The director Nolan prioritized real explosions, car flips, and realistic fight scenes. The Dark Knight was the first major feature film to use high-resolution IMAX cameras and while you watch the movie you feel immersed into the story.
The final movie left is The Batman (2022) directed by Matt Reeves, the movie was rated just below the dark knight trilogy. The Director’s vision and tone for the movie portrays Bruce Wayne in his second year of being Batman. He is raw and unfiltered during this movie. Batman is more of a detective along with a crime fighter than a typical super hero. The quality of the villains is key to this movie as they are mostly normal everyday people that commit crimes, then one over the top villain. The villains are more realistic to real life like a mob boss or a smart hacker. The balance between Batman and Bruce Wayne is great just like the Dark Knight trilogy they could be their own separate people. They are both played so well by Robert Pattinson. The technical craftsmanship is outstanding. This movie also has the best batmobile and bat suit designs of any Batman film we have discussed. The movie pulls you in with a dark and almost scary vibe. The movie even takes place on halloween this movie is raw, hardcore, and has an intelligent yet violent Batman.
To sum everything up in my opinion there is not just one best Batman movie of all time. Between the Dark Knight trilogy and the Batman movie (2022). They are both amazing movies that I thoroughly enjoyed watching. It is hard to pick, if you want Batman in his prime fighting big villains watch the Dark Knight Trilogy, if you want raw hardcore Batman watch the Matt Reeves Batman. With that being said all the Batman movies are good and worth watching. If you have not already watched any of them I would highly recommend taking some time to introduce yourself to these Batman movies.
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