Every Batman Movie, Ranked from Worst to Best

The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. The World’s Greatest Detective. Whatever you choose to call him, few characters have earned such an integral place in pop culture as Bruce Wayne (better known by his crime-fighting alter ego, Batman). The linchpin of DC’s comic book canon, Batman has long surpassed the limitations of the comic medium, providing the inspiration for dozens of movies, video games, and beloved TV series. For this reason, it’s no surprise the character has secured such a beloved place in the hearts of superhero fans across the globe.

With how many films there are centering around Gotham City’s bat-themed defender, it’s only natural to assume that certain movies tend to supersede other, lesser Batman movies that have come before it. From the character’s debut film to his most recent cinematic appearances, here is a definitive ranking of every Batman movie from worst to best.

12. Batman & Robin (1997)

The film that single-handedly ruined Batman for an entire generation, Batman & Robin ended Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher’s shared Batman series with a resounding thud rather than a climactic bang. Hampered by ridiculous dialogue, hamfisted acting, and a nonsensical story, almost everything about this Batman adventure is pure camp at its absolute worst.

10. Batman Forever (1995)

After the initially mixed reception of Tim Burton’s Batman Returns, Warner Bros. selected Joel Schumacher to implement a more family-friendly take on the Batman universe. The resulting film gave way to the ludicrous Batman Forever – a hallucinogenic fever dream of a Batman movie brought to the big screen. As with its immediate sequel Batman & Robin, very little about this cartoonish 1995 superhero film lingers on in viewers’ memory – save for the shockingly zany performances of Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey.

9. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

In the years leading up to Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, viewers scoured the internet for rumors and production updates detailing around the DCEU’s first superhero mashup. While most fans expected to see the DC equivalent to The Avengers, what followed was a slow-paced, special effects-laden mammoth of a film that never really took off once it started. Clocking in at an egregious runtime of two and a half hours, it’s an overly long, overstuffed, plodding superhero epic that flounders under the question of who might win: Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel or Ben Affleck’s brooding Dark Knight.

8. Batman: The Movie (1966)

In an era when most modern audience members prefer to view Batman as the angsty defender of Gotham City, Batman: The Movie can make for an incredibly odd viewing experience compared to most other Batman films. A direct continuation of Adam West’s popular Batman TV series, Batman: The Movie is more clearly geared towards fans of the original show, especially when it comes to the returning appearances of such comical baddies as Penguin, Joker, Riddler, or Catwoman. While fans of The Dark Knight or The Batman might roll their eyes at the film’s light-hearted tone, there is a definitive charm behind this cheesy B-superhero film.

7. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The weakest entry in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises is very far from a bad movie. Bolstered by Tom Hardy’s riveting performance as Bane and Anne Hathaway’s stunning presence as Catwoman, it’s a taut thriller film that pits an aged Batman against his most imposing physical threat yet. For as often as Nolan raises the stakes in his narrative, however, The Dark Knight Rises ultimately buckles under the weight of its own third act, even if it redeems itself through its more than satisfying epilogue.

6. Batman Returns (1992)

At the time it was released in 1992, most people really didn’t know what to make of Batman Returns. Strangely dark and filled with unsettling visuals that alienated a family-friendly audience, Tim Burton’s macabre portrait of Gotham City challenged preconceived norms about what a mainstream superhero could look like. As a result, Batman Returns remains a film well ahead of its day and age, standing in stark contrast to the comparatively lighter films of the MCU or DCEU today.

5. The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

A film every bit as good (if not better) than either of the two Lego Movies, The Lego Batman Movie perfectly draws on its basis in the larger Lego universe. Combining Batman’s most beloved characters with various heroes and villains from pop culture’s past, it’s a visually stunning and frequently humorous adventure film that’s perfect for the whole family. (Plus it’s the only movie to feature Batman, Sauron, King Kong, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Lord Voldemort in a self-contained narrative.)

4. The Batman (2022)

Rather than worrying about fitting into the overall continuity of the DCEU, Matt Reeves focused on his own unique portrayal of the Caped Crusader with The Batman. Presenting a nightmarish version of Gotham City plagued by corruption and rampant criminality, The Batman felt less like a DC film than it did a David Fincher thriller (think Batman Begins meets Seven). At three hours, it might make for a longer viewing experience, but the final film helped revitalize the Batman character after the shakier reception of Batman v. Superman years prior.

3. Batman (1989)

Setting the gold standard for virtually every Batman movie that followed, 1989’s Batman remains a revolutionary entry in the burgeoning superhero genre. Presenting the gothic streets of Gotham City in all its twisted splendor, Tim Burton helped create a three-dimensional portrait centered around his flawed main character. Just dark enough to appease adult viewers, sitting through its fast-moving two-hour runtime is like flipping through the pop art pages of a vintage ‘40s Batman comic.

2. Batman Begins (2005)

In the decade that followed Batman & Robin’s disastrous release, most viewers couldn’t imagine a serious Batman movie without envisioning Bat Credit Cards or an over-reliance on ice-related puns (“Let’s kick some ice.”). Fortunately, Christopher Nolan did the unthinkable with Batman Begins, delivering a hard-hitting action film that transported the World’s Greatest Detective into a far more realistic version of Gotham City. While it tends to be overshadowed by its sequel The Dark Knight, everything about Batman Begins is worthy of celebration, from the performances of its main cast to its more grounded central tone.

1. The Dark Knight (2008)

Nearly two decades and dozens of superhero movies later, most people continue to cite 2008’s The Dark Knight as the defining entry in the cinematic realm of superheroes. Returning to the same hyper-realistic portrayal of Gotham City he’d provided in Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan found a way to up the ante from the series’ previous installment, namely through the introduction of Heath Ledger’s Crown Prince of Crime, the Joker. Zeroing in on Batman and Joker’s immortal battle for Gotham’s future, The Dark Knight also underscored the transformation each character experienced through the Joker’s reign of terror, pushing them to the brink of their physical, emotional, and mental well-being (sometimes to the point where they toppled right over the edge).