Everybody knows that I loves me some Batman. The TV shows, the comic books, and of course the movies. Now then, today's entry is my opinion of the Batman movies and how I rank them. Enjoy!So I will be focusing on the six films made in the past twenty years, (Sorry Adam West, nothing personal). So our story begins in 1989 when Batman gets a long overdue reimagining. A more dark sinister one. Tim Burton very successfully portrays the new Batman movie which introduced an already established Batman and the origin and death of his nemeses Joker, and lightning struck a second time in 1992 with Batman Returns Where we learn the origin of Penguin and Catwoman, both of these films were received well with critics and fans. In 1995 Joel Schumacher took over the franchise and released Batman Forever, introducing us to the finally Two-Faceified Harvey Dent (Dent had been in the two previous films while still district attorney) and then the origin of the Riddler and Robin. In 97 Shumacher made another contribution to the Batman film franchise with Batman and Robin and brought in Mr. Freeze, Bane, Poison Ivy, and Batgirl. Both of Shumacher's films were poorly received by critics, but well received with fans. After Batman and Robbin the franchise was put on hiatus until 2005 when Christopher Nolan rebooted the series with Batman Begins. This movie wipes the slate clean and starts the franchise over, showing us how Batman came to be and then introducing the villains Ra's al Ghul and Scarecrow, not to mention key characters from the mob. This new take on the franchise is steeped in realism, as in what would Batman be like if real? Then in 08 Nolan released The Dark Knight, which gave us a new Joker, and a new Two-Face. Both of these films were greatly received by both critics and fans. Now then, my list of who's who in the Batman franchise:
The Directors of the Batman Saga:3. Joel Shumacher
2. Tim Burton
1. Christopher Nolan
Portrayers of Batman:
4. George Clooney
3. Val Kilmor
2. Michael Keaton
1. Christain Bale
Portrayers of Bruce Wayne:
4. George Clooney
3. Christain Bale
2. Val Kilmor
1.Michael Keaton
Now for the big matter:The Batman Movies:
6th Place
Batman and Robbin
No surprises here I'm sure. This took Mr. Freeze and turned him from a tragic deeply depressed character to a one liner spitting out Austrian guy. But they did get Poison Ivy right, but that was about it.
5th
Batman
I hold this movie in the highest esteem don't get me wrong, I absolutely love it. There is a huge leap in quality from number six to number five, now we get into the tough choices. This movie is great, the only beef I have with it is that it is too dark, not plot wise, it's literally difficult to see what is happening on screen.
4th
The Dark Knight
(WHAT?! Stephen are you crazy?! This should be number one!!) I know anonymous reader, you're shocked. This movie is supposed to be the best everything, but in the end it just couldn't beat out its sisters. I love this movie. The plot is intriguing, the characters are phenomenal, and Heath Ledger's performance as Joker is stupendipherous. Remember, 5 through 1 are all extremely close, each one is better than its predecessor by a mere hair.
3rd
Batman Forever
I know you're asking me how this can possibly beat Dark Knight. Hold on I'll explain. Myself personally, I feel more for the comic bookish Batman movies. This captures that spirit perfectly. Dark Knight is a fantastic drama, but that's just it, it's a drama. This movie has the perfect combination of slapstick humor and serious and action. Definitely one of my favorites. Robbin isn't the best, but I'm not complaining, because we get Riddler and Two-Face teamed up for awesomeness.
2nd
Batman Returns
I love the original, but this the first sequel I would have to say passes up the original. It is great. Penguin's plot is pretty good, but where this movie really shines is Catwoman's story. Michele Pfiefer is absolutely brilliant as Catwoman and her counterpart. The absolutely tragically beautiful breathtaking scene when she goes back to her empty depressing apartment for the first time after being "reborn" is enough to cement this movie in the number two slot.
1rst
Batman Begins
I know what you're thinking, if I said the Dark Knight was too serious then why should Batman Begins get first place. Well I will tell you. This was the first movie to take on a truly realistic approach to the franchise, and they succeeded. I've read several Batman Graphic Novels (For those of you unversed in comic book talk, a graphic novel is like a comic book except more targeted to an adult audience. Usually they are steeped in realism and dark violent themes). So the reason that this movie takes home first place is because it does the best job of capturing the feeling of the source material.
In conclusion:
Each of these movies are in their own way totally awesome, if you haven't seen them do yourself a friggin service and check 'em out.
And if you took the time to read through that mountain of text then here's a little reward for your effort, enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbgLapRAloQ
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