20 Best Superhero Movies Since The Dark Knight

3. The Batman

As soon as audiences saw that captivating first trailer, it seemed inevitable that The Batman would be a superhero movie classic. And it didn't disappoint.

Of course, The Dark Knight is the greatest film associated with Batman, but in many ways, it doesn't really feel like a Batman film. Rather, it takes the idea of Batman and puts him in a realistic world.

But The Batman, with its beautifully-drawn Gothic world, heightened vibe and emphasis on the character's detective roots, is very much a Batman movie. In terms of the more faithful adaptations of the comics, it absolutely annihilates every single one of the others.

Truly, The Batman is unbelievably good. The action sequences are unbelievable, the story is masterfully put-together, Matt Reeves' direction is note-perfect and the stacked ensemble cast is absolutely mesmerising, with Robert Pattinson delivering the greatest live-action Batman ever - it's not even close.

As both a wrenching, hauntingly powerful origin story and a brilliantly rich, layered detective story that delivers one smashing twist after another, The Batman is one of the deepest, smartest, most artistically accomplished and most downright masterful superhero movies ever made.

Furthermore, with its intelligent pacing, willingness to take risks and excellently structured story, it avoids nearly all of the mistakes many of the genre's worst efforts (including several other Batman films) have made. This is Hollywood at its very, very best, and a welcome reminder that the big studios can still put out fantastic blockbusters when the right people are on-board.