Batman Movies: Ranking Best To Worst
Now that the hype surrounding The Dark Knight Rises has settled and fans no longer have access to watch the film on the big screen for the fifth or sixth time in a row (though in a matter of days they will be able to precisely this in the comfort of their own homes), there is no denying one simple fact, that being Bob Kane and Bill Finger's creation has had a complete roller coaster of a ride in the world of film. Tim Burton was the first director to deploy DC's detective on to the big screen with his 1989 box office hit Batman, starring Michael Keaton cast as the Caped Crusader and Jack Nicholson as the Joker, whom arguably created one of the most memorable portrayals of the villain. Burton would then come back two years later with Batman Returns, again with Michael Keaton and this time with the villains portrayed by Danny De Vito as the Penguin and Michelle Pfeifeir as Catwoman. Then came the mighty Joel Schumacher with his camp, extravagant and down-right pitiful imaginings with Batman Forever in 1995; starring Val Kilmer, and Batman and Robin in 1997; starring George Clooney sporting a suit with bat nipples. Although from a box office perspective they were big hits, critically they were woeful. In fact they were so bad, Schumacher made an official apology to the legion of upset fans on the DVD commentary. Fast forward eight years and just when the majority of Batman fans were starting to lose all sight of hope as their hero stayed hanging in the dark; Christopher Nolan released Batman Begins- starring Christian Bale as Batman and Michael Caine as the loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth. From the characters, to the city of Gotham, to the origin material; the film rebooted the Batman universe from scratch. Nolan would then go on to release a couple of the most realistic on-screen comic adaptations in the history of film with The Dark Knight in 2008 - starring Heath Ledger's Oscar winning performance as the Joker, and the massively anticipated The Dark Knight Rises during mid summer- starring Tom Hardy as Bane and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. The main question now is just what are the best and worst of them all? In ranked order, let me tell you just what my selections are.