Every Batman Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

The importance of Tim Burton's 1989 Batman cannot be denied - it forced Hollywood to accept the big-screen viability of comic books, even if the 1990s were admittedly crammed with lazy cash-ins to that effect.

Even so, Batman '89 remains a towering example of how to capture the essence of a character even if it not nailing all the details.

Yes, Batman flippantly kills the bad guys, and the decision to make The Joker the murderer of Bruce Wayne's parents is a little too extra for its own good, but Burton otherwise gets so, so much right.

For starters, this is a lavishly handsome picture in every moment, Burton putting his love for German expressionism to good use with Gotham's angular cityscape, while set to Danny Elfman's indelible musical score.

Michael Keaton, a widely-protested casting choice at the time, is a revelation as both Bruce and Bats, arguably nailing the outright weirdness of Bruce Wayne better than any other actor.

Jack Nicholson is of course an all-timer hoot as The Joker, committing fully to even the more divisive aspects of Burton's film - that is, those incongruous Prince songs.

It may be imperfect, but Burton's original Batman proved the large-scale appeal of one of pop-culture's most enduring superheroes.