There is a reason Batman is the only DC superhero with consistently successful movies. The character is quite versatile, with different movies exploring different aspects of the character. The Caped Crusader is a simple concept that allows for movies that are as grounded or as fantastical as the writers want them to be. This has led to every generation getting its own unique Batman that’s unlike any other, whether that’s the campy Adam West take, Michael Keaton’s dark and operatic portrayal, Christian Bale bringing Batman to our grounded reality, or Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne being an emo gremlin. This, of course, is not to mention the myriad animated Batman projects or even video games, which have their own legions of fans.
With so many Batman movies to choose from, which are the best? Well, according to Rotten Tomatoes and their rankings of every Batman movie, there are five clear winners. Some of these are to be expected; others are more surprising. Before we get to the list, it’s worth highlighting some of the titles that nearly made it. For example, at number 6 is “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm,” an incredible animated feature that succeeds where many live-action adaptations have failed, featuring one of the best Batman villains, a legendary performance by the late Kevin Conroy, and stunning visuals.
Other than that movie not making it to the list, this is a rather good top 5. If you’re looking to revisit the best Batman movies, or even get started with the most popular DC superhero, this is for you. Here are the five best Batman movies, according to their Rotten Tomatoes ranking.
5. Batman Begins
Sure, “The Dark Knight” gets all the attention — deservedly so — but “Batman Begins” is by far the most re-watchable of “The Dark Knight” trilogy. Before Christopher Nolan moved Gotham City to Chicago, “Batman Begins” truly felt like a comic book movie. Tall, dark buildings, a monorail running through the city, and an incredibly dense borough inspired by the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong made this version of Gotham feel familiar yet fantastical and comic book-y.
It makes sense that this movie was conceived as a standalone entry rather than the start of a trilogy, because “Batman Begins” works quite well as an adaptation of “Batman: Year One.” Whether it’s the references to the Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli comic or the self-contained origin story that shows how a man is driven to extremes to avenge his parents and his city, “Batman Begins” remains one of the best superhero origin stories out there. This is the movie that strikes the best balance between the grounded human hero that made Nolan’s trilogy unique and being very clearly not set in our reality. Christian Bale’s performance is big, but human. He doesn’t act ashamed of playing a comic book character, and he doesn’t shy away from the weirdness of Bruce Wayne, who is the character we spend most of the runtime with.
Really, even if it takes most of the film for Batman to finally show up, it works, because you spend all this time understanding why Bruce would put on his mask. Other than “The Batman,” this is arguably the best Bruce Wayne movie, one that truly gets the character and makes him as compelling a character as the Caped Crusader.
4. The Batman
We have seen countless takes on Batman that showcase his many skills, money, gadgets, and allies, but one aspect of the Caped Crusader we rarely see on the big screen is his moniker of the World’s Greatest Detective. That changed with Matt Reeves’s “The Batman.” This is a movie that essentially places Batman in David Fincher’s “Se7en,” investigating a string of murders and trying to catch a killer before he claims one more victim. It’s a familiar movie, with a grounded approach that echoes Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, but with an operatic flair straight out of the late Joel Schumacher’s movies. “The Batman” properly makes Gotham City feel like hell on Earth, while turning Bruce Wayne into an emo kid, and that rules.
The opening sequence of “The Batman,” set on Halloween night, is one of the best things ever put in a Batman movie. The sequence actually shows why criminals would be terrified of the Bat, while portraying the Caped Crusader as a bit of a maniac who is way over his head in his attempt to rid the world of crime.
As dark as this movie gets (and it gets quite dark), one of the best things about “The Batman” is how fun it is and how hopeful it feels. Not even in a “Batman Begins” way, with Batman always here to fight for Gothamites, even if it kills him. Rather, “The Batman” is a rare movie that actually shows the positive impact the superhero has on his city and the hope he instills in people. Nolan’s trilogy talked a lot about Batman as a symbol, but this movie shows the power of that symbol not just in the cops, but in the ordinary people, too.
3. The Dark Knight Rises
Before you pull out your pitchforks and talk about why there are so many Christopher Nolan movies on this list, hear us out. Rotten Tomatoes is just an aggregator, with publications themselves adding their reviews on the platform. That means older movies from before the internet era have fewer reviews, since they were mostly published in print and aren’t all digitized. That means that, as monumental a movie as Tim Burton’s “Batman” was, it simply doesn’t have as many fresh reviews on Rotten Tomatoes as a more recent blockbuster like “The Dark Knight Rises.”
That being said, the movie is not without its merits. Our own Chris Evangelista once said that “The Dark Knight Rises” is the most ambitious superhero movie ever made. The movie went even bigger than “The Dark Knight,” with more villains, a city under siege, and a spectacular finale on the streets of Gotham. Tom Hardy’s Bane remains a stellar performance that brings something entirely different than Heath Ledger’s Joker. The adaptation of “No Man’s Land,” albeit short in the grand scheme of things, is thrilling. The scene of Bane invading a football stadium remains one of the best scenes Nolan has ever put on film.
Most importantly, the movie gave the trilogy a proper ending. This was 2012, the same year as “The Avengers” essentially started the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper. It feels inconceivable today that Nolan would just end his series at three movies rather than continue by introducing new villains or having Robin take over as Batman. But that’s the beauty of “The Dark Knight Rises,” it provides an ethos to Batman, it gives him a coda, and shows that superhero movies can end, and do so on a high note.
2. The LEGO Batman Movie
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. “The LEGO Batman Movie” is one of the most gleeful movies to come out in the last decade, redefining what a Batman movie could be. It is a movie that takes a page from Grant Morrison and makes every type of Batman not only canon but also part of the same guy. Dark and brooding Batman? Silly and campy Batman? How about an angry Batman who wants to kill Superman? It all counts, and it is all Batman.
“The LEGO Batman Movie” is a celebration of the Caped Crusader, not without its darkness or serious moments, but it also looks at Batman and acknowledges that the character can be fun and funny. It is full of color, does some fascinating and creative things with its visuals — continuing the style of “The LEGO Movie” of using actual LEGO pieces for the environment — and has a huge heart. At a time when superhero movies are all about sneaking in references and Easter eggs, this movie is filled with them. There are not only nods to past Batman movies, but also cameos from even the most obscure Batman villains.
And yet, what truly makes this movie stand out is the way it interrogates the idea of Batman and what Bruce is without his crusade. It is also the first feature-length movie to actually focus on the Bat-Family, giving us not only a Robin, but also a Batgirl, and even Alfred in his own Bat-costume. This is a movie that not only understands Batman but absolutely loves him, while recognizing his flaws and making fun of him for them.
1. The Dark Knight
Was there any other choice?
At 94%, Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” is easily the single best Batman movie of all time, and it’s easy to see why. Even almost two decades later, the movie is somehow better than you remember. This is the pinnacle of Nolan’s filmmaking skills, the movie that changed his career by introducing him to IMAX, which allows him to go big and cinematic in a way none of his previous movies did. This is where he goes from a cold, calculating filmmaker to one with a clear vision. Part of it is the fact that the movie understands the importance of iconography. For all the talk of Nolan not liking comic books, this is a movie that shows how larger-than-life these characters are. From the moment we meet Joker, as he watches over Gotham in a wide shot that fills the IMAX frame, Nolan presents a world that feels like hours, but quickly descends into a grandeur and epic scale that only comics can offer.
Indeed, this movie understands symbolism and iconography, challenging the idea of Batman itself, of Gotham City, of characters with decades’ worth of history, and then tearing them apart before rebuilding them. Enough has been said about Heath Ledger’s Joker over the years, but there’s a reason why audiences still get enthralled by his performance. It is the perfect encapsulation of Nolan’s approach, a performance that’s inherently comic book-y while also grounded and real. There is simply no other Batman like this one.
Plus, this is the movie that gave Alfred a new backstory that eventually inspired the absolutely bonkers TV show that mixes Alfred Pennyworth with “V for Vendetta.”
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