Holy Smokes, Batman! Ranking the Caped Crusader’s five best silver screen features

While DC comics has been receiving a whooping in the feature film department, what with Marvel releasing at least two blockbuster and critical hits yearly, there was a time when their films ruled.

A huge part of the success DC has attained in box-office returns is because of Batman. And on that note, we look back at the five greatest movies of the Caped Crusader. Here they are, ranked.

Batman (1989)

In at number five, we have Tim Burton’s take on Batman. It was dark and gothic, as Burton’s films usually are, with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson playing the roles of Bruce Wayne and Jack Napier (later on known as the Joker), respectively.

Batman Begins (2005)

“Batman Begins” is our choice for number four. Christopher Nolan adopted a more reality-based approach, far from the caricatures of Tim Burton. The result was surprisingly engaging, with Christian Bale bringing a certain darkness to the role. It also showed how Batman would be like in the world we live in.

Batman Returns (1992)

This was Burton’s second film, and what a ride it was. With Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny De Vito, and Christopher Walken replacing Jack Nicholson as the new antagonists, Batman Returns turned out to be one of the better action-packed Christmas movies out there.

The Dark Knight (2008)

The consensus pick as the greatest Batman movie ever, “The Dark Knight” was Nolan’s magnum opus in the superhero genre. Heath Ledger was a Joker unlike any other, and Christian Bale and Aaron Eckhardt came in with powerful performances. However, to us, this was only the second-best Batman flick.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

“Batman: Mask of the Phantasm” is deep, dark, and romantic. It showed Bruce Wayne and Batman in a way no other movie did. Without giving the plot away, this was the closest Bruce Wayne has ever been to true happiness. Of course, the Joker’s in it as well.

Joe Cianciotto is an architect based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and an absolute movie buff. Read more on this page.