Batman (Entire Film and Direct-to-Video History)

Redirect me if I am mistaken, but I couldn't seem to find a thread for general Batman discussion regarding all previous movies. I just got around to seeing The Killing Joke movie and thought I'd start a thread about all of the lesser-known or non-current movies.

So, as I like to start these broad-ranging discussions, how do you all rank your favorite Batman works? I would hope that most enthusiasts agree with my top two, but that's what these discussions are for.

I say it's:

1. The Dark Knight (2008)
2. Mask of the Phantasm (1993) (animated)
3. Batman Begins (2005)
4. Under the Red Hood (2010) (animated)
5. Batman: Subzero (1998) (animated)
6. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
7. Batman: Year One (2011) (animated)
8. Return of the Joker (2000) (animated)
9. Batman (1989)
10. Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014) (animated)
11. Batman Forever (1995)
12. Batman the Movie (1966)
13. Son of Batman (2014)
14. The Killing Joke (2016)
15. Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) (considered not including)
16. Batman Returns (1992)
17. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (2012) (animated)
18. Batman & Robin (1997)

I haven't seen Batman vs. Robin or Bad Blood fyi

 

I was going to post Taylor Swift's Bad Blood, but that would have been silly.

 

Out of theatrical films, my favorite is probably Mask of the Phantasm (one of my first three theater experiences), followed by The Dark Knight, and then Batman 66. If I had to round that out into a top 5, I'd probably throw in Batman 89 and Batman Begins, though I haven't watched the Burton films since childhood. (I'm really interested in watching Batman Returns with an adult mind.) Though, let's be real, those two spots should be reserved for LEGO Batman and the Affleck solo film.

For the non-theatrical stuff, I remember loving Subzero but don't really remember it. Under the Red Hood was good, as was Return of the Joker. I haven't liked any of the other ones I've seen, including Year One, in spite of (because of?) it being adapted from hands down my favorite Batman comic. I can tolerate Bad Blood for Batwoman and Grayson Batman, though. Killing Joke is the default worst for destroying Batgirl, my favorite DC character, even more than the source material did. I'm ridiculously excited for Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders.

 

I'd move Assault on Arkham higher up. As much as I love Batman '89 and Keaton as Batman, I cannot stand that batsuit.

 

My biggest shame as someone who likes Batman a lot is that I have never seen an episode of TAS or Mark of the Phantasm.

 

This is so unusual to me.

 

I've never even heard of those and I would consider myself a pretty big Batman fan.

 

Yeah I dunno, I know it's really weird, I even watched all of Justice League. I just somehow missed it when it was on TV for the most part and never got around to watching it later on. I definitely mean to correct that eventually, this thread reminded me.

Batman: The Animated Series and its movie.

 

You've never heard of Batman: The Animated Series?

It won numerous awards and was the basis for multiple movies and spin-off series, and was the predicate for most Batman toys and figures during the 1990s.

 

No shame. TAS is one of the most well-regarded animated series of all-time, though. You can find DVDs of the entire series online for cheap, as it was made available some ten years ago.

Seeing the cultural basis of 90s Batman is important in realizing just how shitty and ill-advised the Schumacher films were =)

 

I've heard of Batman: The Animated Series. But those words weren't in his original post.

The Animated Series isn't the first thing I think of when I read TAS.

 

Sexualizing and making Batgirl into a joke really ruined an otherwise fairly solid flick. Had it just been the romantic narrative, it'd have been tolerable, but the constant body shots, the inclusion of sex scene, the typical neurotic-girl-obsession subplot, and the absolutely undeniable and gross rape implication later......yeah. I still like it more than The Dark Knight Returns. At least The Killing Joke wasn't entirely smothered by a "durr hurr, libruls are stupid and just love criminals" social conservative overtone and the ultra-macho reductive storyline. Fuck, I hate Frank Miller so much.

 

Nah, even the romantic garbage is a ridiculous abuse of the character. Her most defining trait is rising above the people and circumstances that try to keep her from being the hero she knows she can and should be. Taking away from that to make her Batman's romantic interest is so gross and completely undermines one of the most inspirational female superheroes of all time. Plus, it somehow makes that original sexual assault, which already made her more of a prop in her dad's story than a character in her own right, even worse by also making her a prop in Batman's story. It's all around terrible and indefensible and literal trash.

I definitely agree on Dark Knight Returns' political nonsense, though I do still like the comic for its art style and Batman's internal narration. Of course, neither of those translate into the animated adaption, which cause it to be something I don't care to rewatch, lol. At least Miller's nonsense doesn't weigh down Year One. I wasn't crazy about the adaptation, but that comic is easily my favorite Batman comic and always will be.

 

Well said.

I didn't read Year One, but I did enjoy the animated movie.

I bought and read a graphic novel on the Joker that came out some time after The Dark Knight. I think it might have been called "Joker." But it had a scene where the Joker raped a guy's wife in front of him, and I really disliked that too. There are some contexts where sexual violence is useful in grounding or historicizing a story, such as in war films, but when it's simply used to further the character development of male characters (villain or protagonist, as in that novel and in TKJ movie respectively), it's just trashy.

 

We will never see a movie like The Dark Knight again

19 Surprising Facts About <em>The Dark Knight</em>