Live Action Batman Movies Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked"-a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted relevant superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the live action Batman movies ahead of the release of "The Batman'" in theaters on Thursday night. 

Live Action Batman Movies Ranked:

(Note: Both cuts of Justice League have been excluded since they're both ensemble pieces that don't predominantly focus on Batman)

8.Batman & Robin (D+)

7.Batman Forever (C+)

6.Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (B-)

5.Batman Returns (B)

4.Batman (B+)

3.The Dark Knight (A-)

2.The Dark Knight Rises (A-) 

1.Batman Begins (A)

Top Dog: Batman Begins (2005)

So much has happened with the Batman character and superhero movies on the whole in the 16 and a half years since Batman Begins was released that its impact has been unfairly dulled a bit. Christopher Nolan's inaugural Batman project proved that Christian Bale's rare combination of magnetism and otherworldly commitment to the character he's playing in his early projects translated to the world of blockbusters, villains of lesser prominence (Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow, Liam Nesson's Ra's al Gul) could be just as memorable as the universe's heavy hitters and a darker, more realistic approach was way more interesting than the varying degrees of campiness that defined all of the previous live action iterations of the character. 

Lowlight: Batman & Robin (1997)

While not without its funny moments (mostly courtesy of Arnold Schwarzenegger's nutty performance as Mr. Freeze), Batman & Robin elevates the cartoonish lunacy of the franchise's previous film Batman Forever to such a high degree that it becomes more grating than entertaining.    

Most Underrated: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Having to follow The Dark Knight inevitably caused The Dark Knight Rises to receive harsher criticism than it deserved. While it's certainly a bit too long and has some creative choices that don't work overly well (namely in the final act reveal involving Marion Cotillard's character), The Dark Knight Rises is still an impressive finale for the Dark Knight trilogy. Tom Hardy brings the perfect balance of terror and camp to his portrayal of masked terrorist Bane, the action setpieces are universally excellent and the presence of a more complex emotional arc for Bruce Wayne allows Bale to give his best performance of the series. 

Most Overrated: The Dark Knight (2008)

Don't take this as some kind of brutal contrarian takedown of The Dark Knight. It's a thrilling film that plays out more like a crime saga than a superhero movie and features a downright legendary performance from the late Heath Ledger as the Joker. However, the widespread hailing of it as not only one of the best superhero movies ever made, but one of the greatest movies ever made period is a sentiment that I disagree with so strongly that I've always viewed The Dark Knight as a bit overrated.