Batman Theatrical Releases: Best to Worst

1.       Batman: Mask of the Phantasm: Okay, so you may figure out whom the main villain is ahead of time. Still excellent use of Bruce Wayne and Batman has a personal stake in the final battle

2.       Batman Begins:  Best live action Batman origin story

3.       The Dark Knight: Heath Ledger’s Oscar winning performance as the Joker

4.       Batman (1989): A fun beginning to a franchise

5.       Batman Returns: Has a certain haunting quality. Done have a plot hole regarding killing

6.       Batman serial: A fun undemanding time passer

7.       Batman and Robin serial:  I liked the first one just slightly more but both are fun

8.       The Dark Knight Rises: In some ways more enjoyable than the previous three. However, some major plot holes sink this one somewhat

9.       Batman Forever: A decent serious plot is hindered by campy villains

10.   Batman: The Movie: On a technical level perhaps warrants a higher ranking, but I just can’t rank the campy Adam West period any higher

11.   Batman and Robin: The feature film, not the serial; mesmerizingly bad movie, complete with bat-credit card; my pick as the single worst blockbuster movie of all time