In case you're wondering, I didn't watch those first two...
Anyway, if you follow me on Facebook, you probably know that I watched The LEGO Batman Movie at the theater. Well, that inspired me to start this big binge of all the theatrically-released feature-length live-action Batman films. This is gonna be an unconventional Movie Thoughts post, because it's a bunch of mini-reviews of nine films. Wow. This is gonna be in a weird order because I didn't watch all the movies in order of release. I'm also going to spoil all of these, so if there's one you haven't seen, you can skip right to the ones you have seen. Or if you haven't seen any of these, definitely start with Batman Begins. With that in mind, let's start this!
Batman Begins (2005)
Well, I started with the first in the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight Trilogy because I've heard The Dark Knight was the best superhero movie ever. And I didn't have really high expectations going into this one. So my expectations were exceeded! I'm glad I decided to go with this one first, because this is the best place to start if you haven't seen any of these before. It tells the origin of the Caped Crusader quite well. The nonlinear first half was an interesting way of doing it, and even though I knew that Bruce Wayne's parents were gonna die, that scene when that happens was pretty effective! I was surprised to see both Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman in this superhero movie. Heh. I like how they grounded everything in reality, like the Batmobile, and the way the gliding worked. I got a little confused on a few things, though, like Ra's Al Ghul being a villain being revealed earlier than I thought. Both him and Scarecrow, as villains, are great. I didn't expect Christian Bale's Batman to sound like HISHE's Batman, but I liked his voice like that. My favorite part would be when Batman first shows off against those criminals. That was an awesome way to show him off. Well, this is a great movie, and is my favorite of the series besides another one coming up.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Oh yes, this one. I don't know where to start! I guess... it was definitely the most action-packed movie I've ever seen. It seemed like every other scene was an action scene. And they were good scenes! Heath Ledger's Joker is definitely the best part about this movie. He's both scary and charming. My favorite part of the movie was when he blew up the hospital and had that great reaction. I had seen a picture of Two-Face from this movie, so I knew he was gonna be in it. And throughout the movie I was wondering whether or not Harvey Dent was gonna become him. And then I knew it when his face was up against the floor with the gasoline. It was a little weird that he went from being this hero who stood for justice to a serial killer. And... I don't have much else to say about this movie. That's the thing. The better the movie, the less you have to say about it. This is the most renowned superhero movie, but it's not my favorite. I did quite enjoy it, though. And this is my favorite Batman movie besides Batman Begins!
Batman (1989)
Oh yes, this one. I was originally gonna see just the Dark Knight Trilogy, but I got interested in this film and then Batman and Robin and I had to watch all of these films. So, this one. I thought it was gonna start with the origin story of Batman and then go off from there. But nope. It starts with a known-ish Batman, And that is done pretty well. I did watch the Honest Trailer a while before I watched this movie, because I never thought I'd see this movie. And so I counted all the times Vicky Vale screamed. And it might've been 11. I can't remember. Michael Keaton was a great Batman, but not my favorite. I did think it was weird that at night he does some hanging upside-down while his guest sleeps. Moving on, I guess there's a reason why on that poster Jack Nicholson is credited before Michael Keaton. Because he was pretty much the star! He's very funny, memorable, and maybe a little creepy. That was an interesting though convoluted origin story, and that death was surprising. He does look creepier when he's killing Bruce Wayne's parents, though, and that's another thing. That is an interesting decision to make him the killer. I don't have anything else to say except that's... different. How would I rank this movie among the last two? I thought the movie was pretty great, but not as good as Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
Batman Returns (1992)
Alright, the sequel. I gotta say, when the beginning had this psychopathic monster baby, I was like "Whoa... That's not what I wanted to see." And then when they show Selina Kyle becoming Catwoman by falling on the ground and cats eating her I was like "whoa whoa whoa... Tim Burton, do you think cats are evil? YOU ARE WRONG!" and then throughout the movie when she was acting like a cat, that was cringey. Okay, and then Penguin. Penguin felt like he should be in a cartoon. I mean, with Joker, it's fine and enjoyable and all, but Penguin just weirded me out. Also, Gotham's inhabitants are stupid. How are they just alright with this random terrorist dude they just met becoming the mayor of Gotham and only turn against him when Batman hacks the speakers of the stage he was on? Come on! Okay, enough being negative. Michael Keaton was great the second time around, and there were a good amount of scenes that I quite enjoyed, a few even more than in the original. And though I enjoyed the original overall more, this one... stood out to me more. The music, the tone... everything. But like I said, I enjoyed the original more.
Batman: The Movie (1966)
Okay... I watched this one in a weird way. It was on Netflix, so I decided to watch this before any of the other ones. But I only watched the beginning because I was just watching it casually and got bored of it. And then there were a couple nights when I watched 10 minutes of it. But then one night... After I watched Batman Returns, I finally got to watching the rest of it. What can I say? This is ridiculous. From the suit to the villains to the effects to everything. I want to talk about everything, but I can't, so I'll just focus on a few things. 2 words: SHARK. REPELLENT. Pffffffffff. Robin said "Holy [random word]!" about 5 or 6 times, which is pretty silly. Riddler giving Batman and Robin easy to solve riddles about what they're doing next? Wow. Catwoman likes carrying around a cat.... You don't really need to do that. All the punches in this movie miss by a foot and they still react, which is hilarious. All the world leaders are so into their arguing that they don't notice that two madmen are in the room reducing them to rubble one by one. Okay then. The effects are dated as heck. For one thing, Batman and Robin are running through the streets.... well, in front of a greenscreen. And when henchmen are being shrunk, some of them are cardboard cutouts... literally. And lastly... the scene where Batman is running around with a bomb and everywhere he goes,there's two people in a bar, nuns, a couple, a mother and her baby, and then he goes to the water and there's baby ducks... and he says "Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!" I loved that. Okay, I'm going too long. I better stop with this... I liked this more than Batman Returns simply because of the ridiculousness of this. It was hilarious.
Batman Forever (1995)
Alright, now we're getting into the... weirder Batman movies. Joel Schumacher thought this was a cartoon for some reason. The weirdest thing in all of this is Two-Face. From the questionable recasting to the awful makeup to the over-the-top performance to the way he does things. And The Riddler is Jim Carrey's most over-the-top performance I've seen him do. But surprisingly enough, there are some redeeming qualities. Though I didn't see him as Bruce Wayne, I didn't think Val Kilmer wasn't a bad Batman. Though Robin can be a jerk at times, I enjoyed his origin story and what he got to do in this movie. And even though Jim Carrey got a little over-the-top at times, he was still enjoyable, as he is in any movie he's in. It didn't feel like it was the same continuity as the Tim Burton Batman films, but it was supposed to be. So that was a little weird. And The Riddler's Box reminded me of the Novabox from radio drama Adventures in Odyssey, though that came after... Anyway, this is one of my least favorite Batman films.
Batman and Robin (1997)
What the heck is up with this movie?! How did anyone approve of this?! This is one of the weirdest movies I've ever seen. Batman is recasted yet again as George Clooney, and the only actor that stays the same throughout all four movies is Alfred's! This is so bad... It's enjoyable. From the zooms on the Bat-Nipples and Bat-Butt to the ice puns that never leave me cold to some of the other shockingly ridiculous lines to Bat-Credit Card (never leave the cave without it!) to the awkward-looking suit to the way he turns his head. This is just full of camp and craziness. I didn't expect Mr. Freeze to have a backstory or the beginning make you think this is dark and gritty. Robin is the jerkiest jerk I have seen him as. Batgirl... wasn't bad. Though I thought it was weird that she was Alfred's niece and not Commissioner Gordon's daughter. Poison Ivy was almost as silly as Mr. Freeze, but not quite. And then Bane. Hm... Bane is stupid. I wish I hadn't seen the Honest Trailer before watching this because I want to have been surprised by a lot of these things. Well, I definitely enjoyed it more than Batman Forever, but not as much as Batman Returns.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
And now I'm back to the Nolan films. The chronological time between this and The Dark Knight was kind of reflected by the time between when I watched these two films. Coincidentally it's what it felt like. This movie also unfolds over quite a long time, which I thought was a little weird. Christian Bale is as awesome as always, and his Batman voice is one of the best. Bane I quite liked, and I did not expect his voice to sound like that. It's also weird going from this stupid buff to this criminal mastermind. He was definitely a menace, and it was surprising seeing the things he was willing to do. Catwoman, on the other hand, I wasn't really invested in. Her acting like a cat in Batman Returns was cringey, but at least in that film she was fleshed out, more interesting, and... for lack of a better word, cool. I just didn't get that with this Catwoman. And then Bruce Wayne was in prison for quite a while, trying to get out, and I was saying "Come on! RISE!" multiple times. And then when he "died", I just knew the whole time he didn't, because you simply can't make a title superhero die. And so that removed 90% of the emotion out of it. But back to positivity. Michael Caine. I knew by this film that he is the best Alfred. All the other ones are just like "I'm Batman's butler and I help him." Michael Caine's Alfred gives him advice, shows concern for him, and is sad and regretful when Bruce Wayne "dies". He was great in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and he was truly the best part of this movie. Oh... well now I'm going long again. This film I don't know where to rank. I don't like it quite as much as the first two Nolan films, or the 1989 one... But maybe sometime I should revisit this to see where I put this.
Batman v Superman (2016)
"Save... MARTHA!!!!"
And now we're getting to the most recent film. Okay, positive things first. Ben Affleck as Batman. That was pretty awesome. He killed it! (sometimes literally, though...) His voice especially was awesome. I don't know which is my favorite, Christian Bale or Ben Affleck. Superman wasn't bad, either. I did like that news sequence with him saving people and everybody questioning him. And Batman's fighting sequences were cool. Unpopular opinion, I actually kinda liked Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor. I mean, it wasn't great, and there were a few odd moments, but he wasn't all that bad. Wonder Woman was also pretty cool. Okay, negative time. The movie had a lot in it, but it felt... a little bit empty. And while some parts I was invested in, some parts I just wasn't. And... Martha. Save... Martha... WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME!?!?! I thought that was a little silly. Their moms having the same name I wouldn't say is that silly, but the fact that Batman kept repeating "WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME!?!!" over and over kinda took me out of the movie and made me chuckle. Lastly, Superman's "death". The emotion was taken out of this one too, because he's Superman! You simply just can't kill him without Kryptonite! And I didn't notice his ashes floating at the end, and so at the end I thought he was actually killed and I was like "WHAT?!" Wow. Yeah. I'm not interested in Justice League, and I'd have to see a trailer before I get excited about The Batman, even though Ben Affleck was awesome as him. Going long yet again. This is one of my least favorite Batman films besides Batman Forever. I'm sorry, I know there are some people who quite liked this movie, but... not me.
And that concludes my long collection of mini reviews. Wow. That is the longest post I've ever done, surpassing the Switch review. I hope you enjoyed it anyway! What is your favorite Batman movie? What is your least favorite? Tell me in the comments! Well, see you next week!