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)

Batman: The Movie (1966)

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)

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

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!