What are your favorite Batman movies?

[WindAnnWise]

I was inspired to make this by reading some more about "The Dark Knight Rises" last night.
Your choices can be in order or not, and you can tell why you like them(or don't like them) or not. Either way. (You can put animated movies, too. I just stuck to live-action.)

Here's mine to start off:

1. Dark Knight- It's just awesome!
2. Batman- I like it mostly because I liked Jack Nicholson's Joker.
3. Batman Forever- Same, except I loved how funny Jim Carrey's Riddler was. (Would've been interesting to see how Nolan rebooted him.)
4. Batman Begins- OK, the sequel was better.
5. Batman Returns- Boring.
6. Batman and Robin- Watched it once, never watching it again. The whole using a word that siginifies 'cold' every single line? Gets old real quick.

Any others: I haven't seen them, so I can't comment.

[SophieCub]

My favourite is Batman and Robin. ^^ I loved that movie. I liked Batman Forever cause of Jim Carrey. :3

[TheLionPrince]

Oh! I love Batman; he's probably my favorite superhero, and I can't wait for The Dark Knight Rises!

1. The Dark Knight - First off, Heath Ledger was amazing as the Joker, and his Oscar was well-deserved. I also love the deep complexity of the script, how it deals with themes like chaos, escalation, and anarchy, and how it can be viewed as an allegory of the War of Terror. The action scenes were awesome, and Bale, Oldman, and Eckhart give amazing, dramatic performances to round it off. The only thing I didn't like in this film was Christian Bale's Batman voice; the sound effects team made it too growly.

2. Batman Returns (1992) - ^It is not boring. If anything, it was a slight improvement of Batman in means of drama, and less camp. Michelle Pfeffier and Danny Devito give off good performances as Catwoman and the Penguin. I like how we see more of Bruce Wayne/Batman than we did in its precessedor. The icing on the cake that complients this movie is how Burton executes the lover-enemy relationship between Wayne and Selina Kyle, and Batman and Catwoman. My only take offs of this movie is like Batman (1989), I love the atmosphere of Gotham, though Burton reduces it to a soundstage. Also, we see more of Max Shreck, which I felt was unnecessay, because I felt the character's only purpose was to push Selina Kyle over the edge until she becomes Catwoman. However, the screenwriters and Burton keep wanting to bring this character back into the mix for some reason. Anyway, it really captures the darkness and complexity of Batman.

3. Batman (1989) - First thing, I adore how Tim Burton captured the look of Gotham City, and the production design is top notch. Jack Nicholson's Joker was just as great as Ledger's, even though it is a different take. My only problem with the Joker is that he gets more screentime than Batman. Also, it is very interesting how the screenwriter(s) came up with the concept of the Joker "creating" Batman, and the Joker creating Batman; even though, they had change Batman's origin story which made it look like a cheap shot to make Batman get even with the Joker. My negatives of the movie is that much like Batman Returns, I didn't like how Commissioner Gordon is underused in this movie, and the Prince songs were unneccessary.

4. Batman Begins (2005) - After the mess that was Batman & Robin, Christopher Nolan really brings Batman to its roots, and also brings in realism. Bale did a great job as portraying troubled billionaire Bruce Wayne, and his Dark Knight alter ego as well did the rest of the cast. Not too many people liked Katie Holmes in this movie, but she was alright. The script was exceptional, though it took a little too long to get started. However, it did a splendid job centering the movie's theme of fear.

5. Batman Forever (1995) - This film marked the beginning of the end for the Burton/Schumacher Batman series as this movie begins to turn up the campiness. Val Kilmer succeeds Keaton as the Caped Crusader, and in my opinion, he did a better job as Bruce Wayne than Keaton, but not better than Keaton as Batman. To get this off my chest, I HATE the direction style Joel Schumacher took on the later half of this series by changing Burton's vision of Gotham City into looking like some neon-filled Las Vegas, though he can be excused of this as he was under pressure from Warner Bros. into a lighter Batman film. However, he can't be excused of approving of nipples on the Batman and Robin suits, and having butt shots of the Dymanic Duo. I also disliked Tommy Lee Jones' portrayal as Two-Face, though I don't blame Jones, but Schumacher who instructed him to act like the Joker in Batman (1989). Jim Carrey was perfectly casted as the Riddler, though a bit too much comedic. Anyway, Carrey singlehandedly stole the show. Despite the added campiness in this film, it still retains the darkness we saw in Burton's films, which I liked.

6. Batman & Robin (1997) - This film turns the campiness up even higher. As a Batman film, it flops...hard in terms of production design, costume design, script, and acting. Treat the movie as nothing more than a comedy, and you'll be just fine.

It's been a while since I've seen Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, but I remember liking it. Also, I haven't seen the 1966 film of Batman (with Adam West) in its entirety.

[ADW]

The 1989 one and Batman Forever
And honorable mention to the Adam West one for being unintentionally hilarious.