Batman Movies Through the Ages

B atman movies have always been pretty timeless and I loved the evolution of the Batman movies through the ages. Growing up Batman has been a pretty fascinating character for me, with the masks, hidden identity, mysterious persona, super cool gadgets, cars, and a superhero who could do awesome stuff. Yes, girls like DC too (you go girls!). So, I spent most of my childhood fangirling about Batman, which makes me feel kind of old because at least 4 of the movies came out before I was born! 

Anyway, all Batman fans would agree that these movies are pretty timeless. Here's what I loved about these movies and how I got hooked on them. If you are new to the fandom and confused about where to start exploring it, read on!

Batman: The Movie

The very first Batman movie was released in 1966 (wait, whaaaat?) and it was one of the very first adaptations of the comics. Batman was played by Adam West and the movie premiered for the first time at Paramount theater in Texas. 

The interesting thing about it is that it wasn't as dark as the newer Batman movies that have been coming out lately like Joker (more about that later). The first Batman movie was humorous and described as "silly" but some of the fans. 

Most people agree that they enjoyed it a lot because of the humorous undertones and Adam West’s incredible embodiment of their favorite superhero. The writing was clever and witty which won the hearts of a lot of people. 

Batman

This one was released in 1989 and was produced by Tim Burton. The total budget allocated for this movie was between 40 to 48 million dollars. The movie captured the dark side of the comic very well with clever writing and direction. This is also the movie from where the trademark audio track of Batman originates.

Jack Nicholson nailed the Joker. Batman was played by Michael Keaton in this movie. However, some people (including me) felt like it was the Joker who saved this movie (or maybe I have a thing for villains, I don't know). This movie was more serious than the first one in this franchise. 

Batman Returns 

After the amazing success of Batman, Batman Returns was finally released in 1992. Tim Burton did a pretty amazing job in the last movie but this movie is the one that took this franchise to a whole new level.

It was brilliantly made and, since I already have a thing for villains, I loved the twin villains. Catwoman was played by Michelle Pfeiffer, and the Penguin was played by Danny Devito. Again, it was comical at times, and other times it got pretty dark. We left behind the age of humor and silliness with this one. 

Batman Forever 

This was yet another amazing Batman movie that was released in 1995 and was directed by Joel Schumacher. However, some people are of the view that this particular movie aged rather poorly because of all-flash and almost no substance. It was a different approach than the former two movies produced by Tim Burton and most people were also of the view that all the hard work of Burton was all tossed out of the window. 

It was however pretty successful when it came out and generated a revenue of over 335 million dollars. Batman was played by Val Kilmer and he performed the character pretty well. Coming to the villains (muahahaha) Riddler (played by Jim Carry) and Two-Face was played by Tommy Lee Jones. 

Batman and Robin

This part of the series was released in 1997 and this time Joel Schumacher took over all the reins of creativity and did a decent job of it. Batman was played by George Clooney. The villains were played by Arnold Schwarzenegger (Mr. Freeze) and Uma Thurman (Poison Ivy). 

Although George Clooney had a strong resemblance to the comic book character, his acting was sub-par, not quite capturing Batman’s essence. This reflected on the movie poorly. 

Batman Begins 

After a break of almost 8 years, Batman returned! Batman Begins was released in 2005 with a lot of anticipation and waiting, with some big shoes to fill. It re-popularized the franchise. Dark, gothic, and thoroughly enjoyable, it was undoubtedly worth the wait. 

The Dark Knight 

The Dark Knight was released in 2008 and was revolutionary. It was more of a psychological thriller with Christopher Nolan being the producer and Christian Bale playing batman. A lot of people described this movie as dark, complex, and brilliant. Soon after came The Dark Knight Rises which was also pretty good. 

Justice League 

This incredible film was released in 2017. For most people, it was a pretty entertaining movie and according to movie critics, it was a step in the right direction towards extending the DC universe. Batman was played by Ben Affleck who gave an amazing performance, despite what. We got to see a lot of other favorite DC characters like Wonder Woman, Superman, Aquaman, and more.