So in 1992 they made Batman Returns. Tim Burton again directing and Michael Keaton returning as The Bat. To replace Jack from the first movie they brought in Danny DeVito as the Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. Added bonus we got Christopher Walken as Max Shreck.
I know this part of the franchise went downhill fast after this movie, but I love the mix of action and comedy that Burton gave us. I feel like this movie was just pitch perfect but it doesn’t seem to get a lot of love, especially compared to the more modern movies like The Dark Knight. I don’t seem to be good with Christopher Nolan’s take. It was too dark and dragged towards the end for me.
So what do you think was the best live-action Batman movie? I’m only listing the 8 where Batman was the primary hero.
I enjoyed the 1966 version more than the rest. I was only 11 at the time, but the newer ones never did anything for me.
There were Batman serials in the 40s. I saw one episode of one of those when I was about 5 years old. Hardly any memory of it though, I think there was something about the bad guys getting away in a car that changed color (black and white, other colors were still new and expensive in those days).
So I’m assuming we’re excluding 1966’s Batman as being unfair to all the others?
Realistically, the only real candidates for this are 1989’s Batman and 2008’s The Dark Knight. I enjoyed Batman in the theater more than I enjoyed The Dark Knight in the theater, but that’s probably more due to the fact that I was into comics a lot more then, and I didn’t go in with any real expectations - we hadn’t already had Batman Begins & a bunch of other well done comic book superhero movies over the past 10 years. Rewatching them both within the past few years, The Dark Knight is clearly the best.
:smack: My apologies. I guess since it wasn’t mentioned in the OP itself, which did mention the Burton/Schumacher & Nolan movies, I assumed it wasn’t in the poll.
Heh, I’m not the only one here who came in to talk about Batman 66. That movie has the best of Batman - all of the rogues, the colorful costumes, the cool gadgets. Yep, it’s campy but it’s fun.
No mention of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm here either. That is a great Batman movie and Kevin Conroy is possibly the greatest Batman voice in the history of Batman voices.
Batman Forever was my favorite. It was truly a fun popcorn movie. I didn’t care for Batman Returns, too dark and too bloated of a film.
The Dark Knight films are just too associated with bad times for me. They were excellent films, I just don’t see myself watching them again anytime soon. Much rather see the Maguire Spider-Man films.
I voted for The Dark Knight but I think I’d rather watch Batman Returns than any of the other Burton/Schumacher films. Can you believe they made Happy Meal toys for such a dark movie?
Returns is my favorite of the lot: Keaton is perfect, Pfeiffer is perfect, Walken is perfect, and, okay, if you’re not really a fan of Tim Burton’s brand of weirdness, then I get why those three performances have to make up for the rest of it; but if you like Burton’s stuff, if it’s icing on the cake, then it’s a heck of a cake.
Mask of the Phantasm is my favorite (and the best) Batman movie. The implementation of Batman in BvS and Justice League is the best live action Batman (don’t @ me :)) He looks and moves the way Batman would in those movies (the movies themselves have their own issues but I like them both especially JL) .
I haven’t seen many of those movies recently enough to judge between them, and there’s one or two I haven’t seen at all. But I will say this:
I remember that, when I saw Batman Returns (on TV), I had low expectations, and I ended up liking it more than I thought I would, though I still didn’t think it was a great movie.
I’ve gotten more enjoyment from the 1966 Adam West Batman than any of the others, because i was a kid when I watched it.
Returns is my fave by far. The only one I’ve watched multiple times. (And I stopped watching these after that Ledger/Joker debacle.)
One key thing: there were 3 Big Bads, but each was different. Penguin the classic comic book anti-super. Catwoman was inbetween worlds. Schreck the non-super bad guy.
So one (of many) problems with the following two movies was having 2 anti-supers. That doesn’t work.
I liked Batman Returns, not sure if it’s my favorite. I will say when I was a little kid Danny Devito’s Penguin scared the shit out of me, really freaked me out when he bit that guy’s nose.
Dark Knight was the perfect Batman movie and one of the best comic book movies. They had the restraint to not put the Joker in it that much. He is the most remembered thing in it, but he honestly doesn’t have that much screen time. Makes the movie.
Tim Burton did a really good job on both of his Batman movies. Shame he has declined in quality. I did not see Dumbo, but I heard it was terrible. Many of his recent movies have been really bad.