Batman – one of the oldest superheroes – first appeared on the pages of comics on May 1, 1939. Along with Superman and Wonder Woman, he has always been considered part of the “holy trinity” of DC Comics. Over the past 80 years, pop culture has never been able to find a more prominent hero. In some unique way, the Bat combined the personality of a dark avenger, a noble philanthropist and just a guy with serious psychological problems.
Even though Batman movies started as a comic book character, he repeatedly appeared on the big screen. The Dark Knight’s first film appearance was a low-budget black-and-white TV series in 1943, and his last was a monumental film noir thriller starring Robert Pattinson.
On the occasion of the birthday of your favorite superhero, we remembered his most striking film incarnations – from the least interesting to the outstanding.
4th place
Batman Returns
After the big box office success of 1989 ‘s Batman, Warner Bros. rushed to release a sequel. Contrary to everyone’s expectations, the resulting Batman Returns turned out to be. A very dark, deep picture that works on several levels at once. A blockbuster, a social satire, and even a fairy tale. Each scene of this film is luxurious and saturated with the spirit of European Gothic. Tim Burton’s Gotham City bears little resemblance to a real city, but its charm lies. The “Batman Returns” stands out from other superhero films with its interesting author’s style, atmosphere. And, in a good way, reckless characters living on the verge of reality and the grotesque. Batman by Michael Keaton, without much difficulty, captivated the audience with gentlemanly charm,. And Catwoman Michelle Pfeiffer became a real icon.
The Batman Returns: Trailer0:00/ 0:00Speed1
3rd place
The Dark Knight (2008)
Eight years after the failure of Batman & Robin, Warner Bros. decided to revive the Batman story. With the help of the then little-known British director Christopher Nolan. Who raved about the idea of grounding the Dark Knight,. Making him more like a man than a superhero. In the Nolan trilogy, the main emphasis is not on special effects but on traditional stunt choreography.
A separate plus of this version of “Batman” is an incredibly talented cast ( Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine, Tom Hardy), where no one pulls the blanket over themselves, as was the case, for example, in Batman Forever. Christian Bale skillfully kept the emotional background of the film, showing on the screen a conservatively gloomy but noble avenger who is not alien to the usual weaknesses.
Heath Ledger, who played the Joker, did an equally good job of completely rethinking the psychology of the iconic character. Unfortunately, not all films in the Nolan trilogy managed to keep the suspense and interest of the viewer equally well. Nevertheless, The Dark Knight was able to leave its mark on the history of cinema.
2nd place
Batman (2022)
“Batman” by Matt Reeves is difficult to evaluate objectively – if only because the tape has not yet had time to pass the test of time. And yet, the new, noir version of the story of the Gotham avenger so far inspires only hope for the best. In his work, Reeves, like Burton in his time, made the main bet on the script and style. And if ” Batman Returns ” was a gothic fairy tale, then this “Batman” is increasingly reminiscent of a psychological thriller filmed in the best traditions of Fincher’s ” Zodiac “.
Like any classic film noir, the film has a slow, almost meditative pace that is completely atypical for modern Marvel superheroes. For many viewers, this format has become a real problem – not everyone will be able to withstand three hours of almost complete absence of action. The choice of Robert Pattinson for the role of the Dark Knight also raised some questions. Still, contrary to criticism, the actor showed an excellent understanding of the character – a reclusive hermit who entered the path of war against crime.
1st place
Batman (1989)
1989’s Batman revolutionized the world of superhero cinema, resurrecting a genre that had been in a coma for years. Tim Burton’s unique writing style and Michael Keaton’s amazing charisma proved to be a simple success formula that allowed Hollywood to build another, very distinctive DC Universe – even after so many years, it seems much closer to the original than all subsequent ones.
Gotham itself and its many inhabitants looked like they had stepped out of the pages of comics: bright in their caricature and insanely charming. Joker, played by Jack Nicholson, is still considered one of the best incarnations of the Gotham maniac. The wild popularity of The Batman set a whole new bar for superhero blockbusters, making them one of the main sources of income for movie studios – and this influence, oddly enough, is felt to this day.
We hope you liked our selection, and now you can mark the films you have watched and tell your friends about them!
