Batman at 80: The Dark Knight’s live-action movies ranked from worst to best

11. Batman & Robin

What else could be bottom? A favourite No 1 in many worst movie ever polls, Batman & Robin was a series low for The Dark Knight. From Mr Freeze’s terrible puns to the suit nipples, the film was so bad a sequel titled Batman Unchained was cancelled and George Clooney has since apologised to fans.

10. Suicide Squad

This recent DC movie isn’t this low down because it’s that bad. It’s actually an eccentric and entertaining romp despite a slamming from the critics. No, Suicide Squad is second from bottom simply because it’s not really a Batman movie. Ben Affleck’s Dark Knight makes a quick cameo before Bruce Wayne appears for a Justice League tease in the end credits scene.

9. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Zack Snyder’s follow-up to Man of Steel was met with strong negative reactions across the board. This dreary and dull entry was overloaded with CGI and even Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman couldn’t quite save this entry. Of course, following Christopher Nolan Dark Knight trilogy was always going to be challenging.

8. Justice League

Eighteen months later and Snyder tried again with DC’s answer to the Avengers. While slightly better and lighter in tone, Justice League still had similar problems to its predecessor, with dialogue issues and more dodgy CGI. The film was a box office bomb and saw Warner Bros change tactic with their superhero franchise going forward, one that’s largely paid off with Aquaman and Shazam.

7. Batman Forever

Before Batman & Robin, Joel Schumacher followed the Tim Burton era with this campy outing. Arguably Val Kilmer’s turn as the Caped Crusader is a good bad film, with Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-Face and Jim Carrey’s Riddler proving to be entertaining enough.

6. Batman: The Movie

Adam West’s big screen version of his hit 1960s sitcom is as camp as Christmas, but unashamedly so. This hilarious outing features an array of the villains we know and love and who can forget that shark-repellant spray?

5. The Dark Knight Rises

Nolan’s conclusion to his trilogy is a decent effort with Tom Hardy’s Bane stealing the show. But at 165 minutes in length, it’s a bit of a slog and not quite up to the standard of The Dark Knight, but what is?

4. Batman Begins

This is when Batman got really good again. After two poor entries in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, Nolan came on board with Christian Bale and reinvented the superhero genre with a darker, more complex Caped Crusader set in a realistic world.

3. Batman Returns

The second of Tim Burton’s entries saw Danny DeVito’s Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman star in what may be the most adult entry in the franchise. At times Batman Returns leans towards the horror genre with its blood and violence. A truly stunning sequel.

2. Batman

The first big reboot saw the Dark Knight turn much darker following Adam West’s light-hearted comic antics. Tim Burton took much inspiration from Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight. Jack Nicholson’s Joker is a psychopath to behold, but just two decades later and even his performance was topped.

1. The Dark Knight

What else could be top? Nolan’s second entry to his Batman trilogy has never been matched. In complete contrast to Batman & Robin, this Oscar-winning blockbuster is considered by many fans to be one of the greatest movies of all time. Not just an entertaining action movie, The Dark Knight is a rich crime drama that sparkles all the more with Heath Ledger’s outstanding performance as the Joker.

Later this year Joaquin Phoenix stars in the Clown Prince of Crime’s very own solo movie, but it remains to be seen if he can top the late actor. Meanwhile, Matt Reeves is working on a Batman solo movie focused on a younger Bruce Wayne for release in 2021. No doubt Warner Bros are hoping for a return to form ala Burton and Nolan over Schumacher and Snyder.