Ranking Every BATMAN Movie According To Rotten Tomatoes Ahead Of THE BATMAN's Release Next Week

With The Batman just over a week away from arriving in theaters, we're taking a look back at how the Caped Crusader's previous big screen adventures have fared in comparison...according to Rotten Tomatoes!

By JoshWilding - Feb 22, 2022 11:02 AM EST

Filed Under: Batman

Love it or hate it, Rotten Tomatoes is now more important than ever when it comes to whether moviegoers decide to check out the latest releases in theaters, and it's not uncommon for studios to tout scores as proudly as star ratings. There are occasions when audiences don't agree with critics, of course, but "Fresh" or "Rotten" status can save or kill a movie, especially in this pandemic era.

With The Batman on the horizon, now seems as good a time as any to revisit the Caped Crusader's previous big screen adventures and how they've been received. After all, fans are already champing at the bit for that review embargo to lift next Monday and curious to learn whether Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson's take on Bruce Wayne can match or top what's come before.

With that in mind, we've combed through Rotten Tomatoes to bring you a ranking of every Batman movie based on their scores on the review aggregator (along with our take on the movies). We haven't included spinoffs (Joker, 68%), cameos (Suicide Squad, 27%), or animated features (The LEGO Batman Movie, 90%), and instead have kept the focus on the live-action Dark Knight.

To take a look through this ranking, all you guys need to do is click the "Next" button below!

11. Batman & Robin

Score: 12%

Rotten or Fresh? Rotten

Critics Consensus: Joel Schumacher's tongue-in-cheek attitude hits an unbearable limit in Batman & Robin resulting in a frantic and mindless movie that's too jokey to care much for.

Widely considered the worst Batman movie of all-time, it's no great surprise that Batman & Robin comes in at last place. There's no denying that it featured an impressive cast (George Clooney, Uma Thurman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger all sharing the screen is pretty incredible when you think about it), but Joel Schumacher's vision for the franchise went completely off the rails here.

10. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Score: 29%

Rotten or Fresh? Rotten

Critics Consensus: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice smothers a potentially powerful story -- and some of America's most iconic superheroes -- in a grim whirlwind of effects-driven action.

Zack Snyder's movie deserves to place higher than this, and while critics didn't respond to what proved to be a vastly different vision for a comic book adaptation, a lot of fans loved what this team-up delivered. There were some mistakes - Doomsday's appearance, Batman killing criminals, and "Martha," for example - but this score isn't representative of what ended up on screen.

9. Batman Forever

Score: 39%

Rotten or Fresh? Rotten

Critics Consensus: Loud, excessively busy, and often boring, Batman Forever nonetheless has the charisma of Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones to offer mild relief.

As memorable and Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones may have been, this complete "disasterpiece" was every bit as bad as Batman and Robin, and a chore to watch. After Batman Returns, it was a baffling and unexpected direction to take the Dark Knight in, and Val Kilmer, unfortunately, made for an underwhelming version of Bruce Wayne, especially after Michael Keaton's take.

8. Justice League

Score: 40%

Rotten or Fresh? Rotten

Critics Consensus: Justice League leaps over a number of DC movies, but its single bound isn't enough to shed the murky aesthetic, thin characters, and chaotic action that continue to dog the franchise.

Joss Whedon brought a lot of good ideas to the table with his take on Justice League, but trying to combine his vision with Zack Snyder's created a weird, Frankenstein's monster of a movie (literally in the case of Henry Cavill thanks to his CG jaw). Ben Affleck's Batman was fine, but not given anything significant to do beyond being an ass to Diana Prince and showing a willingness to sacrifice himself.

7. Zack Snyder's Justice League

THE-BATMAN-2022-Clip-I-Got-You-Final-HD-0-3-screenshot3

Score: 71%

Rotten or Fresh? Fresh

Critics Consensus: Zack Snyder's Justice League lives up to its title with a sprawling cut that expands to fit the director's vision -- and should satisfy the fans who willed it into existence.

The Snyder Cut was willed into existence by fans and it was a better Justice League movie in every way, shape, and form. As for the Dark Knight, he definitely received a vastly superior story arc here, serving as a mentor to Barry Allen and switching his suicide mission for a more proactive and compelling story arc. We even got a little extra Batman content added by Snyder during reshoots.

6. Batman

Score: 72%

Rotten or Fresh? Fresh

Critics Consensus: An eerie, haunting spectacle, Batman succeeds as dark entertainment, even if Jack Nicholson's Joker too often overshadows the title character.

This is a classic, but it's also a little rough around the edges. Zack Snyder's Dark Knight received a lot of flak for killing bad guys, but Michael Keaton's eccentric Bruce Wayne - who sleeps upside down at nighttime - was every bit the murderer. In many ways, this was The Joker's movie, but the Caped Crusader was given the chance to shine, and he did so in a stylistic Gotham created by Tim Burton.

5. Batman: The Movie

Score: 79%

Rotten or Fresh? Fresh

Critics Consensus: Batman: The Movie elevates camp to an art form -- and has a blast doing it, every gloriously tongue-in-cheek inch of the way.

If you loved the TV series, then this movie was everything you could hope for and more. It hasn't aged well (it was released way back in 1966, remember), but in terms of being a campy, silly adventure starring the Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder, it works wonderfully. With a star-studded cast of actors and characters, this is perhaps the most "comic book-y" movie of all those listed here.

4. Batman Returns

Score: 80%

Rotten or Fresh? Certified Fresh

Critics Consensus: Director Tim Burton's dark, brooding atmosphere, Michael Keaton's work as the tormented hero, and the flawless casting of Danny DeVito as The Penguin and Christopher Walken as, well, Christopher Walken make the sequel better than the first.

This movie is a masterpiece, but it's no great surprise that a certain trilogy beats it! However, Batman Returns is arguably better than the next two entries in this feature, even if it doesn't quite deserve the #1 spot. Catwoman and The Penguin made for terrific villains (even when Max Shreck did not), and it was impossible not to get invested in Bruce Wayne's relationship with Selina Kyle.

3. Batman Begins

Score: 84%

Rotten or Fresh? Certified Fresh

Critics Consensus: Brooding and dark, but also exciting and smart, Batman Begins is a film that understands the essence of one of the definitive superheroes.

Batman Begins was exactly what this iconic DC Comics character needed after Joel Schumacher's awful movies, and Christopher Nolan's in-depth look at the hero's origin story proved to be immensely satisfying to watch unfold. This story was arguably at its best before Bruce donned the cape and cowl, but it was definitely refreshing to see him battle a baddie like Ra's al Ghul.

2. The Dark Knight Rises

Score: 87%

Rotten or Fresh? Certified Fresh

Critics Consensus: The Dark Knight Rises is an ambitious, thoughtful, and potent action film that concludes Christopher Nolan's franchise in spectacular fashion.

As a finale to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy, some fans loved it, and others hated it. The Dark Knight Rises is certainly a complicated, busy movie, with massively different takes on characters like Bane and Catwoman, and the ending was both a departure from the comics and very unexpected. It's a pretty great movie, though, and Nolan made a lot of bold choices here.

1. The Dark Knight

Score: 94%

Rotten or Fresh? Certified Fresh

Critics Consensus: Dark, complex, and unforgettable, The Dark Knight succeeds not just as an entertaining comic book film, but as a richly thrilling crime saga.

A masterpiece, The Dark Knight once again saw The Joker overshadow Batman himself, but Christian Bale was at his best here...even when his "Batvoice" was not. An intense crime thriller, the Caped Crusader's world remained grounded in reality for the sequel, but that worked for Christopher Nolan, and the filmmaker set a benchmark here which has yet to be surpassed by another movie.

However, we have a feeling The Batman might be able to top it...

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102 Comments

1 2 3

TheWalkingCuban - 2/22/2022, 11:34 AM

Every time they released this article I think about how they don’t count every movie that has Spiderman in it but they count Venom. And every time they release the Spiderman article, I think about this article having Batman in the justice league. And every time I think about that I think about him on suicide squad. Which snaps me out of my reverie because Venom and SS ha ha

DudeGuy - 2/22/2022, 11:38 AM

I think you mean The Dark Knight Rises

TheBlueMorpho - 2/22/2022, 11:38 AM

Respect to Batman: The Movie

The72nd - 2/22/2022, 11:41 AM

@TheBlueMorpho - rolled my eyes at "it hasn't aged well". That movie and TV show are absolutely hilarious and don't get nearly enough credit from the CBM crowd

TheBlueMorpho - 2/22/2022, 12:13 PM

@The72nd -

Without a doubt, love the show and the movie.

Blergh - 2/22/2022, 12:16 PM

@The72nd - It's a god-damn comedy with purposeful camp. How can anyone hate it for what it is lol

The show and film knew what they were, also part of the reason I'm so soft on the Schumacher Batman movies. They imitated the original series

Nunyabiz - 2/22/2022, 1:29 PM

@TheBlueMorpho - reruns after school everyday as a kid

The72nd - 2/22/2022, 1:54 PM

@Blergh - I agree completely. Batman and Robin is a very intentional comedy and it blows my mind that people think the camp isn't purposeful

Se4M4NSt4ine - 2/22/2022, 11:38 AM

I knew the worst ranked and best ranked movies before I even clicked on the article.

Typhoon20 - 2/22/2022, 11:42 AM

Only 1 truly great Batman film out of so many.

Soon to be 2.

regularmovieguy - 2/22/2022, 11:43 AM

@Typhoon20

Batman Begins is damn great. Easily one of the best movies of 2005 and probably the gold standard CBM origin next to Iron Man. And even that borrows from BB.

whynot - 2/22/2022, 11:44 AM

@Typhoon20 - I’d say Batman 89 Batman returns Batman begins and TDK were all fantastic. They had flaws for sure but better then most of marvel and Dc movies out there

Fogs - 2/22/2022, 1:11 PM

@regularmovieguy - Begins and '89 are my favorites

Awest66 - 2/22/2022, 5:47 PM

@Typhoon20 - (Eyeroll)

Reeds2Much - 2/22/2022, 11:44 AM

The scene that has never been, and never will be, surpassed.

slickrickdesigns - 2/22/2022, 11:46 AM

@Reeds2Much -
Correction…

Nunyabiz - 2/22/2022, 1:25 PM

@slickrickdesigns - He carried shark repellant in his utility belt after that

Nunyabiz - 2/22/2022, 1:27 PM

@Reeds2Much - well even fake duck lives matter

slickrickdesigns - 2/22/2022, 11:45 AM

Perfectly explains why I don’t bother trusting Rotten Tomatoes scores.
The dark Knight rises is overrated and BvS isn’t as bad as people act like.

Awest66 - 2/22/2022, 5:50 PM

@slickrickdesigns - I'd say Rises is more underrated these days.

I know it gets a lot of flack for being a TDK sequel without Ledger's Joker but it's nowhere close to actually being a bad movie.

Tpo81 - 2/22/2022, 11:46 AM

The Dark Knight Rises gets way too much respect. Just because it was Nolan & followed TDK doesn’t mean it’s automaticly great. The plot holes in that movie makes my head hurt. There acceptable plot holes then there’s dark Knight rises. Also it just wasn’t a good movie imo. I know I’ll catch heat for this but that’s my opinion. Talia’s death scene maybe the worst acted death or funniest of all time.

1 2 3

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Ranking Every BATMAN Movie According To Rotten Tomatoes Ahead Of THE BATMAN's Release Next Week

With The Batman just over a week away from arriving in theaters, we're taking a look back at how the Caped Crusader's previous big screen adventures have fared in comparison...according to Rotten Tomatoes!

11. Batman & Robin

10. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

9. Batman Forever

8. Justice League

7. Zack Snyder's Justice League

6. Batman

5. Batman: The Movie

4. Batman Returns

3. Batman Begins

2. The Dark Knight Rises

1. The Dark Knight

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