Former “Batman” film actors Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck have welcomed a new addition into their exclusive club: Robert Pattinson. The “Twilight” superstar dons the black cape in the simply titled “The Batman,” due out in theaters Friday, March 4 from writer/director Matt Reeves. How does this new flick compare to the nine live-action features that came before? Scroll through our photos above to see all of the “Batman” movies ranked worst to best, according to their Metacritic scores.
Keaton was the first actor of the modern era to bring the caped crusader to the big screen in “Batman” (1989) and “Batman Returns” (1992), both directed by Tim Burton. Still today, many fans consider the recent SAG Award winner for “Dopesick” to be their favorite dark knight of all time, but how did film critics of that era respond to Keaton’s two installments?
Kilmer’s “Batman Forever” (1995) and Clooney’s “Batman & Robin” (1997), both from director Joel Schumacher, turned out to be one-and-done entries for the actors as they chose not to return to defend Gotham in the future.
Almost a decade later, the franchise went through a much-needed reboot with Bale deepening his voice to play the superhero in a trio of Christopher Nolan-directed chapters: “Batman Begins” (2005), “The Dark Knight” (2008) and “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012). “The Dark Knight” being snubbed for the Best Picture Oscar is what eventually led the academy to increase the number of films eligible for that top prize.
Affleck joined the Batman thespian club during the DC Extended Universe phase of the franchise. His two films were “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016) and “Justice League” (2017), with the latter being rebranded in 2021 as “Zack Snyder’s Justice League.”
Pattinson’s “The Batman” (2022) is yet another reboot of the popular character, this time set in his second year of fighting crime. Bruce Wayne uncovers corruption in Gotham City while coming into contact with popular antagonists such as Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz), the Riddler (Paul Dano) and the Penguin (Colin Farrell).
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