Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) and Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) flee the Joker’s thugs in 1989’s “Batman.”
The cinematic legacy of America’s favorite costumed hero is born anew with this weekend’s theatrical release of “The Batman,” director Matt Reeves’ nearly three-hour crime epic that pits Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne against a Zodiac-inspired Riddler (Paul Dano). Batman has broken box-office records in multiple decades with multiple directors, villains and approaches to the material. Here are the live-action highlights of the Caped Crusader’s screen career:
The actor in the suit
All of us, even George Clooney, can agree that George Clooney was not the best Batman. But an argument can be made for just about every other live-action portrayal of the world’s greatest detective, from Adam West’s bemused TV turn in the 1960s to even Ben Affleck’s older, world-weary Bats in Zack Snyder’s films. But the crown must belong to Michael Keaton, who defied pre-internet trolls and redefined his career in 1989’s “Batman” (streaming on Hulu). Keaton brought an awkward accessibility to Bruce Wayne that future portrayals lacked, and simply looked spectacular in costume designer Bob Ringwood’s black Batsuit, the character’s most iconic silhouette. Thanks to some multiverse nonsense, Keaton will return to the role at age 70 in November’s theatrical release of “The Flash.”
Heath Ledger posthumously won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of The Joker in 2008’s “The Dark Knight.” – Courtesy of Warner Bros. Villains
Heath Ledger posthumously won the Oscar for playing The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” (streaming on Netflix and HBO Max), and his mercurial performance is the obvious and correct choice. But Batman movies often have more than one villain (the new one has a veritable all-star lineup), so let’s bring in TV’s Penguin, played to the hilt by Burgess Meredith in a purple top hat. Imagine Meredith’s raucous, quacking “gentleman of crime” sharing the screen with Ledger’s scarred, ruthless clown. See Meredith in the campy “Batman” show, streaming free on Tubi.
Danny Elfman, who wrote the scores for Tim Burton’s “Batman” and “Batman Returns,” poses in his studio on May 26, 2021. – Associated Press Music
Hans Zimmer one-upped his own minimalist, two-note motif for “Batman Begins” with The Joker’s quavering drone in “The Dark Knight.” Neal Hefti’s bluesy surf-guitar anthem for TV’s “Batman” is a fun earworm. But Danny Elfman’s mysterious, melodic theme for Tim Burton’s big-screen “Batman” is synonymous with the character, the engine of a wall-to-wall gothic symphony that ranks among the very best film scores of the post-“Star Wars” era. (Bonus: Prince wrote songs for the movie, and “Partyman” blasting as Jack Nicholson’s Joker and his goons deface Gotham’s art museum makes for one of the franchise’s most entertaining scenes.)
Director Christopher Nolan prepares a shot on the set of 2012’s “The Dark Knight Rises.” – Associated Press Ending
Regardless of your opinion of the rest of the movie, the last five minutes of Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises” (streaming on HBO Max) wrap up his trilogy with an emotional punch: Batman sacrifices himself to save Gotham. A devastated Alfred (Michael Caine) mourns at Bruce Wayne’s grave. Gotham cop John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) inherits a surprise. Alfred travels to his favorite European cafe and sees a familiar face across the patio. Cue the tears.
• Sean Stangland is an assistant news editor who was shocked by how much he loved “Zack Snyder’s Justice League.”
