All 12 Batman feature films, ranked according to critics

Rotten Tomatoes score: 12%

The last live-action film of the '90s went out on a depressing note. Fans and critics alike didn't care for the extreme levels of camp, the family friendly-ification of the Caped Crusader and the rest of the Bat-Family (including Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl, a new addition for this film), and the multiple villains like Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze and Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy.

Don't even get us started on the Batsuit's nipples.

This movie was received so poorly it kept Bruce Wayne off the silver screen until 2005, when a radically different (and well-received) version of Batman debuted. As Brian Gill of the "Mad About Movies" podcast said, "It's honestly a miracle anyone was ever willing to see a Batman movie again after this film."

Rotten Tomatoes score: 29%

The "Man of Steel" sequel/"Justice League" prequel was much maligned by critics. Now, knowing what we know about the troubled production of "Justice League" and how much film was left on the cutting-room floor, it's possible there's a better version of this movie. In fact, the Ultimate Edition, which adds an extra half an hour of content, has been called a "better" movie, if not significantly different.

However, as it stands, this movie that pitted Henry Cavill's Superman against "Batfleck," only to have the two make up because their moms are both named Martha, isn't great.

Or, as Roxana Hadidi of the Chesapeake Family Magazine wrote, "'Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice' pits the two titans against each other with beautiful visuals, too many characters, and a borderline nonsensical plot."

Rotten Tomatoes score: 39%

"Batman Forever" was a significantly more fun movie than its successor, "Batman & Robin." Kilmer was a solid Batman, and director Joel Schumacher's aggressively kitschy aesthetic — shout-out to the neon gang — worked for this movie, as it was combined with solid villain performances from two heavyweights: Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face and Jim Carrey as The Riddler.

But we couldn't get on board with O'Donnell's whiny version of Robin, or the fact that Two-Face is defeated by Batman just throwing a bunch of coins at him.

"Schumacher's spin on the black-suited vigilante is as flawed as it is brilliant, as messy as it is impressive. A bit of a two-face really," wrote Ian Nathan for Empire Magazine.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 72%

Gone were all the campy Bat-tools and the laugh-out-loud energy of Adam West — Tim Burton's dark twisted fantasy version of the Bat, starring Michael Keaton as the titular hero and Jack Nicholson's all-time great version of the Joker, remains iconic over 30 years later.

Simply put, this movie is cool. The score is iconic, the design of Gotham makes it look like a gothic hellscape, Keaton and Nicholson are terrific, and the coolest person on planet Earth, Prince, contributed songs.

There's a reason the universe of this movie is coming back in a big way in 2022.

"Batman' is a stunning achievement, especially through the incredible and unique visualization of director Tim Burton," wrote The Hollywood Reporter's Ron Pennington.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%

"Batman: The Movie" was released in theaters just two months after the first season finale of the ABC series. Almost all of the original cast appeared in the film, most crucially Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, Cesar Romero as the Joker, Alan Napier as Alfred, and Neil Hamilton as Commissioner Gordon.

Much of this film (and the TV show) has determined how we think of Batman today, from the "Holy [blank], Batman!" phrasing to West's gray, yellow, and black suit, to the scarily catchy theme song.

For all of the complaints about Batman being too campy in the '90s, this movie is supremely campy and it rules ... and critics agree.

"Live action Pop Art. An exhibition of colors and absurdities. Every line of dialogue is inane, and every story point is absurd. It shouldn't work. It's too kitsch for its own good, but it does work and it's as fun now as it was half a century ago," wrote Stefan Birgir Stefans for sbs.is.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 80%

Sure, we lost Jack Nicholson's Joker, but look what we gained: Christopher Walken as the sleazy Max Shreck, Danny DeVito as the Penguin, and, of course, Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman.

"Batman Returns" is darker, sexier, grosser, and ... more festive than "Batman." We'll never know what Tim Burton and Michael Keaton had planned for a third "Batman" film, but at least we'll always have the scene where penguins strapped with rockets attack the city of Gotham.

"Tim Burton's 'Batman Returns' is a masterpiece, and the tour de force performances from the trio of Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Danny DeVito are nothing short of iconic," wrote Josh Wilding for ComicBookMovie.com.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 84%

After the mega-success of "Batman: The Animated Series" on Fox Kids, the voice cast was tasked with bringing their versions of Batman (Kevin Conroy), the Joker (Mark Hamill), and Alfred (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) to the big screen.

"Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" was the first, and to date only, film in the DC Animated Universe to be released in theaters, as it was a box-office flop ... but a critical success.

Kevin Conroy's legendary performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman has led an entire generation of Bat-fans to consider him their Batman. We're glad he was finally able to play the vigilante on-screen during the Arrowverse's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" event in 2019.

"It has style to spare. And for any kid at heart whose breath catches at the sight of a caped figure swooping across the sky, it has moments when your lungs will be stopped by a Dark Knight to dream on," wrote the Austin Chronicle's Robert Faires.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 84%

Christian Bale took over as the Dark Knight in 2005, starring in the most comprehensive origin story of Batman to date, following him from the time his parents were shot by mugger Joe Chill to his escapades with the League of Shadows and Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson) all the way back to Gotham and his battle against Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) for the soul of his city.

A solid supporting cast rounded out by Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Michael Caine as Alfred, and Gary Oldman as James Gordon elevates this film beyond what anyone thought was possible. "Batman Begins" is one of the most influential superhero movies of all time ... but it's still third-best to its two sequels.

"The psychological realism and the science-fiction villainy don't always mesh seamlessly. But unlike so many superheroic summer spectacles, this one actually has a soul behind the special effects," wrote Newsweek's David Ansen.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 86%

Less than a year after our last outing with Ben Affleck's version of Batman, audiences got to witness the birth of a whole new Batman — this time, played by Robert Pattinson.

The film, which premieres officially on March 4, has earned positive reviews from critics so far.

Here's what we know: "The Batman" focuses on "year two" of Bruce Wayne's tenure as Batman, and co-stars Paul Dano as the Riddler, Colin Farrell as the Penguin, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, and Andy Serkis as Alfred.

"This interpretation is po-faced to the extreme, but Reeves's commitment to the material and Pattinson's preternatural grumpiness in the role make 'The Batman' sing — though the ballad is undeniably emo," wrote David Sims of The Atlantic.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%

Unfortunately, we'll never know what the original plan for "The Dark Knight Rises" was after the untimely death of Heath Ledger, who played the Joker in "The Dark Knight." But the movie we got isn't too shabby.

There's definitely a lot crammed in there, like the introduction of Talia al Ghul (Marion Cotillard), Catwoman (an underrated Anne Hathaway), Robin (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and Tom Hardy's instantly iconic version of Bane (just admit it, you're doing an impression of Hardy's weird, muffled voice already), and a borderline incomprehensible plot to cut off Gotham from the rest of the world and trapping the entirety of the city's police force underground ... but the climactic battle at the end kind of makes it all worth it.

Essentially, "The Dark Knight Rises" is a film with many cool sequences (Bruce's climb out of the pit, Bane and Batman's first fight, the football bombing) and some supremely cheesy ones (we cannot forgive the acting in Talia's death scene).

The London Evening Standard's David Sexton wrote, "Nolan has turned a preposterous character back into a grave myth, the story of a tortured savior, reluctantly giving his all."

Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

"The Lego Batman Movie" brought our guy Bruce all the way back to the comedy vibes of the '60s, with superb voice performances by Will Arnett as Batman, Michael Cera as Robin, and Zach Galifianakis as the Joker — and, did we mention, Jenny Slate, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes, Ellie Kemper, Mariah Carey (!), Zoë Kravitz, Héctor Elizondo, Channing Tatum, Billy Dee Williams, Jonah Hill, Adam DeVine ... the list goes on.

Just listen to "Batman's Song (Untitled Self Portrait)" and tell us this movie doesn't deserve every word of praise it received.

"It is, ironically, easily the best Batman movie since Tim Burton's masterful 1992 sequel 'Batman Returns,'" wrote Kevin Maher for The Times.

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

While this is technically the best Batman movie, we all know who this movie belongs to: Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning performance as the Joker, a true agent of chaos and the definitive comic book villain performance of the 21st century.

Sadly, Ledger died before the film's release and much has been speculated about how much of a toll the role took on his mental health, but the actor's performance is undeniable. It doesn't matter how convoluted his scheme was, or how improbable it was that Harvey Dent didn't recognize the Joker's painted face until after he took his mask off, every moment with him still hits.

"The Dark Knight" is the rare film with an equally high critics and audience score — both are 94% — and arguably forced the Academy Awards to start nominating 10 films for best picture after it was snubbed. Its legacy is solidly in tact.

"'The Dark Knight' is a film that's fantastic on the action front, seeds its acrobatics in its own reality, and always feels relevant even when its ideas are drowned out by clatter," wrote Dave Calhoun for Time Out.