*Batman (1989) was the first Batman movie. Michael Keaton played Batman and Jack Nicholson played Jack Napier, who later became the Joker. In this movie, Gotham City is overrun by the mob and a corrupt police force and Batman must confront his tragic past in order to bring the Joker and the mob down. The film was fairly well received by critics and was a moderate box office success.
•Batman Returns (1992) was the second in the series. Micheal Keaton returned as Batman, Michelle Pfeiffer played Catwoman and Danny DeVito played The Penguin. I must admit that Danny DeVito did an excellent job as The Penguin! Christopher Welkin played a corrupt businessman who is convinced by the Penguin to help him become mayor. Together, they try and destroy Batman’s reputation. The Penguin also kidnaps children from the wealthiest families in Gotham. Batman must work to save the children and clear his name. Reviews of the film were good and the film was a commercial success.
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•Batman Forever (1995) featured Val Kilmer as Batman and Chris O’Donnell as Robin. Harvey Dent (played by Tommy Lee Jones) falsely believes that Batman is responsible for the accident that made him ‘two-faced’. Tommy Lee Jones portrays Two Face wonderfully and is very much like the comic book character. Along with The Riddler (Jim Carrey) the two plan to expose Batman’s true identity. Batman Forever was a financial success and received mostly positive critical reception.
•Batman and Robin (1997) featured George Clooney as Batman and Chris O’Donnell as Robin. Uma Thurman plays Poison Ivy, a woman capable of controlling and killing botanical life. She is well known for her posionous kiss of death. Arnold Schwarzenegger played Mr. Freeze, another "cool" villain. This movie was almost universally panned by critics and is unfortunately often listed as one of the worst superhero movies ever made. However, it was a modest box office success, although the bad press probably negatively affected the final box office result. Personally I liked this movie, mainly due to all the Mr. Freeze puns in it.
•Batman Begins (2005) ‘reset’ or should I say change the entire Batman universe. You will find that the old movies were no longer followed, which is a nice change. This was the first movie to feature Christian Bale as Batman. This movie shows how and why Bruce Wayne became Batman. Batman Begins centers on Batman’s desire to bring the mob bosses who control Gotham to justice. The movie was very well received by critics and grossed well at the box office.
•The Dark Knight (2008) again featured Christian Bale as Batman. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and the Joker (Heath Ledger) were the main villains in the movie. In the movie you will see features Batman and Harvey Dent working together to bring the mob bosses down. And what else to expect but to see the on going battle between Batman and the Joker. Ranked fourth highest grossing film of world wide proportion (at just over a billion dollars), The Dark Knight has universally positive reviews. It is the second highest grossing film ever in the United States. Congratulation to Heath Ledger for winning the Oscar (best supporting actor) for his great performance as the Joker!
