Batman has been the star of many prestigious and beloved DC movies over the course of his 86-year-long history – but one of his most highly-rated movies is still a little bit of a surprise, especially given how many major films it bests. Batman’s movie history has been defined several times over the decades, with a selection of tones and characterizations gracing the Dark Knight’s on-screen stories. A talented range of actors have played Batman over these years, and with an equally strong ᴀssortment of supporting characters alongside them, there are very few Batman movies that don’t feel like something special.
Looking at this trove of iconic films, it’s natural to compare and contrast them, if only because something like the 1966 Adam West Batman movie is simply so different to the likes of The Dark Knight – even if both are adored by their respective fanbases. With that said, how some movies fare against their peers and the tests of time can be wildly different, and sometimes unexpected, as I find to be the case for one notable Batman movie that often flies under the radar, and whose success bodes well for some upcoming DC Universe releases.
Batman’s Movie Roster Is One Of The Strongest In The Superhero Genre
While many superheroes have received more than one movie to their name over the course of the genre’s history, Batman’s collection of film adaptations is both one of the most extensive, and one of the most consistently celebrated. Burton’s films proved a dramatic and Gothic rendition of Batman and his city could be made into movie magic, The Dark Knight trilogy reinforced that new imaginations were possible while also bringing one of the most successful superhero renditions of all time to screens, and The Batman has paved the way for a big future for the hero and his cinematic empire.
Over the years, Batman movies have netted billions of dollars in box offices alone, not even taking into account the ample merchandising opportunities these releases have resulted in over the years – with The Dark Knight Rises and The Dark Knight each making over a billion dollars in their worldwide box office. With so many critically celebrated and commercially successful Batman movies out there in the modern day, the matter of one of the highest-rated Batman movies of all time manages to be all the more notable, since it excitingly isn’t any of the afore-mentioned releases.
The Lego Batman Movie Beats Most Live-Action Dark Knight Movies On Rotten Tomatoes
A release like 2008’s The Dark Knight being one of the highest-rated Batman movies on Rotten Tomatoes is perhaps unsurprising, with the film holding a 94% Tomatometer score from critics. Given the film is still commonly considered the best Batman movie of all time even almost two decades after its release, this score feels pretty straightforward, as elements of the movie like Heath Ledger’s award-winning Joker performance are still highlighted as uniquely special to this day. What is a little more surprising, however, is that The Lego Batman Movie beats almost every other live-action Batman film on Rotten Tomatoes.
While The Lego Batman Movie has a notably lower Tomatometer score than The Dark Knight – coming in at 89% – this is 2% more than The Dark Knight Rises‘ 87% score, and 4% higher than The Batman‘s own 85% scoring. Given The Lego Batman Movie is usually entirely absent from conversations about what the best Batman movie of all time is – and is even often left out of the rankings of the Caped Crusader’s films altogether – its appearance as one of the highest-rated Dark Knight movies of all time is a pretty major deal.
Interestingly, this is only true when looking at Rotten Tomatoes’ critic Tomatometer scores, as the Popcornmeter audience reviews paint a very different picture, with The Lego Batman Movie instead holding an 81% score in this field – lower than Batman Begins‘ 94%, The Dark Knight Rises‘ 90%, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm‘s 88%, and The Batman‘s 87%. This disparity in audience and critic reviews makes the matter of The Lego Batman Movie‘s rating all the more fascinating, especially when compared to its compatriots.
Why The Lego Batman Movie Ranks So Highly
The Lego Batman Movie‘s critic score makes a lot of sense when you consider that 2014’s original The Lego Movie holds an even higher Tomatometer score of 96%, reflecting that the Lego movie format – and its balancing of comedy, visual wonder, and a good dose of light-hearted entertainment all around – is a consistent hit with critics. While this resulting in the movie ranking higher than some more historically lauded films can feel somewhat wild, the movie does mirror animated classics like Shrek in the way it manages to provide a comedic plot that can effectively entertain both children and adults.
On a similar note, where the more brooding live-action Batman films have to contend more closely with one another, the plucky animated movie is able to work as a satire of sorts of these stories, and instead play with the world and its hero in a way these releases are simply unable to without sabotaging their own impact. This would explain to some degree why critics gave it a higher score, as it’s very possible some found the movie to exceed their prior expectations for its story, whereas something like The Dark Knight Rises would be competing with the high standard set by its predecessors.
This very much appears to play a role given 2023’s Merry Little Batman comes in with a whopping 97% Tomatometer score of its own. However, the 2023 movie’s score itself does appear to be something of a potential outlier, due to the fact there are only 29 critic reviews of the film currently, compared to The Lego Batman Movie‘s 313 critic reviews, and live-action Batman movies having critic scores that generally spill into the hundreds.
Merry Little Batman also has a 72% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes, showing critics reviewed it considerably higher than general audiences.
Though it’s likely many of these critics would actively rank The Lego Batman Movie below other lower-rated Batman movies if they were actively comparing them all at once, the film’s reception is still promising. Seeing the celebration of a movie that takes Batman lore in a very different direction is notable, especially given the limited number of animated DC movies that have seen a theatrical release. With more animated films like the DCU’s Dynamic Duo movie on the horizon, hopefully the franchise’s future installments can mirror the surprising level of success their Lego ancestor can still boast to this day.
Batman
- Created by
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Bob Kane, Bill Finger
- First Film
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Batman
- Latest Film
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The Batman
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The Batman Part II
- First TV Show
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Batman (1966)
Summary
One of the core leading characters of DC Comics, Batman is the face behind his multimedia franchise that has been in circulation for over eighty years, initially conceived by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, appearing in the 27th issue of Detective Comics at the end of the 1930s. The Caped Crusader is the alter ego of billionaire playboy philanthropist Bruce Wayne, a man tormented by the death of his parents who has dedicated his life to cleaning up the streets of Gotham. Batman’s media works range from comic books to tv shows to films and video games. In the films, several actors have donned the cape and cowl, such as Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and Robert Pattinson, in the most recent incarnation of the character. The franchise continues to enjoy success more than ever, especially with The Dark Knight trilogy of films and the Batman: Arkham video game trilogy. With a commanding rogue’s gallery of some of the most recognizable villains in the superhero genre, Batman caters to several audiences and offers a wide variety of options to keep him at the forefront of the genre.
Upcoming DC Movie Releases
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Superman
- Release Date
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July 11, 2025
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Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
- Release Date
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June 26, 2026
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The Batman Part II
- Release Date
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October 1, 2027
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