Batman is considered the world's greatest detective, and one of the best and most popular superheroes of all time. However, while Batman has been immensely successful in film, there is a certain flaw in each of the superhero's movie adaptations. This could be due to the fact that various filmmakers have brought their own style and perspective toward the Caped Crusader's characterization over time.
Each actor who has played Batman/Bruce Wayne also has a distinct tone, along with a variety of villains portrayed by several entertaining cast members over the years. Like James Bond or Superman, each version of an iconic character will either be praised or heavily criticized. Here is the worst part of each Batman film.
Tim Burton's Batman Films
Gothic filmmaker Tim Burton is one of the most visually stylistic directors of his time, especially due to features like Beetlejuice and Sleepy Hollow. Batman is hailed by many as one of the best iterations of the character due to the dark display of Gotham City, and Michael Keaton's low-key demeanor as Bruce Wayne (with a quirky sense of humor), while also making the Dark Knight a mysterious figure in a film noir. Jack Nicholson's Joker is also entertaining and over-the-top, but the primary issue with this film is the flawed relationship between Bruce and Vicki Vale.
Kim Basinger portrays Vale as a skilled photojournalist who falls in love with Bruce Wayne, while also slowly learning about his secret identity as Batman. Keaton and Basinger do provide Bruce and Vale, respectively, with chemistry, but they lack conviction in their relationship because there isn't much character development concerning their common interests or what they like about each other. Vale becomes the damsel-in-distress that Batman has to constantly save from the Joker.
Burton's even darker sequel, Batman Returns, went bigger and better with the addition of Catwoman and Penguin, causing Keaton's Batman to get caught up in more dangerous and tricky situations. Everything about this sequel is nearly perfect, except for Penguin's henchmen, the Red Triangle Circus Gang. While they are darkly funny and useful in assisting Penguin during his pursuit to kill Batman and cause chaos in Gotham, the gang is overall a group of caricatures without a clear motive, especially since they abruptly betray Penguin during the film's climax, making it easy for Batman to defeat Penguin in the end.
Joel Schumacher's Campy Batman Features
Out of all the Batman movies, Schumacher's two lighter films on the Caped Crusader have been the most criticized for moving away from Tim Burton's gothic vision and making his own versions campy and over-the-top. Batman Forever saw Val Kilmer's underrated Dark Knight character battle Harvey 'Two-Face' Dent (Tommy Lee Jones) and The Riddler (Jim Carrey). This is Schumacher's best Batman film because it shows how each character has a dual identity. However, the biggest flaw in this feature is giving too much screen time to The Riddler, leaving Two-Face to become more of a supporting character who's reminiscent of Nicholson's clownish version of Joker.
Batman & Robin is not only considered the worst Batman film but also one of the worst superhero pictures ever made. The overproduced special effects, the corny one-liners from Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger), and the cartoonish portrayals of supporting characters like Bane and Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone) are all part of what made the film collapse. Despite all these flaws, the worst part is Mr. Freeze's henchmen, who act so dim-witted, especially during a cringey scene in which Freeze tries to encourage his group to sing Christmas music. They are weak villains who are not threatening, and their only purpose is to easily get beat by Batman and Robin.
The Dark Knight Trilogy
After the disastrous Batman & Robin, Christopher Nolan rebooted the Caped Crusader's story by constructing the greatest superhero trilogy of all time. Despite the greatness of this series (Bale's Batman, the memorable characters, and menacing villains), there were certain elements in each film that could have been better. Batman Begins is a very good origin story, but the weakest part of this movie is the characterization of William Earle (Rutger Hauer).
It's evident that Earle is a corrupt businessman who knew about the robbery of a microwave emitter (used by Ra's al Ghul and his crew to release a drug through Gotham's water supply), thus firing Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) for asking questions about it, and requesting to obtain all data about the emitter (likely to destroy evidence of its existence since it was being used for evil purposes). However, Earle's corrupt motive is not fully explained, and he isn't given enough screen time to establish why he's a villain (perhaps his dislike for Gotham City, power and greed over Wayne Enterprises, etc.).
The Dark Knight is a revolutionary Batman film due to Heath Ledger's memorable performance as a darkly funny and twisted Joker, along with Aaron Eckhart's tormented Harvey 'Two-Face,' and exquisite action sequences with Bale's Batman in full force. The biggest flaw in this classic sequel is Maggie Gyllenhaal replacing Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes. Gyllenhaal gives a charismatic performance, but she lacks some of the chemistry that Holmes had with Bale in Batman Begins. Also, Gyllenhaal's Rachel falling for Harvey over Bruce is somewhat uncharacteristic and too much of a left turn considering the close relationship between Bruce and Rachel in the first film of Nolan's series.
The Dark Knight Rises concludes the epic trilogy with Batman going one-on-one against Bane, a strong and dangerous mercenary who was a member of the League of Shadows. This film shows how Bruce Wayne can get badly beaten and left to suffer, but can rise and fight back to save his city and defeat evil. This film received plenty of praise for its ambition and intense action, but there is one major plot hole: how exactly did Bruce get back to Gotham after escaping from the pit Bane left him in? This should have been included to further cement Bruce's comeback.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Zack Snyder's take on Batman is even darker than previous versions (including Nolan's) because this Bat character has more intention to kill due to his torment over his parents' death, his hatred towards criminals, and his quest for vengeance against Superman (who the Dark Knight believes is a threat to humanity). Affleck portrays Batman as an older but tough fighter with a bleak and hardened view of the world. While Batman is well depicted, the biggest issue with this film is that audiences don't have a clear sense of who Bruce Wayne is (other than the fact that he's rich and well known). Wayne's philanthropy and his relationships (including with Alfred) aren't fully explored in Snyder's film.
The Batman
While there has been plenty of praise for Affleck's Batman, there were many who had doubts about Robert Pattinson taking on the role. However, after Matt Reeves' The Batman became one of the highest-grossing films of 2022, Pattinson certified himself as one of the best actors to play the Dark Knight by focusing more on the hero's abilities as a detective and an up-and-coming crime fighter. If there is one problem with Reeves' feature, it's that Catwoman (well played by Zoë Kravitz) and her abilities as a thief aren't fully explored. Perhaps a sequel will shed more light on Catwoman's criminal activity.