In which film(s) was Batman actually the highlight of the movie?

[The Batman]

Possibly moreso than any Superhero film protagonist, it is often believed that Batman gets overshadowed in his own films.

In your opinion, what films actually subvert this notion?

EDIT: Theatrical films only, and the poll is multiple choice.

 

[Brother Jack]

I'd say TDKT because, on the whole, it's clearly his story. All the other characters revolve around him regardless of how well developed and iconic they are. They're there to service his story, ultimately.

 

[godisawesome]

I hit MOTP and the entire Nolan Trilogy. They have several stealing characters, but Batman has an actual character arc and significant time out of the mask in all four. TDK is the only one I'd be iffy on, but since most people categorize the Joker as a force of nature and his "mask" only slips once towards the end, I still think it's Batman's movie.

 

[I Am The Knight]

- Batman Begins, I guess? And only because the main villain sits out an entire act of the movie

- The Lego Movie and Lego Batman Movie.

 

[Fincher]

Batman Begins and Batman: The Movie.

 

[LaughterLives]

Batman Returns for me.

 

[Batmannerism]

The Dark Knight - I know many people will say it's the Joker's film, but actually IMO this film is the only time Batman shares screentime with the Joker and holds his own.

The interrogation scene, and their final confrontation work so well because Christian Bale plays so well off Ledger. It's not like Keaton and Nicholson where Nicholson overshadows Keaton in every appearance they have together.

Also, Batman gets some great action sequencates that have nothing to do with the Joker ( the parking garage, and Hong Kong - and while folks complain about the choreography, I iiked that Nolan's Batman moves like a person, rather than a video game character).

To me TDK is the quintessential Batman film.

Alternatively I suppose I could have voted for Batman begins, which by default has Batman at the very centre of everything.

 

[Loki882]

Mask of the Phantasm and Batman Begins.

He's also really good in TDK and TDKR, but those were almost ensemble pieces.

 

[Strong Browman]

Tbh I think people overblown the whole "Batman always gets overshadowed" thing, outside of TDK (Joker) and Batman Returns (Catwoman) I don't think he's ever been badly overshadowed or anything. Though Ahnold and Uma Thurman probably stood out more than Cooney's WOAT Batman. Batman's villains act so ott it's hard to overshadow them, let's be honest most heroes save for super ott one's like Deadpool would get overshadowed by them. Superman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Captain America I don't care who it is none of them would walk out of a movie with BR Catwoman and TDK Joker and be the one everyone's talking about.

And it's not like it doesn't happen to other characters, just off the top of my head: Spider-Man was overshadowed by J Jonah Jameson, Green Goblin and Doc Ock, Faora was considered the highlight of MOS, Cap wasn't considered the highlight of CW, Iron Man despite being the most popular MCU character wasn't considered the best part of either Avengers movie, Loki is the scene stealer in Thor's films though Hulk and Hela might take that honor, Laura and Charles were scene stealers in Logan, Luke has never been the best part of episodes 4-6 and Joker wasn't the best part of Suicide Squad, some people enjoyed Batman's brief role more than Jokers.

 

[Loki882]

I think that he is overshadowed in the Burton films. But that's mostly because Burton was clearly far more interested in the villains than he was with Batman. Especially in Returns.

 

[Strong Browman]

I think that he is overshadowed in the Burton films. But that's mostly because Burton was clearly far more interested in the villains than he was with Batman. Especially in Returns.

That's true, it's hard to be the best part of a movie when the director cares more about the other characters. Though even if he did care more about him, those films were pretty campy so obviously the campier villains were going to do better in that enviornment. Same with Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. Batman was largely the straight man to the zany villains, if those movies featured a more ott or comical Batman (think Lego Batman in a live action setting) he would have fared a lot better.

 

[LaughterLives]

I think that he is overshadowed in the Burton films. But that's mostly because Burton was clearly far more interested in the villains than he was with Batman. Especially in Returns.

The Way Burton handled this made Batman more Memorable to me. Everytime he does show up on screen, He's hard as hell! He's Pimp smackin Cat Ladies off of buildings, Setting Devils on fire with his car, Sticking Bombs on Fat people, Showing off his wing span, etc..!
Everytime he shows up, it was done in an exciting way or he just looks bad a$$. Like the scene where he's just creeping up on Penguin in the Batmobile while talking to Alfred. It's Straight Pimp!

To me the Way Burton handled Batman made him stand out more and I also think that his Batman is still the best thing about those movies.

 

[Loki882]

For me it made him the least interesting character in his own movie. I'm not fond of the "Batman being a cypher" idea. So much of his character is interesting BECAUSE of his psychology. Nolan understood that, Burton did not.

Also making him a sociopathic mass murderer was not a good idea either imo.

 

[Greens]

Begins

 

[Herofan]

I think Mask of the Phantasm, Batman Begins, Batman Forever, and, somewhat narrowly, Batman: The Movie. Batman 89 and TDKR come close but not quite.

 

[LaughterLives]

For me it made him the least interesting character in his own movie. I'm not fond of the "Batman being a cypher" idea. So much of his character is interesting BECAUSE of his psychology. Nolan understood that, Burton did not.

Also making him a sociopathic mass murderer was not a good idea either imo.

I totally get it. I was just explaining why I don't think he was overshadowed in the Burton Films. What's interesting is not always cool and He literally steals the show in his movies.
I also love that he never appeared weak or petty like Nolan's Batman did.

They also just told different stories. I don't think it's not that Burton didn't understand, It's just not what he wanted to do.

hahaha! I love that he was killer and pretty nuts. It made him more entertaining and I was able resonate with this portrayal better.

 

[The Joker]

For me it made him the least interesting character in his own movie. I'm not fond of the "Batman being a cypher" idea. So much of his character is interesting BECAUSE of his psychology. Nolan understood that, Burton did not.

Also making him a sociopathic mass murderer was not a good idea either imo.

Hear hear.

 

[JohnnyGobbs]

I voted for Batman Begins. It's far from my favourite Batman film (I much prefer Batman '89, TDK, Batman Returns and maybe even TDKR), but it's definitely the Batman film that gets the closest to trying to understand what makes Batman tick. It really is the story of how Bruce Wayne came to be Batman, almost to the arguable detriment of the villains, who are here, IMHO, the least interesting in the series.

Batman Forever, again far from one of my favourites, also does a reasonable job of interrogating the main character.

 

[Skrilla31]

I... can't take anyone that says TDK seriously.

Ledger makes that movie what it is, don't know how you could even try to deny it.

 

[The Batman]

Batman: The Movie-Honestly, everyone in this movie does a great job with their respective characters, and this film feels more like an ensemble than a Batman-focused film. However, I’d say Batman is the highlight of this film because the two most iconic scenes in the movie revolve around him. And they wouldn't be as iconic without Adam West's classic interpretation of Batman.

On another note, I’ve seen some folks mention that Joker always steals whatever movie he’s in, but right from the start of Batman’s theatrical history, we see this isn’t the case. Not only is he not the highlight in terms of overall characters, he’s not even the main highlight among BtM's villains. In terms of story, Penguin is clearly the leader of united underworld, and in terms of performance, I personally think Frank Gorshin was the best villain.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm-This was Batman’s film, not only from a narrative standpoint, but from a performance one as well. Just as he did on TV, Conroy proves himself to be a great leading man in Batfilms as well.

Batman Begins: Not surprised this is winning the poll. This is arguably the best presentation Batman has in the Nolan trilogy. Whereas in the other two movies, Batman has to be knocked down a bit to build up Joker or Bane, Batman feels like more of a dominant force in BB. Christian Bale does a great job portraying the various parts of Bruce’s personality and life.

The Lego Batman Movie: This movie gives us one of the best looks into the psychology of Batman, and is yet another good example of how Joker doesn’t automatically steal the show from Batman all the time. Lego Batman is a very showy performance, which is a big reason why he stole the show in the Lego Movie, and is a reason why he is the highlight of Lego Batman.

 

[Greens]

Yeah now that you mention it, he was definitely the highlight of Batman '66.

 

[The Joker]

I... can't take anyone that says TDK seriously.

That's a hoot coming from someone who says Kilmer is the best Batman.

 

[King23DC]

B89 they made him deliberately mysterious

Batman Begins and BvS is about Bruce Wayne
TDK is literally about The Batman's affect on crime
TDKR is about The Batman's legacy

So, TDK is the one most purely about The Batman

 

[MydnightPhoenix]

I consider TDK the one that is the least about Batman.
I would say Batman Forever is the story most about Batman/Bruce.
Batman Returns is mostly about Batman as well but he never steals the show.
Batman Begins and Batman v Superman he steals almost every scene he's in.

There's not enough focus on him in B89, Batman & Robin he's just there and TDK he's a guest star. TDKR has some stand out moments.

 

[The Batman]

That's a hoot coming from someone who says Kilmer is the best Batman.

Not only that, but essentially claims he's the live action equivalent of Kevin Conroy without as much as an explanation as to how.