Batman Returns

Batman Returns (1992) – It has a great cast doing great jobs all around and another great Elfman score, but the real highlights are the style and atmosphere – visually, the film is close to perfect; okay, the rocket penguins are pretty stupid, but all things considered, this might still be my favorite Batman movie. 7

Batman (1989)

Batman (1989) – The story is average, the action adequate, the score fantastic, and the style exceptional; for my money, Michael Keaton is the best Bruce Wayne (even if it’s an unusual take on the character) and quite a fine Batman (even if he does kill a few guys 1940-style); the movie is eighties in a way that hasn’t held up well (e.g., Prince), but with its excellent amalgamation of expressionist, art deco, noir, and pulp style elements, it also feels timeless; I’d forgotten just how much this film influenced the animated series. 7

Lockout

Lockout (2012) – It does certain things well (and other things stupidly), but it brings nothing new to the table; in short, it’s perfectly watchable, but generic and forgettable. 5

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) – The film is just too big to get everything right (it also cuts some corners and the bad guys’ plans don’t always make a whole lot of sense), but it does a mostly effective job of combining elements from several notable comic arcs into a fitting and satisfying (if somewhat obvious) conclusion to the trilogy; the cast is excellent, and Hardy impresses; the social and political commentary here is shamelessly overt, more so even than in the last one; I hope now we can all agree that using “realistic” to describe this trilogy is off the table for good. 7

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight (2008) – Heath Ledger is great, obviously, and the film is vastly entertaining (and often feels high-stakes), even if it is a bit too long, the last act is a little weak, the post-9/11 commentary is heavy-handed (including the entire Hong Kong subplot), the Joker’s plans are ludicrously and implausibly contrived, and Bale uses an angry pirate voice. 7

Batman Begins

Batman Begins (2005) – I’ve never found any of Nolan’s Batman films to be as important or grounded in realism as they purport to be; nonetheless, this is an extremely engaging and satisfying film with only relatively minor flaws; Oldman is a perfect Year One Gordon; Caine is always good, but Alfred’s accent is a questionable choice. 7

The Winning Team

The Winning Team (1952) – Alexander seems like he was a pretty interesting and complex character, and that comes through even in this watered-down, inaccurate biography that often feels like little more than one big feel-good cliché; the POTUS does a solid job (he may not be right for the character, but he’s right for this treatment), and while maybe he’s not all that convincing as a pitcher, we’ve seen far worse. 6

Safe House (1998)

Safe House (1998) – It has some rough spots, but it also has a pretty good sense of humor and, with its impressive confluence of story elements and strong character focus (Patrick Stewart is just fantastic), it’s a compelling and satisfying film. 7

Safe House (2012)

Safe House (2012) – Denzel is the highlight (of course) of this disappointingly unoriginal, implausible, weak-scripted, predictable action thriller; Ryan Reynolds also does an impressive job, but the same cannot be said of the director. 5