10 best Batman portrayals in film

8. George Clooney

George Clooney is one of those Batmans that we have a hard time ranking. On the one hand we love Clooney as an actor, and for the most part, we love his work. Unfortunately, in Batman and Robin, it felt so weird seeing him as the Caped Crusader. At the same time, he was able to give a certain elegance to Bruce Wayne that made the actor seem like a perfect fit.

It is hard to watch the movie and not feel like there could have been more from Clooney as Batman, but we loved him playing off of Chris O’Donnell’s Robin and even Alicia Silverstone’s Batgirl. The problem with this movie was that there were almost too many heroes trying to steal the show rather than actually working together.

However, for all of its faults, Batman and Robin gave us a George Clooney Batman. For that, we have to love it anyway.

7. Val Kilmer

There has been plenty of talk about how Batman Forever is a terrible movie that did well. And perhaps that is true. But when it comes Val Kilmer’s portrayal of the Caped Crusader, we have to give him a lot of credit. The actor was certainly underappreciated, after stepping into a role that Michael Keaton had recently vacated after much success.

Even with big shoes to fill, Kilmer was able to give Batman the respect he deserved. The character is serious when he needs to be and a bit campy when it’s required. (Hey, this movie features Jim Carrey as a villain.) And yes, when the movie was released campy comic book movies were expected in a lot of ways.

However, for all the camp of the movie, there was still a serious edge that made this movie a success (even if we don’t like to admit it).