It looks like Paramount+ has an early Christmas present for fans of the Caped Crusader. Titles that have long been exclusively streaming over on HBO Max will be taking a bit of a vacation from that particular streaming giant to move over to Paramount+, giving subscribers and DC fans something to look forward to as the holiday season ramps up.
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Some would argue that these are the best Batman films, while others would say that they’re the worst. But no matter where you would rank them, Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin are soon to be available for those who don’t subscribe to HBO Max for the first time in what feels like forever. The Tim Burton collection of Batman films is campy and weird and fun, with the Joel Schumacher additions of the 3rd and 4th films tying together a perfect franchise to enjoy when the stress of the season starts getting to you.
These Batman Films Are Wholly Unique
There were plenty of fans who weren’t impressed by the campy nature of the films, especially those that came from director Joel Schumacher, which seemed more inspired by the Batman shows of the 60s than by the comics that inspired them. But both Schumacher and Burton leaned into a darkly silly, more funhouse mirror sort of vision—with some version of Burton’s trademark quirky, goth style applied to both sets of films. This is great for fans of that moodier aesthetic, one that treats Bruce Wayne like more of a romantic Byronic hero than a gritty vigilante. The inspiration from classic Gothic romances like Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is clear in the Burton adaptations, setting them apart from their predecessors, contemporaries, and the films that would come after—a perfect treatment for the Dark Knight.
These four films in particular are such a unique take on the Batman IP, doing with the story and the characters what other directors didn’t dare to attempt, and it could only be pulled off by Burton and Schumacher, who weren’t afraid to do their own thing with such a beloved narrative. Whether you love them or hate them, they are four wholly unique movies and absolutely stand out in a league of their own.
Will you be binging these Batman films this holiday season? Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below! And then head over to the ComicBook forums to see what other Batman fans are saying.
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Image courtesy of Paramount+
