The 39th Best All-Time Film

(14th Post-1973)
Batman Begins (2005)
(The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012))

It tends to be general consensus that Nolan’s Batman movies are great. Many have his “The Dark Knight” amongst the best of all time. This spot is a bit of a place holder for the whole trilogy—as this is one of those cases where the whole set tell a grand story very well. But the one that gets the nod as the 39th best of all time is this first one: “Batman Begins.”

I am a sucker for the Batman story. (As this list will continue to testify.) And Nolan does the best job of telling Batman’s origin across all formats. The origin is handled well, but even better, it is couched in a story that speaks to our time in a post 9-11 world so well. Batman doesn’t just face crime and injustice, he faces fear and demagoguery. The series returns to this theme in both sequels—with the Joker representing the senseless evil we cow to—and then Bane forcing Batman to return again when the fearmonger-y of Ra’s al Ghul’s cult rears its head again. A reminder that we can never rest once fear is beaten back—it will always try to reign again. This is such a needed message for today’s zeitgeist.