1) Batman
The quintessential comic book reboot that all others ought to turn to for inspiration, Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy has earned its place in film history and stands aloft as perhaps the greatest superhero franchise of all-time. Batman has come a long way since Adam West pranced around in a skin-tight costume and badly-fitted mask, and the star of the sixties show might have cowered behind the sofa upon seeing his campy persona so ferociously ripped apart when Christian Bale roared onto the screen.
Yet, the famous DC comic book character was forced to endure a series of turbulent and peculiar portrayals on his journey from cheesy small-screen combat to the affective, brooding movies released in the new millennium. In 1989 and 1992, Michael Keaton donned the batsuit for an intimidatingly gloomy rendition of the comic book antihero, steered by an individual who specializes as a main advocate for the dark and the peculiar – Tim Burton.
The two movies, Batman and Batman Returns were dark, haunted pictures that alienated a younger audience and those adverse to violence, but they got something right in how they made the world of Gotham appear so conflicted and tormented. The next film in the series, Batman Forever saw a distinct movement towards the campy end of the spectrum, and by the time the curtain came down on the franchise with Batman & Robin, the series had fallen right back into cheesy 60’s Tv territory once again – only this time with an overabundance of special effects swamping the screen.
It wasn’t until 2005 that the character of Batman really got the film that he deserved. Nolan’s reboot redefined the possibilities and limits of the comic book movie – weaving a magnetic, multi-layered narrative through a series of explosive action sequences that never overshadowed the storyline or cast. The trilogy brings the binary opposition of good vs. evil into disrepute, daring to throw its hero into a moral grey area that provides the pictures with complexity and depth. Gloriously entertaining from beginning to end, The Dark Knight trilogy remains one of the most enthralling comic book reboots ever.
