Batman

Despite the sequels and the fanfare of the reboot, this remains my favorite Batman movie.

I admittedly had initial concerns over Michael Keaton in the role, but I quickly warmed up to the actor as Bruce Wayne, and once the suit went on, his performance was spot on. Nicholson as the Joker was solid casting, and he gave a brilliant performance.

This movie was just fun, and a completely different feel from "The Dark Knight". Whereas Dark Knight was endlessly gritty and tense, "Batman" was both dramatic and fun. There were plenty of light moments to break the tension of the Joker's murder and mayhem. In Dark Knight, there were no tension breakers at all. I'm a tremendous Batman fan (the comic character) and during Dark Knight I felt like I was sitting through an endurance contest rather than something I'd assumed would be entertainment. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking Dark Knight ... it was a tremendous achievement. But the mood was very different than the original "Batman", and I just find that I preferred the mood of the original.

No radioactive spider bites or guys turning green or supermodels painted blue here. Campy television series aside, Batman has always seemed the most serious, the most grounded, the most real of all the comic book sagas. Our hero has no magical, mystical superpowers...he's just a guy in a suit. But where does he get those wonderful toys? In this film Tim Burton does a very good job of bringing the Dark Knight to life while also seemingly giving the dark, foreboding city of Gotham a life of its own. Gotham is dark, gloomy, and dreary...almost oppressively so. The city is almost a character unto itself in the film...dark, mysterious and somehow quite real. The brilliantly conceived, stunning visuals are the perfect backdrop for the story which will unfold.

The story follows our Caped Crusader in his quest to clean up Gotham which is in the midst of a frightening crime wave. There was much unnecessary angst when comic actor Michael Keaton landed the title role with fans feeling that was a sure sign the film would lean towards the campy style evident in the famous television series. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Batman would be a serious film (well, as serious as a comic book movie can be) and Keaton was perfect in the Bruce Wayne/Batman role. Keaton's Wayne comes across as an ordinary guy doing extraordinary things. Keaton brings all the required seriousness to the role but also can add a little comic touch when necessary. Inspired casting pays off big time.

Good as he is Keaton is actually overshadowed in the film. Who else but Jack Nicholson could cause the actor playing Batman to get second billing in a movie titled Batman? Nicholson's performance as the Joker is simply terrific. Maybe a little over the top at times but, hey, it's the Joker...he's supposed to be over the top. Nicholson livens up every scene he's in, he simply owns the screen. With two terrific actors doing outstanding work bringing our hero and villain to life the film can hardly go wrong. It's certainly entertaining enough but the film as a whole doesn't quite match the brilliance of the two lead performances. The supporting cast, led by Kim Basinger as the requisite love interest, doesn't add much. Instead of leaving well enough alone with a fantastic Danny Elfman score the whole movie comes to a screeching halt a couple of times while we're forced to listen to some inane Prince songs. And the story just seems to lack a certain zest. We want to see the conflict between Batman and the Joker, these two great characters played by two great actors. And for too much of the film that conflict simply isn't there. But all in all, Batman is certainly a worthy effort. Some top-notch acting, stunning visuals and a story that does just enough to draw you in and hold your attention throughout. To call this film great might be a stretch but one could say it is very, very good. Certainly good enough to be worth your while.

This is truly a Fantasy/Comic movie-masterpiece. First of all- the excellent cast- Jack Nicholson shines in the role of the manic and crazy Jocker. Nicholsons character is truly amazing- like a mixture of his former roles/characters in "Chinatown" (Jake Gittes), "One Flew Over the Cuchoo`s Nest" (Randle McMurphy), "Prizzie` s honor" (C.Partanna), "the Witches of Eastwick" (Daryl Van Horn) and of course "The Shining" (Jack Torrance)- but (the character) still keeps his own style. Michael Keaton also proves to be the ideal type for Burtons`s Batman. He reminds on the dark Batman from the "Dark Knight" Batman comics, and is the exact opposite of Batman introduced by Adam West in the 70`s. Second, Tim Burton created a unique athmosphere, exactly matching to the characters. Some people say that this movie is to dark, but I wouldn`t agree. I must not forget to mention the exciting Batman Theme composed by Danny Elfmann. Burton`s Batman, differnt from all the other Comic-hero movies, like Spiderman, Superman, Flash or Hulk, provides a refreshing character dimension.

One of the best movies in the 80`s.

Nowadays there's a new superhero movie out every summer. But back in the 80's superheroes were still considered to be entertainment mostly for children. Then the Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and The Killing Joke by Alan Moore came out and were a huge success. A movie was right around the corner.

The plot takes place in the familiar setting of Batman's home town, Gotham City. The city is all but controlled by mob boss Carl Grissom with police Commissioner Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent all but powerless to stop him. Enter the caped crusader who starts making a name for himself as Gotham's protector. He becomes the interest of journalist Vicki Vale who is determined to find out who is under the cowl.

On the opposite side of the spectrum a local thug working for Grissom, Jack Napier, encounters the Batman during a heist at a chemical plant falls into the acid. He emerges with a permanent smile and christens himself as The Joker. Joker starts to take out the other mob bosses and terrorizes the city with various deadly chemicals mixed with random every day appliances. He also gains an infatuation with Vicki Vale and constantly stalks her. Batman has to stop The Joker and save Gotham from the scum that turned him into the hero he is.

This movie captures the spirit of Batman almost perfectly. Gotham City is a huge Gothic metropolis that's unique style is something only Tim Burton could create. The casting is brilliant as well. Michael Keaton plays a perfect Batman as well as Bruce Wayne and is still one of my favorite Batmans today. Jack Nicholson was also a great choice as the Joker and manages to pull off a great blend of funny and creepy.

All though I thought a few things could've been improved, like the action scenes and the lack of character development for Gordon and Dent, this movie was a great way of bringing Batman back to the silver screen.

If you were around in summer 1989 then you'll remember that Batmania was EV-ER-Y-WHERE! You couldn't look anywhere without seeing the Bat Logo in some incarnation. The film was a mega-hit. People were queueing up around the block for hours (the literal meaning of a blockbuster). I remember being in a car, driving up Lothian Road in Edinburgh and seeing a long line of people queuing at the box office of the Cannon Cinema (as it was then) and being jealous that I wasn't old enough to see it. My lot of movies that summer was restricted to Ghostbusters II and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, both of which I saw in Florida. Batman had a 12-rating in the UK, and was upped to 15 for video. This "grown up" rating gave it an alluring mystique as was always the case with such movies to my hungry, impressionable mind.

The marketing team at Warner succeeded in immersing the public consciousness with the big-screen coming of the Dark Knight. Up until this point the Batman series from the 1960s is how the vast majority of the audience regarded the Batman character and universe. Tim Burton corrected all of that by giving us a dark, sinister and Gothic world with rich production design and a great score by Danny Elfman (who has made a career out of recycling the same old generic cues in nearly every movie he has scored). The original material is respected (to a degree), and the characters are deep instead of just campy. Burton also retained a lot of the noir elements that have been present in the old Batman serials and many of the comic books.

Michael Keaton is the best Bruce Wayne in my opinion. He's a rich, socio-phobic megalomaniac who has more money than sense and is often bumbling and clumsy, very different from Adam West's turtleneck playboy. As Batman he's silent and imposing, the polar opposite of Christian Bale's overplayed attempt, which I don't think anyone was really impressed by. Batman needs a counterbalance and I believe that Heath Ledger helped up Bale by accident

Jack Nicholson is a "good" Joker too, not quite as iconic as Ledger's take on the character, but still a role that has defined his career. I like that they acknowledge his intelligence and gave him a new edge by making him artistically gifted, but not much is done with it when it should have been a heavier driving force behind his insanity.

Anton Furst's Oscar-winning design of Gotham City is, to me, THE aesthetic that all other attempts failed to match. The smoke-blackened, cramped, and claustrophobic buildings look and create a very oppressive atmosphere, like a New York City that has not had planning permission for 200 years. The matte paintings are gorgeous and create pure escapism in a way that green screen digital mattes just cannot replicate.

It may not be as mature as Nolan's work but it has an edge that no other recent comic-book movie has. It's just a shame that the late-80s writer strike happened just a few days after Sam Hamm submitted his script to Warner. He was unable to make further drafts and rewrite scenes so Burton had some British writers make changes to the script (it was shot at Pinewood) which involved making Jack Napier/Joker the killer of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Sam Hamm was against this, as well as every single Batman fan on planet Earth. If there is one major, and valid, fault that audiences rightfully complain about then this major change to the established lore is it.

Rightfully a classic, and, aside from some weak writing, it's better than ALL of today's comic-book movies (please just make them stop!). If Batman had failed, then the sub-genre would be written-off forever. It's just a shame that Warner squandered this lightning in a bottle after two movies.