Review: Batman (1989)

People in the Movie:  Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger

Director:  Tim Burton

Pigeonhole:  Action / Comic Book

The Basics: The comic book hero comes to life on the big screen in an almost adult oriented telling of the Batman (Keaton) versus The Joker (Nicholson) story.  A millionaire, Bruce Wayne, turns to vigilante justice in his alter ego, Batman, to protect the streets of Gotham City which are overrun with criminals, while the police are unable or unwilling to help.  Within the criminal ranks, a vicious sociopath named Jack Napier, taking on a new visage, unseats the current leader of the local mob, Carl Grissom (Jack Palance).  Jack – now calling himself Joker – reigns terror down onto the city with seemingly no one able to stop him.  From the sidelines a photo journalist named Vicki Vale (Basinger) is attempting to learn more about Batman, and finds herself in the middle of this street war.

Recommendation:  I recommend this movie to comic and non-comic fans alike for the action, as well as the performances of the actors, especially Nicholson.  Comic book “purists” will notice some deviations from the original stories.  ‘PG-13’ rating is for violence.  It would likely not be appropriate for young kids.

My Take:  Having been a comic book collector in the past, I remember the anticipation and build up for this movie.  As I recall, this was one of the first movies where people would go to buy tickets to another movie just to see the trailer for Batman, and then walk out without seeing the feature.  I also remember the initial reservation about Michael Keaton’s casting (see Extras note), but once Batman premiered, and when all was said and done, this still stands as one of the best comic book feature films, in my opinion.

**spoiler alert** Tim Burton did an outstanding job with the look and feel of this movie.  Gotham City looked and felt like a dirty, beat down city that was run by criminals, and where the average citizen felt afraid to be out at night.  The scenery was all very urban, dark, and foreboding, plus the bulk of the action took place at night.  The production and direction masterfully mixed the “look” of the sets and props as if it could have been anywhere between 1950 or 1989.   Nicholson fully embodied the persona of the Joker; walking the line of violent criminal mastermind and complete psychopath, at the same time.  Keaton played Bruce Wayne/Batman very well; he was introverted as Wayne; a man with a life changing event in his past and a dark secret, as well as pulling off the tough action scenes in the Batman costume, believably.

I think what separates this movie from many of the other more contemporary comic book movies that have since come to the big screen, is that Batman has a much more organic feel to it.  There were real people doing the stunts and action.  It was not a complete digital and special effects mock up, and hence felt that much more believable.  The characters were also not caricatures which could have easily happened, especially with Tim Burton directing.  Instead he put a more mature, fantastic- but realistic adaption of the “Caped Crusader” together for the audience, and it was well received.

The soundtracks; there are two.  The instrumental/ Danny Elfman tunes, and the Prince/ pop music soundtrack.  This is a tough issue for me to reconcile.  Danny Elfman’s instrumental pieces were great.  They embody a big budget summer action flick.  Prince’s songs are very entertaining, but I am not sure if they were the best choice to be in the movie.  However, they are there, and “Partyman” and “Trust” are forever linked to two great Joker scenes.

To note a few deviations from the comics:

- Bruce Wayne’s parents were not killed by Jack Napier / The Joker

- The Joker’s real name is not Jack Napier.  We have never been told his name.

- Vicki Vale would never have been allowed in the Batcave.

- Alexander Knox (Robert Wuhl) does not exist in the comics.

   

Final Thought/Extras/For Fun: Warner Brothers initially received over 50,000 protest letters denouncing Michael Keaton’s casting as Batman… Check out IMDb for the long list of actors who were considered for each of the different leads… The original script called for the Dick Grayson/ Robin character to be introduced… This was the first film to earn over 100 million in its first 10 days of release… Both Batman and the Joker are on AFI’s 100 Heroes & Villains list…