Who is the Audience for This Movie?

Fans of comic book character movies.

What I Liked About This Movie

This was not the first Batman movie that honor goes to the Adam West version released in 1966. Unlike that version this Batman movie ended up spawning numerous sequels. While the quality of the sequels can be questioned in 1989 when Batman hit theatres it was a massive success so it was obvious Hollywood would exploit it. One thing that always pleased me about it is that it is the first movie in a long running franchise yet the back-story is not at the forefront. In fact, it is not even explored till late in the movie and does not take up much of the running time. There are very few characters you could bring to big screen and have the audience immediately just know. The first time Batman is introduced he is just straight kicking bad guy’s asses which is pretty awesome.

Before making Batman Tim Burton was known for his skill at utilizing a gothic style and it fits like a match made in heaven with the character/world of Batman. Gotham is a dirty, depressing, and crime filled city where evil could be around every corner. At no point is it shown in any bright light. Tone wise Batman never gets too serious or too campy it sort of moves back and forth at will

Comparing the acting of the two lead roles in this movie would be unfair so I will talk about them individually. Michael Keaton plays Batman as a calm yet broken man who never lets his true emotions show. It’s exactly how Batman should be. Nicholson on the other hand was obviously given free reign to act as crazy as he could and boy does he ever. It is slightly off putting and hilarious at the same time. His depiction of Joker is one of pure insanity he looks as though he is having fun much like a character named Joker should when he is being menacing.

What Didn’t Work For Me

Even though I really really like this movie it has a few faults due mostly to the era in which it was released. The one thing many people watching it today will note is that the special effects are not very crisp but you cannot blame the makers of the movie they did the best with the technology they had. My other gripe was totally avoidable, why does the joker on two occasions dance to a terrible prince song? It is so incredibly lame. I am still amazed to this day they didn’t realize that corny 80’s pop would go out of style.

Should You Watch This Movie?

Tim Burton created a movie that represents everything I loved about comic books (Batman in particular) as a kid.

My Rating (Out of 13)