Batman is one of the most iconic superheroes to ever grace comics with its dark and bruiting atmosphere and memorable villains for our hero to face. There have been many interpretations of the dark knight with some being comically campy and others dark and gritty. The first time they tried to make a movie of Batman was seen as a big risk at the time because movies based on comic books were not as big in the late ’80s as they are nowadays. So who better to bring in to direct this dark and dramatic comic book than with one of the hottest rising directors at the time Tim Burton. With Burton’s unique vision and with Micheal Keaton to be in the shoes of Batman himself, the collaborative filmmakers brought together something that may not have aged immensely, but still paved the way for many other comic book movies to come.
In the streets of Gotham City, crime boss Carl Grissom (Jack Palance) sends out his men to do his dirty work including his right-hand man Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson). However, when Batman (Micheal Keaton) arrives on the scene to stop the crime from happening, Jack finds himself being beaten by the Dark Knight and falls into a vat of chemicals which somehow transforms him into the Joker who has a permeate smile on his face. Meanwhile, reporter Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) sets out to report on billionaire Bruce Wayne who is batman’s real identity and falls in love with him and feels bad for his loneliness. That may have to wait though as the Joker begins to cause havoc over Gotham City leaving Batman to fight for justice to take back the city and keep his identity a secret.
Now growing up I knew who Batman was but I never really did read that many comics or watch that many shows of his. However, even if you are completely new to the Batman mythos this movie is a good start for beginners to the franchise. The whole movie plays itself out like a typical story that you’d see in a Batman comic but it’s Tim Burton’s visual aesthetic that makes this interpretation of the Dark Knight and Gotham City stand out from the other interpretations. Unlike the Christopher Nolan movies that go more gritty and realistic, this movie feels more like the comic book in its execution as there are a lot of moments that are campy and over the top but still pleasing to watch. The only thing I felt could have been better is if they expanded upon batman’s character arc and maybe not have given him a love interest because she needs saving all the time. It may not have aged too well compared to some of the modern comic book movies, but this was still an impressive feat at the time to bring a popular comic book character to life.
Micheal Keaton as Batman was not the first choice for many moviegoers who saw the trailers and many were worried if Keaton can pull off a serious role seeing that at the time he was mainly a comic actor. Those worries however can be put aside because he manages to pull off the character of Batman mostly convincingly. While it is true that there have been better actors who have played Batman better, Burton made the right call and made Keaton work with the role he was given. Batman’s not the only character who gets all the attention, the Joker for instance is the show stealer and possibly the best performance in the entire movie. Jack Nicholson completely understands the Joker’s personality and manages to play his role in an over-the-top and goofy cartoony fashion which helps make him stand out from the other characters in the movie. The only character I admit I didn’t really care for was Vicki played by Kim Basinger. She’s basically the love interest and damsel in distress for the entire movie and it is weird that Batman would even have a love interest, to begin with. Unlike someone like Mary Jane in the Spiderman movie where at least she is passionate in her role, Vicki left no impression and felt more like a last-minute addition to the screenplay because they demanded a love interest seeing that’s what early comic book movies were doing at the time.
Keep in mind that CGI effects were still very young so most of everything you see on screen had to be done practically which makes the film look even more impressive. The cinemotogrpy captures the dark and sinister comic book-like feel that can be compared to Sam Rami’s Spider-man and how they brought their movie to life and made it feel like a comic book movie. There are a lot of funky and wacky camera angles of tons of iconic imagery that we would associate with Batman which is brought to life in the best ways possible. The costuming is great for Batman but the most impressive makeup is what they managed to do with the Joker by making it look like he has a permanent smile on his face which couldn’t have been easy for Jack Nicholson to accomplish. And of course, we can’t forget the action which is a bit tame by today’s standards, but still manages to be impressive with all the stunt work and fast-paced editing.
It’s a Tim Burton movie so of course, they would get none other than Danny Elfman to do the score. Elfman’s signature score is present throughout this movie and it seems fitting that his cartoonish and over-the-top orchestral sounds would be perfect for a comic book-like movie. There have been many musical compositions for the Dark knight, but Danny Elfman’s score is possibly the most iconic for the franchise.
While other well-known comic book movies would improve more than what this movie has started. The 1989 Tim Burton version of Batman still isn’t without its moments of fun and action-packed adventure. Sure there are a couple of problems with the movie including some restraint from Micheal Keaton playing the Dark Knight and unnecessary love interest, but when the movie gets it right, the problems mentioned before can be forgiven from time to time. This is a good but not great movie that I would still recommend to check out. Many more comic book movies would come along with even bigger and better ideas but we will most likely never forget that Batman was one of the first ones that started it all.
(Final Grade: B)