“I have given a name to my pain, and it is Batman.”
Remember how everyone cheered when Batman Begins was first announced? A Batman movie from the director of Memento, with Patrick Bateman as the Dark Knight? Brilliant, where can I get my ticket? And yet I can't help but wonder what it was like for audiences in 1989 when Batman came out. Imagine it, a new Batman movie from the director of Beetlejuice starring, well, Beetlejuice as the Caped Crusader? That just sounds crazy and never should've worked. And yet it did, although maybe not perfectly.
I'll be the first to admit that – despite my fondness for them – both of Tim Burton's Batman films have their fair share of faults, starting with their treatment of the main character. Unusually for a superhero movie, Burton's film skips the hero's origin story altogether, relegating it to a single (slightly controversial) flashback sequence. Batman starts off with the hero already in costume and fighting crime. This isn't the story of how Bruce Wayne became Batman. This is the story of how Jack Napier became the Joker.
Michael Keaton might be playing the title character, but this is Jack Nicholson's film from beginning to end. Even when he is restrained (which is rarer sight than the Loch Ness Monster), Jack Nicholson is a magnetic screen presence. Physical appearance aside, Nicholson is perfect for the Joker and makes a three course meal out of the film. With Jack on the scene, Keaton is pushed into the sidelines. While I think he does well as Bruce Wayne, I never once buy Keaton as a one man crusade against crime. His Batman is just too limited by that costume to be an effective fighter.
Which brings me to one aspect where I feel the film falls short; the action. Burton is no action director and the film's action scene suffer as a result. What he might lack as an action director, Tim Burton makes up for with his visuals. Nolan grounds his films firmly in a believable reality. His films are basically Bond movies with superheroes. Burton's exist in a purely comic book world. His Gotham City is a decaying mess. It's Fritz Lang's Metropolis gone to rot, with cathedrals the size of skyscrapers. And it looks fantastic.
That said, I still can't escape the feeling that Burton was holding himself back with this film. Something that becomes even more obvious after Batman Returns came out.There are still some moments that are pure Burton: the scene of the Batmobile racing through a forest, while Elfman's score goes into overdrive, is probably the best example. But they are few and far between.
Perhaps the weakest part of the film is Bruce's relationship with Vicki Vale, one of the blandest love interests in cinema history; although, also one of the most stunning due to the fact she's played by Kim Basinger. Looks aside, I have no idea why anyone would fall for Vicki Vale. The Joker's goons have more personality than she does. Her entire role in this film is to look pretty and scream. The thing the annoys me most about Vicki Vale is that she's the genesis of this horrible trend in Batman movies (Nolan's included) of saddling the hero with one dimensional love interests. Let's face it, if Catwoman isn't in your film, don't bother giving Bruce Wayne a love interest.
Notes and Quotes
— Nicholson's already got the perfect Joker smile, I'm not sure why they even bothered giving him a fake smile.
— Making the Joker responsible for the death of Bruce Wayne's parents is a pointless addition. A silly attempt to make the conflict between hero and villain more personal.
— Michael Gough (Alfred) and Pat Hingle (Commissioner Gordon) are the only two actors to appear in all four Burton/Schumacher films.
— There is no real purpose for the Batwing to fly up to moon but it looks bloody good. Speaking of the Batwing, I'd take that back to the shop if I were you, Batman. Can't hit the Joker when he's standing in the open, and is taken down by one bullet.
— Danny Elfman gifts the film with a wonderful, rousing score, which has to be one of the most copied film scores of all time (often by Elfman himself).
Grissom: “Your life won't be worth spit!”
Joker: “I've been dead once already. It's very liberating. You should think of it as, uh... therapy.”
Alfred: “I have no wish to fill my few remaining years grieving for the loss of old friends. Or their sons.”
Vicki Vale: “You're insane!”
The Joker: “I thought I was a Pisces!”
The Joker: “Where does he get those wonderful toys?”
Batman: “I'm not going to kill you. I want you to do me a favor. I want you to tell all your friends about me.”
Nic: “What are you?”
Batman: “I'm Batman.”
Three out of four Prince soundtracks that I have chosen to ignore.
---
Mark Greig has been writing for Doux Reviews since 2011. More Mark Greig.
I am going to share with you something that is not popular; I prefer Tim Burtons first two Batmans to Nolans. I am sorry but that just how it is.
ReplyDeleteIt has its faults sure but they are more "real" then Nolans.
Me too..I think Nolan went too far from the comic book feel. Keaton was a much better Batman than he's given credit for..I used to have the Prince soundtrack. Also she's Vicki, not Vikki..I think you also misspelled Fritz Lang..
ReplyDeleteNice review and well expressed opinions.
Anna
I enjoyed the two Burton films (the first best), but I have trouble forgiving them for being responsible for the two that followed! :p
ReplyDeleteBut I still prefer Nolan's, probably because of Christian Bale / Bruce Wayne! Plus I prefer the grittier feel (and I never liked the Penguin)
What I remember (which could be wrong) is that there was a heavy media blitz to build up the movie, but it was mostly the bat-image poster and brief glimpses of the film. You couldn't escape from it, but it was more atmosphere than movie spoiler. YouTube has the original trailer... but they held off showing images of Nicholson as the Joker for a long time. Nicholson's salary was talked about more than Keaton's Batman (except for the hardcore Batman fanatics).
ReplyDeleteThe comparison you should be making is with the Superman films and/or the Adam West tv-series. Those bright, cheery films were in people's minds when they got hit by Burton's imagination.
Part of what made Gotham unique was the deliberately-off architecture. The movie has city hall, a church, a museum, and an industrial factory. But Burton mixed up how the buildings were used with how they were intended to be used.
Thanks, Anna. Fixed it now.
ReplyDeleteMany of the reactions from back in '89 can be summed up by the song "Adam West." It played a lot on the Dr. Demento show. It borrowed the tune of Top 40 song "Wild West," and featured an announcer asking (amongst other things) "Will Bat-fans care that Batman is also Mr. Mom?" When I finally saw the film, I got over the hoopla about the Keaton casting.
ReplyDeleteBatman had been campy, Adam West on TV. Superman was Christopher Reeve in bright cartoon colors and all noble intentions. Burton got the general populace over the "comic books are for kids" mindset. They could be darker and more grown-up. Now their movies and TV shows could be too.
Vikki (not Vale) in Texas
Here's the link to the song:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdVJWyoncdU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Vikki
I enjoyed this quite a bit. It was trip to the theater after I moved out of my parent's house, we took a trip from the dorms to go see it.
ReplyDeleteNicholson is far and away the best part of this movie as you say, Mark. And I did enjoy Keaton as batman far more than I expected, but he's just overshadowed by Nicholson chewing up that scenery.
Also agree on Vicki Vale, Catwoman she is not, and she is rather boring in this one.
A solid movie and one I don't regret paying to go see in the theater. It was quite the spectacle.