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Rating: 3.5 out of 5
He watches from high above in the skyscrapers of Gotham City? A figure stands in the shadows that have become his friend. The city is ripe with suffering, fear, and crime. A scream in the distance is heard. Illuminating in the dark sky, next to the moon, a symbol shines brightly. The symbol sends a warning to all crime in the city that corruption and villainy will not be tolerated. That someone fights for the good of the city. As the symbol illuminates in the sky, the figure spreads his cloak as they are wings. He jumps from the skyscraper into action to defend the city he loves. Who is this man? His name is Batman.
Before Tim Burton’s 1989 “Batman,” Batman has been portrayed as a cartoony character. In 1966, Adam West donned the mask in Batman: The Movie. Batman: The Movie showed the effects of “Pow” and “Kaboom,” along with having almost every known Batman villain at the time. The movie was bright, colorful, campy, and way over the top. This was followed by a TV series from 1966-1968 that continued to star many of the characters in the movies. In 1986, Batman took a different turn and look from comic book writer Frank Miller and his release of a new series called The Dark Knight Returns. In the series, a 55-year old Batman comes out of retirement once again to fight crime. The comic book reinvigorated the character while also seeing a resurgence in the character’s popularity. Batman was portrayed in a way opposite of the dark, troubled soul he was known to be.
Director Tim Burton capitalized on the new version of the Caped Crusader. He brought his idea of Batman to the big screen. Burton’s version of the Batman has a far darker tone than the older Batman. Burton presents this darkness and tone with Gotham City. Gotham doesn’t look like a happy place to live in. It is the complete opposite of Metropolis and Superman. Burton adds the effect of a sky that never seems to see the sun. A sheet of grey skies always seems to happen. Burton lets the viewer know that Batman works in the darkness, and everything seems to happen at night. The city is dirty and rotten. Crime rules all. The city is ruled entirely by crime lord, Carl Grissom, and his second in command, Jack Napier. The police are ruled by Grissom and the other mob bosses.
Burton introduces his story of Batman with a family walking through the streets of Gotham. They try not to look like a tourist but clearly they are. They make a turn down an alleyway. One of the men asks for money when they are suddenly held up for their money and jewelry. As the robbers count their money, they discuss the rumors of Batman. Burton does a great job with his introduction of Batman. As the robbers speak, Batman descends slowly in the background. The camera goes back to the robbers when the robbers continue to talk. They look up when Batman descends down on them with his wings spread. Batman gets shot a couple of times. He gets up and throws a Bat-A-Rang at one of the robbers. Before he throws one robber off the roof, the robber asks who he is, and he responds with, “I’m Batman.”
Burton’s story continues and takes a turn when Batman throws Jake Napier in the toxic waste. The story shifts when Joker gets his plastic surgery and officially becomes the Joker. This is where Batman becomes the problem of the story rather than the solution. Burton should’ve changed the name of this movie to “A Smile: The Rise and Fall of the Joker.” Jack Nicholson as the Joker stole the show and became an icon rather than Batman himself. Damn Joker, always upstaging the hero. Throughout the whole movie, the focus seemed to be more on the Joker rather than Batman. Even though Batman has a presence, Burton seemed to focus more on the Joker, and it shows. Batman seemed like the unfunny one and portrayed as someone who was a party pooper. The Joker was the life of the movie, and you almost wanted to root for him than against him. The Joker was fun and entertaining while having a significant presence. When he had dinner with Vicki Vale, he burst through the doors twirling his cane with a smile. His men proceeded to destroy the paintings while almost putting red and green paint over everything. They even had a boom box that played music for them to get in the mode. In another scene, the Joker throws a parade with balloons as his men threw money out. Even though The Joker was trying to kill everyone in the city, he just took over the scene and was the focus.
Halfway through the movie, we actually learn more about Batman as Vicki Vale follows Bruce around. Out of the two-hour film, the movie spends maybe a good five minutes telling you about Bruce Wayne’s life. This is presented by articles that Vicki Vale finds. How Bruce’s parents were murdered by an assailant, and that’s why Bruce leaves roses at the spot they died. We see more of their murder from flashbacks that Bruce has of that night. Overall, it was like, “Okay, here is Bruce’s story and back to the Joker and his crazy ways.”
The gadgets must be talked about. First, the Batcave looked like something out of a comic. It is a gloomy place deep somewhere. It the Batcomputer and a turntable car platform. What makes the Batcave so great is that Bruce has actual bats in cages just hanging out along with other bats just flying around. It definitely adds more of an appeal to the cave, rather than having bats flying all around. The Batsuit looks fearsome as ever. It’s plain with the bat symbol in yellow, yet it’s not too outrages. When the wings open up, it is actually a fearsome sight to behold. Batman has many gadgets that make an appearance in this film. The first is the Batmobile. It’s long, low, and sleek with a giant afterburner in the back along with two machine guns, grappling hook, and a shield made of armor panels. Then there is the Batwing that creates the iconic appearance. As Batman takes the deadly balloons into space, the Batwing flies into the sky. It hovers over the moon, making the bat symbol before diving back to earth.
Once again, Jack Nicholson stole the show as the Joker. His impact is felt throughout the whole movie as you want to see more and more of him. Before his transformation, Nicholson played Jack Napier as a cool but sadistic mobster. He liked the finer things in life but spoke calmly. He was just cool. When Napier changed into the Joker, Nicholson brought more of his A-game and acting abilities, completely flipping to the opposite extreme. He was loud, funny, always laughing, and having a grand time while causing chaos. Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman was a good choice. Keaton’s version of Bruce Wayne was pretty boring. His acting was on point by showing that Bruce had issues, even if you didn’t know what they were. He was uninspiring as Bruce Wayne and a little monotone. Maybe this has to do with losing his parents at a young age. Keaton plays the character as someone who has no friends but is expert enough to put on a mask in front of society and be just charming and engaging enough to get by. Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale was okay. Even though she was a photographer to cover the crime wave, she became more of a damsel in distress rather than covering the news. Basinger’s performance made you think she was a true damsel in distress. Throughout the whole movie, either she is caught and starts screaming or passing out.
“Batman” is a great action movie with a story that doesn’t resemble the character of Batman at all. Burton provides an atmosphere for the Cape Crusader. He presents his version with a darker tone than previous years before. Yet, he misses the mark with the story. Rather than learning and focusing more on Batman, we end up with the Joker stealing the show. If you like superhero movies, this is one that you can watch. It is the opposite of Superman but will take you on a ride with some confusion but definitely a smile.
