Batman (1989)
 |
| Warner Bros. |
I hate to crap all over my childhood but this was not the same Batman movie that I remembered from my childhood. I'm not saying its a "bad" movie, it's just different. I'm also reviewing it 23 years after it's release, so the modern Marvel and DC comic-book character movies may be clouding my judgment.
There really is a lot to enjoy about Tim Burton's take on Batman. The style of the movie is impressive with its hybrid of 1940's styled clothes, Gothic architecture, and dark and smokey alleys. Danny Elfman's music takes the same tone, by putting a modern spin on a classic-styled movie score. The look and sound of this movie was so influential that they even used it for the 1990's Batman cartoon.
Another great aspect of the movie is the casting. Jack Nicholson was an inspired casting move to portray the Joker because he naturally has a creepy demeanor, so adding clown make-up just puts it way over the top. Michael Keaton's Batman is the opposite of the Joker, as he's a brooding vigilante who prefers the dark. Even as a child, I always liked Bob the Goon (Joker's henchman), and I had his action figure, too. Alfred the Butler seems like less of a mentor to Bruce and more of a caretaker, as I laughed at him picking up after Bruce during a scene where he hosts a party at Wayne Manor.
The casting choices, however, lead into my complaints with the movie. Jack Nicholson gets top-billing for the movie and his character of the Joker is also portrayed as the movie's main character, yet we're supposed to be watching a Batman film. Perhaps the filmmakers assumed everyone knows who Batman is, so they wanted to spend more time creating an interesting villain. However its somewhat of a double-edged sword; the Joker is fun to watch and the reason why the film is so entertaining, yet at the same time Batman seems secondary. You could even make a solid case for an argument that Batman is the villain, since he's responsible for dropping Jack Nicholson's character, not once but twice! Maybe Batman's rubber suit is slippery and it wasn't his fault. At least when we do see Batman, especially his introduction, it does feel special. I sense Tim Burton is a fan of the classic Universal Monster movies, like Dracula, because he descends onto villains with his cape stretched out to make him more bat-like.
Similar to Tim Burton's Beetlejuice, which came out the year before, it's a unique blend of dark humor and dark visuals, which seemed to creep me out and make me laugh at the same time. Then the sprinkling of songs from Prince make for an interesting soundtrack for the nonsensical scenes with Nicholson's Joker. It may not be the perfect "Batman" film but it is well-crafted and unique.
I remember reading that they had to pay Nicholson a shitload of money for him to be in the film, and he had to have first billing (hence why his name is first on the poster) and probably explains why he has so much screen time
ReplyDeleteNot only did Nicholson get paid a load of money for this one, he got a percentage of the profits as well for Batman Returns, despite not being in it, such was the nature of the deal he made.
ReplyDeleteI love this movie, I gotta say, yes, Batman Begins is probably the more 'definitive' Batman movie, but Nicholson, Keaton, THAT Batmobile and the unique look of Gotham City make this a classic for me. I loved it as a five year old in 1989 and I still love it today.
I was 5 then too.
DeleteNice one. I remember being blown away by the hype for it, as a kid that age I had never experienced a movie that had been marketed this way before, the posters, the merchandise, it was wonderfully brilliant, plus I remember that Christmas asking Santa Claus for a load of merchandise. I wanted a Batmobile and it turned out that 'Santa' didn't have one so I had to make do with the Batwing instead. Best Christmas ever. :D
ReplyDeleteI still have it on one of my shelves. It's a little banged up and collecting dust, but I never had the heart to get rid of it.
I think Batman was the same as every other series of toys that I had. Few vehicles, even less bases/headquarters, but I had dozens of figures. I guess I had the important ones though- Ghostbusters firehouse and car, Turtles van, and a Spider-Man Daily Bugle/city set. The others I just used the couch. haha
Delete