Batman (1989) Review

 

        A lot of people don’t know this about the caped crusader, but Batman (1989) wasn’t the first time that he appeared on film. It was 20 years ago at that time when the film Batman the Movie was released which was based on the 60s “Batman” show. The show is responsible to giving the dark knight his place in pop culture. Tim Burton’s film is the opposite of the campy approach to the detective. More so that it follows the comic book’s dark approach to show the audience how Batman is supposed to be represented. 

1. The Caped Crusader

        Before Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Will Arnett, and Kevin Conroy, it was widely considered that Michael Keaton was the definitive Batman on screen. To really be the protagonist, there must be a stark difference in terms of identity. As Bruce Wayne, he is mysterious but maintains the affluent attitude such as when he hosts a gala in his manor. What I like is that he dates Vicki Vale, he tries to tell her about his secret. 

        Additionally, when Bruce gets word from his butler Alfred that Commissioner Gordon is leaving the gala, he leaves Vicki and her friend Knox. We see how Bruce tries to justify leaving. It’s the moments that we see Vale really start to question what Bruce’s deal is. It develops further that she tries to connect the dots between the vigilante and Wayne. 

        When Keaton is Batman, the film shines. He is the first actor to really try to differentiate his voice to be intimidating. This method was proposed by Keaton because he was concerned about Bruce’s identity in the context of the movie. And it works, his voice is just a lower octave which is intimidating when he scares the muggers in the start of the film. Eventually, this method of lowering or changing the voice would be followed by other actors including Kevin Conroy and Christian Bale. 

        Now the suit presents a challenge to Keaton. If you search his costume, you can see that neck on the cowl is very set. He can’t move his neck, so he is moving like a tank in most scenes. I guess to make up for it, Keaton probably makes his appearance more other worldly. Like, there’s an emphasis on having light shine behind Batman to make him look like a shadow, even brief moments where he subtly turns makes him more of an unearthly hero.  

        One last thing, is that I want to focus on the actual city he's guarding. At a glance, it looks industrial since it's always shot with a gray look or just when it's night. I feel that both elements personify the hero. Like, it looks old and it has cars that match at least the time it was shot in, which is sort of like it doesn't belong in real life. What's obvious is that it was shot on a set. That's why there's an intimate feel when we have moments on the streets. 

2. Duel of the Freaks

        Jack Nicholson was just having a good time as the Joker. His real name is Jack Napier, who works alongside a gang who practically controls Gotham City. Before he was dunked with the toxic chemicals by Batman, Nicholson played the gangster completely straight. Such as given his boss an idea for blowing up a factory that they used as cover. 

        When he is The Joker, he is hamming it up. It’s not so much where he just overacts, or his comedy is just tasteless. He’s just a clown gone mad and he wants payback for what Batman has done to him. Now obviously, the two characters are completely opposite of each other. What is interesting is that they both grow fond of the photographer Vicki. Bruce can’t muster the courage to tell her that he is Batman. Although, rescues her when he is in the suit. 

        Meanwhile, Joker is in full persona of the madman. Dresses in a purple suit and wears a flesh color makeup to cover his permanent white face. He tells her what he really wants, to have his face on a one-dollar bill of all things. Joker is full of hokum since he is jealous of Batman and he wants to rub him out. We do sort of get an idea of what he really wants. Which is to have Vale follow him and be his photographer to document his crimes, since he likes a photograph she took of an atrocity. 

        Now, when Batman and Joker meet is like a natural progression. First, it’s Batman against Jack Napier, then Joker and Bruce. With everything culminating at the Gotham cathedral when Batman goes to rescue Vicki from Joker. It’s even shown that before these two had their identities change, we see Jack killing Bruce’s parents. Which makes the confrontation personal than what it is. 

3. Why the Emblem Looks Odd

        I just want to get this part out of the way since years ago, looking at Batman’s insignia in the film was weird for me. We all know what it looks like, but when seeing the film, it looks off. Especially since the middle tail is three pronged instead of it just being one like how the logo is. Well, the reason is that the logo is trademarked by DC Comics when Tim Burton was filming. Warner Bros. didn’t own the comic publisher. Only when filming the movie was almost complete that the corporate side of Warner bought DC Comics. So they shoot other scenes like the bat signal to have the right logo. 

        It explains why the logo looks weird on the bat suit. Just the confusion of looking at the symbol on the poster and looking at the suit vexed me as to why the design was just off. More so that one of the producers of the film Jon Peters noted that the logo looks like a mouth. Now I can never look at the logo again, as it continually says “Ahh” in front of me. 

4. Legacy

        The film was a massive success. It was part of what is considered the best summer release slate in film. That season in ’89 included other films like Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, Dead Poets Society, Ghostbusters 2, and this one to name a few. What ultimately proved to the studios is that having an already known movie property release on that specific season means that the audience will go in droves. 

        Batman '89 is also responsible for establishing a classic animated gem Batman: The Animated Series. Some parts of the film were borrowed for the show, like the design of the Batmobile, Batplane, Joker’s identity, and Batman’s iconic theme which plays when the show is on. It heavily mirrored the look of Gotham City which has an art deco look to it in the film. Additionally, establish a connected animated universe of DC characters.  

        Unfortunately, the film series mirrored the Superman film series. After the sequel Batman Returns, which was more in tuned with Tim Burton’s look, Warner Bros. boot him off the third movie and brought in Joel Schumacher. The third and fourth film looked different from Burton’s duology of Batman films. It could be intentional perhaps the studio wanted to show a brighter Batman that evoked the campy series. All that went to dust with Batman & Robin, which is considered one of the worst films ever made and the worst Batman movie. 

5. Overall 

        This movie might be difficult to look at now. Not that it’s bad but given how Christopher Nolan changed how Batman is portrayed in his trilogy. I feel that the Batman purists will enjoy it but be weirded out as to why Prince’s songs are in the film. Regardless, it’s an important superhero film based on how it was marketed and how much impact it had. Setting a groundwork for the superhero genre flourishing in the summer. 

        Batman (1989) gets a four out of five.