Batman

Screenplay By: Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren

Genre: Action/Crime/Fantasy/Thriller

Released: June 1989

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 126 minutes

Not since Batman the Movie, made in 1966, has the Dark Knight graced the silver screen, and Gotham City has never seen such bleakness. Director Tim Burton, famous for his twisted visions and dark interpretations, takes the helm to introduce Batman to a new generation of fans in his own eerie fashion.

Plot

After a shoot-out at a chemical plant between the police and a band of thugs working for a local organized crime ring, Jack Napier, having fallen into a vat of chemicals, is transformed into the Joker. Batman must race against time to thwart the Joker's efforts to maim and murder the citizens of Gotham City and ensure that the city's bicentennial celebration will be successful. All the while, Bruce Wayne struggles with his dual identities having met a woman, photographer Vicky Vale, with whom he shares a romantic connection. When the Joker develops a maniacal infatuation with Vale, Batman is forced to protect the girl and the city.

Characters & Setting

Bringing in the Joker to act as Batman's foe in the movie was a good move as he is probably the most infamous of the bat villains. Other classic Batman characters are also present, Bruce's trusty butler, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon and district attorney, Harvey Dent to name a few, though none shine as much as the Joker. Bat-obsessed Vale acts as Bruce's love interest in the film, but the relationship is luke warm and the association between them seems strategically placed for the sole purpose of selling the movie, or filling the need for more conflict.

Dark, dark, and more dark is all the can be said of the settings in this movie. Gotham is a cold and shadowy place, full of crime and greed and if there are good citizens in Gotham, the only ones you see are the rich and important - hardly a community an audience can connect with no matter how hard they strain. Wayne Manor is large and foreboding, not at all a place you can imagine a young Bruce growing up with his loving mother and father. No matter where a scene is set to take place, the effects are chilling, and not in the spine-tingling way.

Cinematography & Sound

Because of the dark settings of this movie, it is sometimes difficult to see the action amidst the shadows. Grand entrances are the movie's high points, but more often than not this film seems to be an exhibition of his many weapons and vehicles, as if the coolness factor of it all is more important than putting on a good show and telling a good story. Fractured are the scenes within the loose story line, and the movie's climax is just ridiculous and completely unbelievable. Batman can't take out his foe with an arsenal of missiles and machine guns, but the Joker can whip out an extended pistol and bring down the Batwing? Sorry, but no - we don't believe it.

Sound effects match up well with the bat action, but the movie's music dominates the scenes. As if to mask the lack of direction and movement in an already lame attempt at a story line, the music also seems to be one of the main selling points of the film. Prince and Danny Elfman give this movie much more character and color through music than Michael Keaton does through his acting.

Performance

The real title of this movie should be Batman the Action Soap Opera because most of the performances in this movie are bland at best, highly melodramatic and completely unnatural. Yes, Bruce is supposed to be a cool, calm and collected business man, but his stoic nature takes him out of the realm of human reality, and drawing the line between him and his alter-ego becomes a very difficult task. The only actor worth his snuff in this movie is Jack Nickelson because he's the only person who is portraying a character rather than acting out a part.

Final Thoughts

Perhaps in its prime this film was something to get excited about, but if you're looking for believability - look elsewhere because you won't find it in Tim Burton's Batman. Sure, it's a comic book movie and based in a fantasy world, but to grab an audience you have to show some realism, you have to show some emotion, otherwise you're just showing off and nowadays audiences can tell when they are being duped. We want a hero we can connect with, and as one of the only super heroes that is not a mutant or otherwise genetically altered, Batman's human side is his major selling point and it has, sadly, been removed from this film.