Batman

Rating:
Summary: Batman (1989)
Review: Director: Tim Burton
Cast: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Palance.
Running Time: 130 minutes.
Rated PG-13 for violence and language.

Based on the long-time DC comics hero and 1960s television series, "Batman" is a screen triumph with plenty of action, fine performances, and an upbeat soundtrack. Michael Keaton stars as the extremely wealthy Bruce Wayne, who is secretly Gotham City's caped crusader who beats up all the bad guys and saves the day. When The Joker (played marvelously by the one-and-only Nicholson) attempts to take over the city using his demonic ways, Batman is forced to take action against this most unusual of villians.

While "Batman" is a standard super-hero action flick, director Tim Burton's dark portrayal of the Dark Knight is right on, shadowing Keaton and drawing a much more personalized characterization in the lead. The incorporation of Basinger as the love interest does not complicate the plot, for it only enhances our understanding of Wayne and the personal troubles that accompanies the job of saving a city time after time. Much more melodramatic than expected, "Batman" is a deep, devilish of a good time that embodies a true good versus evil theme. One of the better of its kind.

Rating:
Summary: Batman
Review: This about a guy who's parnet's were shot down in the streets. The guy now wasnt revenge, and kills crimanal's as Batman. This is a cool film. I didn't likle the old geeky Batman comics, but that one graphic novel was cool. I liked this Batman film the best because there's no annyoing stuip Robin. Fun film to wach.

Rating:
Summary: 5 stars for the movie 2 stars for the dvd
Review: not much i can say about this movie that fans of the movie dont already know!what i can say is this movie needs better dvd treatment and almost every one can agree with me on that,2disk special edition anyone?!

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely a stunning achievement!
Review: Oh all the great memories of the early I have when I was watching the first and arguably the best entry in the Batman movie series! I just can't help but still love every moment of this movie and I still watch it countless times even after 15 years since first seeing it. This 1989 rendition of the legendary D.C. comic book character Batman is a complete universe away from let's say the 1967 movie starring Adam West which isn't too bad actually. With the help of Tim Burton and a really excellent plot, "Batman" is a candidate for the best Batman movie ever made. The other one is it's sequel "Batman Returns" which is just about as good but is a lot colder and more dramatic.

The saga begins in the desolate dark dank streets of Gotham City. A massive crime wave has been sweeping across Gotham, putting the citizens' safety in jeopardy, straining the police forces and endangering the social stability of Gotham City. Bruce Wayne lives in a mansion outside of Gotham and was raised by Alfred Pennyworth after his parents were murdered when he was a child. Bruce Wayne has been traumatized by this since he witnessed their demise at the hands of vicious robbers. A crazed criminal mastermind named Jack Napier goes on a rampage and during a fight with Batman, Napier falls into a vast chemical tank which severely disfigures him. A while goes by and Napier returns demented and driven mad by the effects of the chemicals and goes by the name "The Joker" and becomes a vicious murderer and criminal mastermind. Now as Goth City is in danger from The Joker, Bruce Wayne dones on his "Dark Knight" outfit and fights crime all over Gotham City and now has to stop The Joker before he and his criminal organization enslave Gotham to his will. Meanwhile, a news reporter named Vicki Vale has been having a major crush on Batman unaware that it is actually Bruce Wayne.

Tim Burton was the most perfect director for not only this movie but for the general Batman movie franchise. His movies showcase an unbelievably imaginary world with very eccentric, and even Gothic overtones and "Batman" was meant to be directed by Burton and it was and the final result is likely one of his greatest achievements of his entire career although a lot of his other films do offer competition in that title. Much of the cast too were made for this movie. Although the main hero character is played by Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson steals the spotlight as he plays the murderous The Joker. His personality and dangerous character are brought to life by Nicholson and that classic malicious smile was dead on perfect! Nicholson's portrayal as The Joker was phenomenal and the result is arguably the best batman villain of all time.

I still to this day love this movie not only for it's action but also for it's combination of comedic humor in some areas but also how it blends some of those humor moments into the otherwise heavily dark and dramatic undertones of the movie. The music by Danny Elfman is amazing and the result is a really fantastic score. I also enjoy some of the classics by Prince who recorded a really great soundtrack for this movie. Tim Burton's directing is absolutely amazing and how he puts his strange and often eccentric Gothic undertone visuals is just mind-boggling. The sequel "Batman Returns" also benefits from the same styles of this movie. Looking back on it now, I find it hard to believe that this film franchise started out so powerful and riveting and just marched right down to the pits of ridicule with Joel Schumacher who ruined it with the fourth Batmam movie. The third one "Forever" was a lot of fun and had a lot of good moments but it lacked the maturity of the first two.

The DVD edition however is highly deficient. While it's understandable that the DVD was released way back in 1997 when this format was brand new, seven years later, it has never gotten newer edition and this DVD is desperately asking for an updated format on almost all fronts. The audio quality is poor, and there are no extras that are worth merit and this is disappointing as this movie is really amazing. Another thing that could use some cleaning up is the picture quality. While generally good for what it is, The current edition is very deficient and almost worthless because there's so much in this movie that could use some tweaking. if they can get themselves out of their collapsing chairs, then a "Special Edition" of this movie as well as "Batman Returns" and "Batman Forever" would do major wonders for these films. The fourth film "Batman and Robin" can be left to drift into the history books because even a "Special Edition" could not salvage that disaster. The "Batman Legacy" gift set is also disappointing because it just simply boxes the bare-bone old editions of the movies together with nothing new and this is unfortunate. They should look to what they did with "Aliens" and make a box set like the Quadrilogy.

Until the time comes when the "Special Editons" of the batman movies come out, this movie as well as the next two are worth renting millions of times over and the first two are among the greatest comic book movies ever made even to this day.

Rating:
Summary: THERE SHOULD BE MORE, THATS ALL
Review: This is a fantastic movie, believe me. The one star is because there should be more included. For cryin' out loud, when this movie came out in 1989, there was a media hype that was out of this world. Where is all the behind the scenes specials? Trailers? Posters? Interviews? Commentary?!?! DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR? or whatever its called got a friggin' comentary but not this classic piece of movie making. Whats the deal with that? MOVIE: 10. HOW IS WAS PACKAGED FOR DVD: 0

Rating:
Summary: The finest comic book adaptation of all time.
Review: A phenominal hit when it was released in 1989, the jagged darkness of "Batman" has been perfectly realized by director Tim Burton. Michael Keaton's brooding portrayal of the Caped Crusader seems just right, and Jack Nicholson nearly steals the show as the horrific Joker. Kim Basinger plays Bruce Wayne's love interest; Billy Dee Williams and Jack Palance play smaller parts.
The film is also a technical triumph. The Oscar-winning production design is superb, and Danny Elfman's score brilliantly captures the eerieness of Gotham City. As good as "Blade" and "X-Men" were, they cannot match this dark--but genius--interpretation of a comic character.

Rating:
Summary: Classic film; needs update...
Review: Enough is enough. It's been seven years since Batman came out on DVD. Consumers will get over the fact that they have to buy the same movie twice. Just re-release it as a two-disc special edition already. Quit screwing around, Warner Bros.

Twentieth Century Fox updated their Alien series with a little soemthing entitled "the Alien Quadrilogy," and Batman is still left with this bare bones release. For shame.

Rating:
Summary: The Standard
Review: "Batman" set the standard for all comic-to-screen heroes that came after it. It's a good movie that shows you just how twisted and complex "Batman" really is. He's not played out as some good guy without a care in the world, he's portrayed as a vengeful, scared and somewhat chemically-imbalanced human being who just happens to be loaded and has a collection of "wonderful toys." In other words, Keaton plays the "Dark Knight" as human as a guy in a batsuit can be. Although everyone talks about Nicholson, Keaton is the real treat here because he pulls off a character that no one really thought he could portray.

Don't get me wrong, Nicholson is wickedly funny as our favorite villain, "Joker." He's a total jerk with a screw loose(not unlike our hero) who's hellbent on making everyone "happy." He is the glue that keeps this story together. He's also the reason most folks who don't read comics went to the theater to check this movie out.

The special effects are excellent for the time period, and the supporting cast is good as well. Kim Basinger is nice to look at, but she is probably the least convincing character in this film. As other reviewers stated, the story is a little uneven, but it's made up for with the brilliant belltower climax.

In closing, "Batman" is what all superhero flicks should be: 1) True to the original concept of the characters(Manipulating 'Penguin' in the second flick was immoral) 2) Has an interesting storyline(unlike every sequel) 3) Good special effects that don't come off too cheesy(ref. every sequel) 4) A real cast that's actually interested in the story(no George Clooney) 5) And completely void of multiple arch-villains(Why did every movie after this one include two baddies versus "Batman" anyway?)

Enjoy this flick, and if you like it, you'll probably enjoy "Daredevil" and the "Blade" flicks as well. They are just as dark and brooding.

Rating:
Summary: Is there a 6-foot bat in Gotham City?
Review: I can still remember as a 4 year-old being completely obsessed with Batman character. And I loved the movie. To put it simply, Batman was my hero. Of course this isn't the case anymore but I still think that "Batman" is a great film. One of the most striking things about "Batman" is the set design by Anton Furst, which is very Gothic and bleak looking (during the outdoor scenes there is no sun whatsoever). The Gotham City that looked like any other in the TV series is transformed into dark, slimy crime pit in which good is basically nonexistent. Tim Burton gives the film some good direction, keeping things tight and interesting. He executed the action scenes nicely as well. Aside from the impressive set design and direction, the movie is also well acted. Michael Keaton played the role of Batman very well, giving Batman a powerful presence and a sort of everyman personality (which is even a bit off-the-wall) when he's Bruce Wayne. Jack Nicholson, meanwhile, was excellent as the Joker. He hams things up a lot, which makes sense since the character of Joker is supposed to be a complete, smart-mouthed maniac. I did notice a few problems with this movie though. The story, for the most part, focuses too much on the Joker, which is silly. I mean, isn't the movie called "Batman"? The plot is bit shallow as well, which probably explains why I found it a bit difficult to pin point exactly the Joker wants to do with Gotham City. The love story was bit weak as well. While Kim Basinger did good job as Vicki Vale, she and Keaton didn't develop a lot of chemistry to make their pairing believable. Still, if you can ignore these problems, "Batman" stands as pretty good comic book adaption. If like superhero films, then check this out.

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: When this movie was released in 1989 it was the most successful movie that year and rightly so. Everything about it is truly fantastic. Tim Burton's vision of the film remains true to the original DC comics, he keeps it realistic by making Gotham city dark and brooding and this in my opinion is still his best film to date.
When Michael Keaton was chosen to portray Batman it did cause a lot of concearn as the audience didn't think he would be able to pull it off. But Michael Keaton is just superb in the title role he captures the realism of Bruce Wayne and Batman perfectly and he is still the best actor to play batman to date. Val kilmer and George Clooney aren't a patch on Keaton. Jack Nicholson is also fantastic as the Joker his villainy and hillarious wickedness makes every scene that he is in a joy to watch, yet again he proves just how good an actor he is. Joker is the best villain in the series still because Schwarzenegger as Mr freeze is just embarassing.
Kim Basinger is the love interest of Batman and she does well in the role, Michael Gough is also very good as Alfred.
The art direction of the movie won an oscar and it deserved it because of the vision of Gotham city well done Anto Furst. Danny Elfman's music score is so good because it suits the film remarkably well. The score is one of the best ever believe me i have the CD and i listen to it practicly every week!
This film stands out still as the best one in the series. This film is a masterpiece in my opinion worth watching just for Keaton and Nicholsons performance alone. I have only given the DVD 4 stars becuse there is no special features except production notes. If i were you i would wait for the special edition version next year but if you still want to buy this version be my guest you won't be dissapointed with the film I gurantee it!..