Batman

Rating:
Summary: The Batman lives
Review: Back in 1988 when it was announced that Michael Keaton was to portray The Dark Knight in a feature film, everyone scoffed. He proved them wrong. Tim Burton's film about the unique comic book crimefighter became an instant classic.

Michael Keaton was a atypical choice to portray Bruce Wayne and his nighttime alter ego, but he brilliantly captured the essence of the troubled man with a very big secret. Jack Nicholson as the Joker is perfect. His comic book exploits are in full force here. Exuding insanity and charm, Nicholson delivers a memorable performance. Kim Basinger as Vicky Vale is the woman caught in the middle. Michael Gough as Bruce Wayne loyal butler Alfred is also worth noting as well.

Tim Burton and the late Anton Furst delved into the lore of Batman and created a visual masterpiece. The nightmarish world of Gotham City, The Batmobile and especially Batman's costume are given new life. Danny Elfman's rousing film score is among the all time greats, and adds to the mysterious atmosphere of the film. For those who didn't have the opportunity to see this on the big screen, you missed a real treat. It would have been nice if they had included the tantilizing trailers here, but I have a feeling a Special Edition will be coming in the future.

Rating:
Summary: "I just like the sound of it..."
Review: A good, if uneven film overall, on a sub-par DVD that Warner has had ample time to re-issue with some kind of reasonable special features. Here's hoping there's one in the works, but in the meantime, back to the movie itself.

Jack Nicholson is the real star here, regardless of the billing order - the Joker is a gleefully mean-spirited maniac and can't nobody do mean-spirited mania like Jack. The transformation scene and nearly all the dialogue with Michael Keaton's jut-jawed Batman is superb. Things drag a little between Bruce Wayne and Vicki Vale, played with an appalling lack of chemistry by Michael Keaton and Kim Basinger. Keaton, at least, appears to be trying - Basinger is more of an accessory than anything else. When all is said and done, however, everyone plays second fiddle to the dementedly cartoonish production of the Joker and his thugs tearing through town, but the menacing specter of Batman, imagined by Burton as a terrifying sort of Dracula-cum- James Bond figure gives him a run for his money. It's a lot of fun.

Rating:
Summary: ever dance with the devil by the pale moonlight?
Review: Batman the type of movie that leaves a lasting impact on its viewer,no matter what that viewer's taste may be.The vision of director Tim Burton is breath taking,to say the least.He creates a world,Gotham City in this case,that is like a retro-take on New York meets London,and truly amazes the audience with his vivid imagination.The movie's cast is also greatly assembled,and everyone plays their part well.The only casting complaint I have is with Kim Bassinger,who portrays the love interest of both Batman and the the villian,The Joker.She just isn't very convincing in her role,and is there simply for the fact that all super hero movies must have a love interest,or else the formula falls apart.Anyway,though it is a solidly entertaining movie,it does have a few flaws.First,the story:you really don't know what The Joker's master plan is untill the last half hour of the
film.Second,there is a particularly annoying scene,in which Batman targets The Joker with several machine guns and missles (on his batplane)and fires,while The Joker is standing still,arms spread and challenging Batman.Batman completely misses his target!Pathetic and stupid!Third,The Joker destroys the batplane with one bullet from a pistol!That is ridiculous!
And,just to make you think:Batman doesn't have any handguns,but why does he have guns on his plane?It makes no sense.Other than those minor issues,the movie is an incredible and memorable experience that leaves you wanting more.

Rating:
Summary: To the Batcave and Back!!!
Review: What an awesome film! Tim Burton is a film genius. He immerses you into this world of crime and mystery. The caricatures are wonderful. One of Warner Bros. best! I believe of the four films that were made this one is the best one. Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, along with Kim Basinger, highlight the awesome cast. Jack plays the joker perfectly, and Michael brings a dark mystique to Batman. If you are a fan of the popular comic see this film. If you prefer the TV series this film may not be so appealing. The sets are mavelous as well as the effects. It deserved every penny it made.

Rating:
Summary: The best comic book movie.
Review: Superman. Spider-man. X-Men. They're all good comic book films, but to me they pale in comparison to this 1989 classic. Micheal Keaton plays Batman/Bruce Wayne and pulls both roles off real well being a millionaire by day and a crimefighter by night. Jack Nicholson also pulls off a great role as the psychotic Joker. The writers did a very good job on the story. My only complaint is the DVD itself. There's not even a theatrical trailer. Maybe Warner Bros. will release a 2-disc special edition next year for the film's 15th anniversary, complete with a theatrical trailer, deleted scenes, and possibly a commentary. They should, considering all the 2-disc special editions they've been releasing lately. Anyway, I highly recommend this to anyone.

My favorite line from the movie:

Mugger: Don't kill me.
Batman: I'm no going to kill you. I want you to do me a favor. I want you to tell all your friends about me.
Mugger: What are you?
Batman: I'm Batman.

Rating:
Summary: The best of the series!
Review: Batman,directed by Tim Burton,is the best film in the Batman series.(although Batman Returns comes mighty close)The production design is fantastic,and the look of Burton's Gotham City is rather dark and menacing,creating the perfect environment for the Dark Knight to operate.(unlike the two Joel Schumacher films where Gotham looks too colorful,almost like a laser light show,and Batman looks a tad out of place,though I admit I do like those two films)The story is very entertaining,and the performances are very good,too.Michael Keaton is perfect as Bruce Wayne/Batman,with exactly the right mix of seriousness and sense of humor.Jack Nicholson as Jack Napier/The Joker is the best villain in the series.The extremely beautiful Kim Basinger was great as photographer,and Bruce/Batman's's love interest Vicki Vale as well.The rest of the cast did a fine job,too including Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon,Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent,Robert Wuhl as Knox,Jack Palance as Grissom,and Michael Gough as Alfred just to mention a few.Danny Elfman's musical score is excellent,and the songs by Prince are okay.Overall,Batman is a remarkable movie,and extremely entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Movie great pulls it to 2 stars
Review: listen, YES this is one of the greatest comic book movies ever made. It is one of my personal favorites across the board, but what is Warner Brothers thinking about not giving this DVD an upgrade to a special edition. Look at how many movies have been given this honor that have been flops. U.S. Marshalls for one. Knowing Tim Burton there has to be a ton of material waiting to be used to have hours of extra features. I would love to see even some new interviews with the cast reflecting back. PLEASE GIVE US SOMETHING THAT IS WORHTY OF THIS MOVIE!!!!

Rating:
Summary: A triumph for us comic book fans.
Review: I AM BATMAN.

Heh, just thought I'd say that in honor of that hilarious SNL Celebrity Jeopardy shtick. And how true that statement was... Michael Keaton is the best Batman of the films.

"Batman" is a triumph of production design and visual mastery. The storyline was a bit thin and the movie might as well have been called "The Joker" because of the screen time given to Jack Nicholson. However, the movie still works. Jack Nicholson is sensationally funny and evil as the Joker and Michael Keaton plays the double role of Bruce Wayne/Batman works out better than most people tend to think. He plays the character as a brooding neurotic which doesn't tell us much about the character, but it draws us in anyways. And of course, Michael Gough is perfect as Alfred. The only bad thing I can say about the movie is that Kim Basinger (as Vicki Vale, the reporter) and he didn't really have much of any chemistry together. It's negligible, given the Batman character.

Tim Burton was the perfect director for the film because of his "gothic wizardry," as said by another Amazon.com reviewer here. I really do believe that without Tim Burton the series went to crap. In fact, this movie captured the original comics better than the campy 60s television series did; this grittier vision of Gotham City is a lot like the Batman of old, which is probably why devoted comic book fans found it better. I personally like Tim Burton's style and the Batman animated series that followed it (before they resurrected it and made it crappy). Once again, Danny Elfman did the score and created an entirely new Batman theme that's been redone several times. In short, it's frikken awesome.

My favorite part in the movie is when the Joker and Batman are doing their final face-off and the Joker's getting his @$$ kicked. The Joker says, "You idiot! You made me," and talks about how Batman threw him into the acid. Batman then replies "You killed my parents. I made you, you made me first." AWESOME line.

"Batman Returns" (1992) worked out alright with Keaton and Burton back for more, but definitely not afterwards. The first "Batman" proved a lot to the movie fans of how Batman SHOULD be made. One of the reasons why that "Birds of Prey" show didn't last was because they didn't make Gotham City the gritty city that was portrayed in the films, plus the fact that the film itself connected well with the comics (and of course, the show always added some pop/rock song that's been overplayed on the radio and had no relevancy to the show. But that's another issue entirely). Simply put, this is the best gothic vision of our favorite caped crusader and all the clones/spin-offs afterwards will have nothing on it.

Rating:
Summary: A Modern Classic
Review: This film proved to the world that comic book films could be much more than action-packed carnage festivals. This film (and the first sequel "Batman Returns") have so much more to it than that. "Batman" is a gripping and very moving exploration of the psyche; it peers into the souls of not only the Dark Knight, but also those of the people whose lives he changes with his presence. The film is brilliantly acted by its perfectly-chosen cast, which includes Jack Nicholson (the Joker), Michael Keaton (the Batman), Kim Basinger (Vicki Vale), Micheal Gough (Alfred Pennyworth), and Robert Wuhl (Alexander Knox). Tim Burton makes perfect use of his wonderful directorial talents, Anton Furst designs a gothic, beautiful Gotham City, and Danny Elfman's classic musical score further help make this a unique, thought-provoking, and very powerful modern classic, a masterpiece of film noir and grand opera. "Batman Returns shares these wonderful qualities, but, sadly, Joel Schumacher's "Batman Forever" and "Batman and Robin" lose all of that depth and meaning, and become little more than standard mindless action. But, we'll always have Burton's dark vision of a haunted and brooding Batman.

Rating:
Summary: Promising Start to a Disappointing Series
Review: Extremely well cast, visually ambitious and tentatively plotted. Batman gets the ball rolling but barely scratches the surface of the tremendous possibilities inherent in the Batman character. Granted, there's only so much plot, character & dialogue you can fit into in a two hour action flick about a guy who dresses as a bat and assigns himself vigilante duty. Nicholson just about steals the show as Joker. Burton's trademark flair for surreal and dark visuals is in full effect. All in all, very satisfying.