Rating: 
Summary: Batman- a classic piece of filmmaking
Review: After a long last, another Batman film was created after the 1966 version. It was worth the wait! Michael Keaton is the best Batman, Kim Basigner isn't bad as reporter Vicki Vale, and Jack Nicholson is a definite showstopper as the psychotic, scene-stealing, hilarious villain as the Joker. Tim Burton does an excellent direction job, the script is very witty and good, and Anton Furst's production design is dark, vivid, and also won an Oscar. Danny Elfman's score is a classic. Possibly the best Batman film, Batman combines humor with seriousness and Burton's distinct visual style. Better than the eye candy, special effects driven, colorful comic book adventures Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, in which one is good and the other isn't that good. Also possibly better than the dark, dazzling, malevolent Batman Returns. Unlike the latest two Batman outings, Batman and Batman Returns rely on darkness, a great production design, Burton's direction, great makeup and perfomances, and cleverness. The other Batman films rely on eye candy, special effects, okay peformances, okay scripts with some funny lines, and comic book type adventures. They are different yet both good in different ways. Overall, a blockbuster and very much worth buying or renting. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Gets old on repeat viewings
Review: The Prince music is pretty good and Jack Nicholson is having fun and Michael Keaton was a pleasant surprise, but mostly this movie is a by-the-numbers action movie with a bunch of exposition leading to a fight sequence. Of course, this is still a Tim Burton movie and it is beautiful for that and there are some great scenes that are worth repeat viewings. However, it doesn't lend itself well to the plotline or lack thereof. Two major flaws in the movie are the lack of fight choreography (yes, I know most fights aren't staged beautifully but this is a cartoon and I want real fight sequences) which looks even more pathetic after a decade of the Hong Kong Renaissance and the subscription to the Frank Miller school of Batman writing. It works in the comics but on screen Burton isn't quite up to task and he makes it into a silly cartoon that wants to be dark (or a dark movie that wants to be a silly cartoon) and it falls short of being gripping or interesting in that 80s comic book fashion. Overall, a good movie to see once and maybe twice, but probably not a movie to buy. Still it's better than those awful sequels.
Rating: 
Summary: Well done despite many flaws
Review: Well, this movie is overall an intense film experience despite a few problems. The main problem of this film is the plot and story. It's basically non-existant. The film pretty much sets up the origin of the Joker and he kills people until Batman stops him in the end. No plot twists, nothing. Another problem with this film is the lack of Batman scenes. Other than the opening sequence, which is done only to introduce Batman, the only time we see Batman is when he needs to stop the Joker. This film could be better if they simply showed more time in the batcave, with either Bruce training or doing detective work. Also, they could have gone for a little more action in the hand to hand deptartment. But, nevertheless, this film continues to be a dark spectacle, largely due to Burton's vision. He creates a shadowy, gothic world where criminals seem to be of the most vicius and evil type. Paticularly the Joker character, who the film focused on despite the title. Nicholson's portarayl of the Joker is right on target--both frightening and funny at the same time. Keaton's Batman, despite the obvious physcial problems, was also a very intriguing character we never got to learn about. His Bruce Wayne dark and tormented, sitting in the shadows, reflecting on his past. His Batman brutually intense, as if expressing himself violently was the only release from his pain. But what really makes this film for me, is that when they do show the Batman, he looks dead on. Almost at one with the shadows, dark, brooding, and mysterious. You almost never see those eyes, they are covered in shadow the whole time. The black body armor captures the feel of what a "dark knight" is. Despite an actor who's physical build isn't one with the character, they gave us a molded body suit which captures Batman's physical presence better than any muscular actor wearing spandex could. The soundtrack is also dead on, perfectly complementing the dark nature of both Batman and the city. Sensitive and also, triumphant. The only thing lacking from the Batman character was the forceful nature of him. He inists where as this Batman seems to be doing this out of obligation and is almost hesistant in some cases. Batman does what he does because he WANTS to. He takes joy in justice.
Rating:
Summary: Good MOvie
Review: The Only reason i'm writing this review is to diagree with Quintin Xavier this is not an adult movie it's a teenage & kids movie sure they won't get the part about his parents dying until thier older but why would WB make a kids cartoon & comics into a movie.
Rating:
Summary: What a change
Review: The dark knight Batman is so much better than the original batman series. The dark knight gives Batman a new look, a scary and fearful look. This movie is great. Throughout the entire movie there is no sunshine; to compliment the dark knight image. Batman is an action-drama and worlds apart from the original Adam West Batman image.
Rating:
Summary: Still the best Batman
Review: More than 10 years after it's release, Batman is still the best in the series and arguably the best super hero film out there. To start with, Tim Burton does an excellent job of creating a dark and intresting Gothem City and the whole film's attitude is alot darker than any previous incarnation of Batman. Keaton, does a suprisingly good job as Batman and plays him much like a split personality. But even Keaton is slightly over-shadowed by Jack Nicholson as the Joker. It's one of his best performances and really gets into the role. Batman is a dark and interesting film and shouldn't be missed.
Rating: 
Summary: Wasn't this supposed to be about Batman?
Review: The title said Batman, but Batman is hardly explored in this movie, all the screen time goes to the Joker. I can't stand this movie anymore. It was a let down.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Brilliance
Review: Before this movie was made in 1989, I had only seen Batman as nothing more than a peppy, corny superhero out to save the world from the likes of four hideous villains in the time span of a half-hour. But When "Batman" was introduced that year, my perception changed. Batman wasn't only trying to save the world, he was trying to save himself. The world made him a pained and meloncholy crusader. He was a lost soul, drenched in his own crushed dreams. "Batman" introduced a new world of reality. The super hero was just as troubled as the rest of society, yet he was the one who felt compelled to save everybody, and perhaps save himself while doing it. This is a very adult story. I wouldn't recomend this to children because the themes are so strong and tragic. It is a very adult movie. The villain isn't out for world domination, as in the comics, but he kills others for the sake of killing, as in reality. The villian is a serial killer. These aren't light issues usually put into kid movies. This movie is powerful and tragic. Scenes will move you to tears as he fights with the inner demons as well as the outer demons. The best Batman movie and the best Tim Burton movie. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Very influential film deserves better DVD treatment
Review: BATMAN is one of the most influential films in recent years. Not only did it bring back the comic superhero genre into film, but it turned the genre upside down. No longer do superheros have to be so darned happy all the time in bright colorful costumes with amazing super powers like Superman, who fight crime just because it's the nice thing to do. Since then, superheros on the screen are motivated by revenge and dress darker to blend more into their surroundings (The Crow, Blade, Punisher). With BATMAN, the story is more than just Batman stopping the Joker. You get a story of how both their lives got twisted by each other and how it motivates their hatred. The look of the film brought back the brooding art-deco look first seen in METROPOLIS in the 1920s and revisited in BLADE RUNNER in the early 1980s. Since then we've seen it used effectively in THE CROW and DARK CITY. The choice to use Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman was an inspired one. Instead of acting like Mr. Mom like we were afraid of, he added a dark psychopathic edge to the Caped Crusader erasing our memories of the campy TV show version. Neither Val Kilmer or George Clooney have been able to leave their mark on the character like Keaton has. And of course you get Jack Nicholson and Jack Palance having a great time playing the bad guys! The credit for most of this magic belongs to the imaginative director Tim Burton, who also leaves his mark on any film he touches. Rather than just stick to the deadly serious vision that Frank Miller created in his DARK KNIGHT graphic novels, he adds his warped comic sensibilities. With them, he doesn't mock the Batman mythos, but adds an uneasiness to it. One minute the Joker is murdering gangsters in a meeting and the next he's dancing to Prince music while destroying fine art. You don't know what to expect next! I also should mention that it has yet another terrific soundtrack by Danny Elfman, who also changed the sound of film music. Instead of yet another John Williams-sounding orchestra, he also contributes a dark comic sound to his Wagnerian soundtrack. I only wish the DVD version had some extras. Knowing what a terrific visionary Tim Burton is, I'm sure there's a lot of great sketches he and his staff did that I'd love to see. I'd also love to hear his commentary to find out what he was thinking while he filmed it. It was a big budget movie back in the late 90s, so there has to be a lot of behind-the-scenes bonuses around somewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Best Batman yet
Review: The 'Batman' movie woke me up to the talent of Tim Burton - I'd (unfairly) dismissed 'Beetlejuice' as a cheesy horror-comedy, but when this film came along I really started paying attention and I've since become a huge fan (though 'Batman' was recently surpassed for me by 'Sleepy Hollow'). Burton has created a dark and vivid version of Gotham City, with soaring gothic churches and dark, foreboding backstreets. Keaton serves as a fine Batman, but he's better in his guise as Bruce Wayne. And Jack Nicholson is a wonderfully malevolent villain, though I prefer my Jokers a little leaner (see Cesar Romero in the original whakkk-bammm-thwappp Batman movie). The story centres on the Batman-Joker dynamic explored in so many Batman comics, and the retelling of the Joker's origin is (to my mind) very similar to Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's excellent graphic novel 'The Killing Joke'. The best of the Batman movies, by far.
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