Review of Batman (1989) by Tonto — 24 Jun 2021

This was the first big budget Hollywood production of a live-action Batman movie not including the serial from the 1940’s or the campy movie from the 1960’s starring Adam West. It is presented as a darker story than the original comic series, as the Batman comics were starting to explore more mature themes in the 1970’s and 1980’s with graphic novels such as The Killling Joke and The Dark Knight Returns.

The film is set in the fictional Gotham city, which is constructed using visual effects for the film. The city is a cool setting, with gothic architecture and towering skyscrapers and bustling city life with traffic, hookers and panhandlers.

There is a good tone-setting scene at the start of movie where Batman confronts a couple of thugs who mug a family in a sketchy part of town. At the start of the movie, Batman is a mysterious vigilante who little is known about and kind of seen as a urban legend.

He hasn’t started his relationship with Commissioner Gordon yet. Beautiful blonde photographer meets billionaire playboy and philanthropist owner of Wayne Enterprises Bruce Wayne at a party at Bruce’s mansion and tells him she is trying to get pictures of Batman for the Gotham Times.

She and Bruce start dating and sleep together, little does she know that he is the caped crusader himself. Meanwhile, mobster Jack Napier, a wise-cracking goon who is having an affair with Mafia Boss Grissom’s young mistress is set up to break into Axis Chemicals, a factory that has ties to the mob, just to be confronted by dirty cop Lieutenant Eckart and his police squad, based on Harvey Bullock from the comics.

Napier kills Eckart and almost manages to escape, but is apprehended by Batman who ends up making him fall into a vat of chemicals or acid although he tries to save Napier. Napier survives this and is left at a cheap emergency clinic where the doctor does surgery on him to get rid of the damage done by the chemicals.

The procedure was done so poorly that it result in Jack Napier having something that looks like a permanent grin on his face. Also, now Jack’s hair is green, his lips are ruby red, and his skin is bleached white.

He looks like a clown. In despair after he sees his reflection, Napier begins to laugh maniacally in a chilling scene at the clinic and leaves to cause mayhem. He starts calling himself the Joker, kills Boss Grissom, and takes over the mob.

Joker utilizes weaponized clown props such as an electrocuting joy buzzer, an acid spraying flower, a spring-loaded boxing glove, and guns that he can stretch into hand-canons which also sometimes just eject a flag that says “bang.

” The rest of the movie is pretty much just the Joker causing mayhem and Batman preventing it. Vicki Vale learns that Bruce Wayne is Batman by the end of the movie and she chooses to stay with him. Batman also learns that Jack Napier was the true killer of his parents when he was a child ( as opposed to Joe Chill like in the comics) and makes the connection to the Joker.

He stops the Joker from attempting to gas the city streets with Smilex gas, which causes people to start laughing uncontrollably and die laughing and then kills the Joker. I liked the movie’s depictions of Bruce Wayne and his alter ego Batman, Joker, Alfred, and Vicki Vale.

It was good how they actually established that the Joker was proficient in chemistry as he is in the comics, and the Joker was funny in the movie often making quips and saying punchlines. The Joker’s origin was similar to his origin in the comics as the Red Hood, although the film took some liberties in making him a mobster named “Jack Napier.

” Sometimes in the comics, when Joker’s real name from his past is alluded to it is “Jack.” Michael Keaton’s performance as Batman is probably my favorite out of all the Batmen I have seen in the movies, as he doesn’t go too over the top but still manages to seem imposing.

A classic, this might be my favorite Batman movie other than maybe The Dark Knight from 2008 which incidentally also stars the Joker.