Review of Batman (1989) by Blake C — 30 Sep 2016
A superhero film that has been out for 27 years and I finally watch it now?! What the hell took me so damn long?! Anyway, I can finally say that I have seen the original Batman film. Don't know if I will ever get around to the Adam West Batmans, but I digress.
The best word I can think of for this film is "fun". Just the fact that Jack Nicholson's joker walks into an art museum and vandalizes it with his men while dancing to Prince's "Partyman".
I am a big fan of when films use a song in a scenario you wouldn't think would work but it totally fits. The batmobile is pure late 80's early 90's classic and Gotham City looks pure comic book.
Danny Elfman also delivers a fantastic score. As for Michael Keaton as Batman, you wouldn't think he would be a good choice, but he really pulls it off. I'm just glad you can understand his voice.
The unfortunate thing is that having seen all the recent Marvel films and the entire X-Men and Spider-Man franchise, Batman doesn't quite live up in terms of action and spectacle, but it does work as a time capsule.
People have never seen a "dark" Batman film before. Sure nowadays we have the Nolan Trilogy and now Ben Affleck and looking back on this now, we can't help but see this as campy, but at the time, this was groundbreaking.
For that, I would say going back to watch the original Batman film is a delight. I'm happy it's a part of my collection and I'd gladly watch it again.
This review of Batman (1989) was written by Blake C on 30 Sep 2016.
Batman has generally received very positive reviews.
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