Review of Batman (1989) by Mrmoviebuff — 28 Mar 2016

'Batman' is a movie that's seen many times, and while it certainly is a classic, it does have its flaws, mostly in the central characters.

The movie stars Jack Nicholson as the Joker, and Michael Keaton as the title character. Yes, it is in that order as well. Directed by Tim Burton, the movie has his own unique style with colorful characters and a darker, gloomy tone to avoid the camp-style of the Adam West "Batman" from the 1960s.

The plot revolves around Batman trying to catch the Joker from injecting Gotham city with crime, and exposing the citizens to some Smile gas which incidentally transforms the people into what the Joker has become. The Joker became the crazy maniac that he is after he fell into a pool of acid which disfigures his face to form a permanent grin. Nicholson gives a great performance as the crazy Joker, but having seen the movie recently, it almost seems as if he might be over-acting his role. The loud, maniac laughs and the over-the-top delivery of some of his lines can seem a little problematic.

But this is in no way Nicholson's fault, like I said, he did a fantastic job in the role... Director Tim Burton has been known for animating his characters on screen. Not just with the pale face make-up, but possibly how he tells his actors to deliver their lines. A huge part of the Joker's performance is obviously influenced by Tim Burton's vision.

Michael Keaton is great as Bruce Wayne/Batman, but we don't delve that deep into his character. It has been said many times by other critics that this is Jack Nicholson's movie, and not Keaton's. This is true, we get more of a Joker origin story rather than the title character. This may be due to the fact that the screenplay, written by Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren were so focused heavily on creating such an iconic villain, that they got lost in translation and forgot who the movie was for in the first place.

Other than this, 'Batman' is a visual treat, a thrilling adaptation of the Caped Crusader of Gotham city, it does feel a little jarring that we get a glimpse of Bruce's childhood/origin story almost half way through the movie, but, when you have fun with what Burton presents you with, it's hard to stay mad.

Overall, if you want a good Batman movie, this will deliver what you might want. The actors' performances outshine the overall story.