Batman (1989) review

Batman (1989)

Directed by: Tim Burton

Produced by: Jon Peters, Peter Guber

Screenplay by: Sam Hamm, Warren Skaaren

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, Jack Palance

This weekend, the newest live-action adaptation of DC Comics “Batman” arrives in theaters, so let’s take a look back at the first time the Caped Crusader was brought to the big screen in a serious way. Gone were the days of the old film serials of the 1940s and the spoof ‘60s TV series that starred Adam West; dark and gritty would become the new style. Bolstered by the success of the comics “The Killing Joke” and “The Dark Knight Returns,” in comes “Batman” in 1989, directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne, the billionaire industrialist who’s secretly a masked vigilante who fights crime in Gotham City’s underbelly. Despite much skepticism when it first came out due to its casting choices and overall story decisions, this movie has aged phenomenally well; in fact, I consider it a masterpiece in terms of visual design, character arcs and sick but effective humor.

The movie begins with Gotham approaching its bicentennial celebration, yet in a state of turmoil with mob boss Carl Grissom (Jack Palance), and questions about the mysterious Batman, mainly from reporter Alexander Knox (Robert Wuhl) and photojournalist Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger). When a raid at a chemical plant goes wrong, Grissom’s second-in-command Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson) falls into a vat of chemicals and eventually re-emerges as the disfigured, sociopathic Joker. He promptly takes over Grissom’s operations and starts wreaking havoc on the city by poisoning hygiene products, while also pursuing Vicki, who Bruce is having a relationship with. Bruce works to stop the Joker’s plans, and in the process, uncovers a shared history between the two of them.

There’s been plenty of debate over the years regarding who the best Batman is; I think Ben Affleck has been great despite being in not-so-good movies, Christian Bale had his own quirky sensibility, but for my money, Keaton is still the best to play the role. At that time, Keaton was considered an oddball choice, having become more affiliated with comedies like “Night Shift,” “Mr. Mom” and “Johnny Dangerously.” In fact, his casting reportedly drew more than 50,000 protest letters, and this was before the internet. But prior to filming, he had more dramatic turns as a drug addict in “Clean and Sober” and the outrageously zany title character in Burton’s “Beetlejuice.” His versatility is on full display here; I totally buy him as the isolated, unassuming Bruce Wayne as well as a quietly intimidating Batman. He doesn’t need to put on elaborate shows for paparazzi or growl through his dialogue; he just naturally has that intangible. A lot of his gestures are very subtle, but you can feel his constant inner battle and need to sequester himself from his darkest instincts.

One thing I believe gives this movie an edge over “The Dark Knight” is the strength of its hero/villain dynamic. The Joker is one of the all-time great comic book villains, and there are now several phenomenal portrayals of him, yet all very unique from each other. We’ve seen him as a goofball, an anarchist, a mentally ill outcast, and…whatever the hell Jared Leto was doing; but here we have him as an unpredictable gangster, and it leads to some of the most twisted yet entertaining stuff of Jack Nicholson’s career. His schemes of deadly joy buzzers and chemicals that make people literally die laughing is wonderfully psychotic; it kind of makes you feel guilty for laughing at just how delightfully mean-spirited he is. Ultimately, I don’t really know what his endgame is—and no, I won’t accept “face on the one-dollar bill”—but I like to think he doesn’t know either; he’s just doing whatever he wants, and there’s something refreshingly unhinged about that.

But like I said, what I love is how they build up the rivalry between Batman and the Joker, how they in a sense created each other, and the fact that they face off in various settings. In “The Dark Knight,” it’s usually the same conversations, and their overall relationship feels almost random by comparison. I know some of the classic lore is changed by some of these plot developments, but if it makes the story and characters stronger in the long run, I think that’s all that matters. There’s been criticism towards the fact that the Joker receives more story attention than Batman. But really, isn’t that appropriate? The Joker loves being the center of attention and the life of the party, while Batman is brooding and mysterious and psychologically tortured; that’s going to result in some really dark and withdrawn niceties with his character.

Thankfully, the movie doesn’t feel like a slog when it gets other characters involved; I actually really like Bruce’s chemistry with Vicki, even though there are things about her that feel inconsistent, like how she’s dating him but also following him with her camera trying to figure out his story. But they have great scenes together, some with hardly any dialogue, and I love the moment when Bruce is trying to tell her he’s Batman but just can’t get the words out of his mouth. Meanwhile, Pat Hingle and Michael Gough bring great presence as Police Commissioner Gordon and Bruce’s loyal butler Alfred, respectively, and one of the great underrated performances comes from Tracey Walter as Jack’s henchman Bob; apparently, he was a close friend of Nicholson, who convinced the filmmakers to cast him. There’s also Billy Dee Williams as District Attorney Harvey Dent; he does a good job, even though his screen time is very brief and clearly just meant to set up a future sequel, which is another story entirely.

This was the first time that Burton got a big Hollywood budget, and he really makes it pay off with the visuals; one shot I always remember is the first time we see Batman on the balcony. The shadows and angles really help sell the classic crime story aspect, almost like a film noir; in fact, I think they could’ve pushed this aspect even further. Nevertheless, the movie won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction, sadly the only one of production designer Anton Furst’s career cut tragically short. We also have one of composer Danny Elfman’s most iconic musical themes, which set a template for much of his future work. However, there are also multiple songs by Prince, which certainly helps give the movie an identity, even though I don’t really think it comes together too well; it just feels like a marketing decision. The action scenes are pretty standard; nothing really stands out as especially wow-worthy or outright bad, and you’re ultimately invested enough in the characters that the film doesn’t lose you.

When this first came out, it was a box office hit, but not really beloved; however, for what Burton set out to do, he did it tremendously, and it’s sort of become a classic with the passage of time. Nowadays, the film industry is overflowing with comic book movies and TV shows left and right; back then, it was much more limited. You had the Christopher Reeve “Superman” movies, which started pretty awesome but gradually devolved into laughable farce, and a lot of low-quality made-for-TV or direct-to-video schlock. But “Batman” helped show that there was a source material that could be adapted into many different forms; it inspired “Batman: The Animated Series” in terms of mood and artistry, which served as the launching point for the still-running DC Animated Universe. Burton and Keaton would return for “Batman Returns,” which is enjoyable in its own right, followed by two…interesting Joel Schumacher projects before Christopher Nolan rebooted the franchise. Now it’s being rebooted again, and while the reviews are currently good, we’ll have to wait and see if this new Batman adaptation can stand with the legends that came before.

My rating: 9.5/10