Batman (1989)

Comic book heroes are some of the biggest icons in pop culture and perhaps the most popular and enduring of all is Batman. He’s the ultimate dark hero, the avenger of the innocent, he uses the image of the bat to strike terror into the hearts of criminals and both intelligence and force to battle evil. Haunted by the murder of his parents that happened before his very eyes as a child, he is a charitable millionaire Bruce Wayne by day and a crime fighter by night. Finally, the legend was brought to the big screen portrayed as he should be in the movie that raised the bar on comic book movies. The movie puts you in the world of Batman immediately, as right after the opening credits we see Gotham City, a huge metropolis of towering Gothic architecture and some Art Deco influence that evokes a time of the early twentieth century, a bit of modern times and maybe a bit of a dark future. The same can be said for how people dress, wearing clothes like people from the thirties and forties while some people dress a bit like the eighties, and it all adds a very grim and surreal film noir atmosphere that perfectly sets the mood for the film. We see very quickly that crime runs rampant in the city as it is under the control of a ruthless crime boss despite the continuous efforts of the mayor and the police force. However things are getting hectic as talk is going around of a mysterious bat-like creature is terrorizing criminals and boss Carl Grissom (Jack Palance) sends his thugs to steal important documents from a chemical factory, these documents being exactly what the police need to take him down. However in an attempt to snuff out his main enforcer Jack Napier for having an affair with his girl, he has a dirty cop steal the documents and send the police to kill Napier and his men. During the skirmish, Commissioner Gordon appears to have Napier taken alive, but the Batman arrives as well much to the shock of everyone. Soon, Napier is injured and falls to his apparent death in a vat of chemicals, despite Batman’s efforts to save him. Batman escapes into the night but Napier has survived unbeknownst to anyone, now disfigured with a clown-like appearance, absolutely insane, calling himself The Joker.

The driving force of the story is the relationship between the heroic Batman and the villainous Joker. Both characters are scarred by tragedy and both wear masks, metaphorically or otherwise. Batman is haunted by the deaths of his parents and fight crime to ensure that justice will be served but also to release the pain inside. He wears a mask that allows him to be liberated and do things that someone normally wouldn’t. We come to see that he isn’t very comfortable in his own skin and that Bruce Wayne is something of a mask to keep people unaware. Michael Keaton’s performance as Batman really is perfect. As Bruce Wayne he is an unassuming and average guy, handsome, charming and a little quirky, he seems like an all around a normal person, at least when around other people. Alone or with his trusted butler Alfred, we see a quiet and sad person, obviously trying to deal with some dark past. As Batman he is a completely different entity, and suddenly this normal guy isn’t so normal anymore. Wearing a black suit of body armor with the trademark bat symbol on the chest, a cape and cowl with pointed bat ears, and a mask showing only his eyes and mouth, he’s an intimidating figure. But Keaton doesn’t let the batsuit do all the work; you can see the intensity in his eyes, sometimes you can’t quite figure out what that look is supposed to mean and only makes him more of a mystery. Also, he’s the only actor to play the caped crusader and make Batman look menacing when he smiles. He’s a man of few words and that is definitely a good thing, when he actually does speak it’s usually in a low voice. I think if Batman was always talking he would be much less effective. There’s a lot of conflict in the character, he wants to live a more normal existence and pursue his relationship with his love interest Vicki Vale, but is reluctant and therefore remains dedicated to his war on crime. It’s very cool to see an actor known at the time only for comedies play a character such edginess and seriousness.

The Joker is a whole different story. We can see even before his transformation that there’s something a little unstable about him and how his accident only pushes him over the edge. With white skin, green hair and a chilling grin, his mask is permanent and allows him to do what he wants when he wants. Even when he reveals his new self to his boss, he says that death is liberating and even therapeutic. Jack Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time and he is absolutely phenomenal as The Joker, sadistic, deliciously evil and totally insane with a love of creating chaos and an extremely morbid sense of humor that makes for some great, if uncomfortable laughs in the audience. He uses a joy buzzer to electrocute victims to death; he even creates a toxin that causes people to, quite literally, die of laughter. He has some of the most memorable scenes of any great movie villain; he doesn’t really care much about anything but stealing the spotlight and proves very envious of the media’s focus on his masked enemy rather than on him. One great scene that reflects his chaotic mind is perfectly displayed when he corners Batman’s love interest at a museum that he of course, destroys. Vicki legitimately asks him what he wants, and after a few seconds he finally answers: “My face on the one dollar bill.” I just laugh every time I see that, he actually has to think about what he wants. He plays the role in a very fascinating way, before the transformation, he’s a serious looking tough guy, but you can see a glimmer of craziness in his eyes at times. As the clown prince of crime, he’s totally unpredictable, calm and menacing and some times, maniacal and laughing like a hyena at other times. You never really know when he’s going to kill someone. Vicki Vale, who is caught up in these dilemmas, is played very well by Kim Basinger. She has a date with Bruce Wayne at his mansion and gets a look at a kind and misunderstood person; she wants to be close to him but is becoming increasingly irritated and intrigued by his reclusive and mysterious nature. This is never more evident than when she quietly follows him to an alley where he lays a couple of roses on the ground, she finds out later that this is where his parents were murdered before his very eyes.

This is a very subtle movie and a good deal of people might mistake it for a lack of character development and motivation, but it’s an emotional film that lets us see what’s going on for ourselves. I’m glad there aren’t a whole bunch of expository speeches, it feels more like how real people would discuss their problems, evident in a scene where Wayne is trying to tell Vicki that he’s Batman but can’t quite get the words out. The entire film is really a treat for the eyes and the imagination. The many locations in the grim Gotham City, grand Wayne Manor and the mysterious Batcave are all sights to behold. There are plenty of familiar trademarks of Batman here, the bat-symbol, the fast-flying batplane, the sleek and sinister vehicle of justice, the batmobile. Though not tremendously prominent throughout, the action scenes in the movie are very good, plenty of hand-to-hand combat and some scenes that just show Batman doing what he does best, being heroic, particularly a in a thrilling scene in which he flies the batplane in a race against time to stop Joker from using parade balloons to poison the citizens of Gotham. Besides the magnificent visuals, you can’t talk about this movie without mentioning the soundtrack; there are some fine pop songs by Prince and of course the orchestral music score by Danny Elfman, music that becomes a vital part of the film. Music that sounds epic, grand, exciting, brooding, mysterious, romantic and triumphant. Director Tim Burton did a fine job making this movie, it really is one of the greatest and was the first to say it was possible to make a darker, serious, and even more mature movie based on comic books that adults, teenagers and older children alike can enjoy. Besides that, it’s just one of my favorite movies of all time. It was an amazing experience when I first saw and it is now as I’ve watched it plenty of times since. This is one of those movies that I would recommend to everyone. It’s a fun, exciting, intense, gripping and all around amazing experience that I will never forget.