Batman
As a ten-year-old boy, I obsessed over Tim Burton’s Batman. I hadn’t seen it yet – and I wouldn’t see it for years, actually – but I read the novelization and collected every magazine and comic on the subject. I blasted the Danny Elfman score in my little headphones. I was all-in, baby.
Obviously Batman, as a movie franchise, has gone through a number of changes. Now in the more-than-capable hands of Christopher Nolan, the property has suitably evolved. But without Burton’s vision, it’s hard to imagine any of the history, good or bad, happening as it did.
Way back in 1979, producers Michael Uslan and Benjamin Melniker bought the film rights to Batman and had every wish to make a “dark, serious” version of the character for the big screen. The character had waned considerably, so Uslan had some difficulty in pitching the movie idea to various studios. Eventually, after a pile of script rewrites and typical movie juggling, the movie was attached brought to Burton and he got the ball rolling.
Michael Keaton, a controversial casting decision, is Batman/Bruce Wayne. He saw his parents murdered when he was a child and takes on a lifelong vocation as a vigilante, concealing his Batman image behind his millionaire playboy exterior. Gotham City is controlled by criminals and, despite the best efforts of district attorney Harvey Dent (Billy Dee Williams), is in serious trouble.
After a horrific accident, Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson) is transformed into the villainous and maniacal Joker. This sets off a chain reaction of events in which Batman battles the Joker through the streets and alleys of Gotham, using a host of gadgets and weapons in the process. Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger), a love interest, is caught in the crossfire.
Apparently there were tens of thousands of protest letters directed toward Warner Bros. over the casting of Keaton. And remember, this is in the day before the Internet allowed any dick with an opinion to get their licks in. Keaton, however, had been studying source material like The Dark Knight Returns and really got into the role. Mr. Mom, this was not.
Keaton fits the role pretty well, exacting a sort of tortured sense with his eyes. He isn’t the complete picture Christian Bale is, but he’s easily the second best in the suit. Keaton is a sleek, coy Bruce Wayne, too, and he plays it straighter than Bale. It’s an interesting contrast, with Keaton playing the contrast well.
Nicholson is iconic as the Joker. He, too, has a sort of duality but the split is greater and more obvious than his “heroic” counterpart. Prior to his transformation, Nicholson’s Napier is a standard hood with designs on seizing the criminal empire. He doesn’t seem particularly special, but Nicholson gives him a sort of arrogant charisma in the way he brushes off his model girlfriend and almost drags his feet with a lazy, relaxed attitude.
The set design and effects are good, with Burton giving us a fairly intricate Gotham City. Joker’s menace has a nice playground to set itself upon, with the parade sequence a highlight. The gadgets and vehicles, including the sleek and sexy Batmobile, also add to the murky aura.
Even with the solid performances from the main characters and the dazzling look of the film, there’s little real wonder to Batman. Basinger’s a great screamer, but she doesn’t allow for much else to emerge from her character – and she’s dating Batman! The other characters, from Michael Gough’s Alfred to Billy Dee’s Dent, don’t do much more. It’s pretty basic cardboard stuff.
Still, Burton’s Batman is a valuable experience. The commanding Elfman score and epic adventure sequences make it a fun experience steeped in darkness and misery. It’s a moody and exciting enough picture, but Nolan’s vision is more comprehensive and stimulating by comparison. So it goes.
