Batman (1989)

 

Genre: Action/ Adventure

Time: 2h 6mins

Director: Tim Burton

Quick Summary: The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes the clownishly homicidal Joker.

Batman? Who? For a film called Batman, he was barely even in this. It felt more like a movie about the Joker.

For the majority of this, I was very bored, as not much happened. It's super slow as well and people just keep talking and it feels like it goes nowhere for ages. Any scene with Jack Nicholson caught my attention though as watching him prance about doing silly shenanigans. He really hammed up this version of the Joker and it took me a good portion of the film for me to warm up to it, but after that, I do say I did enjoy it. He made a good Joker and the film goes into a good amount of detail for his backstory.

The music choices I was very torn by them, as sometimes I felt like they fit very well and others, which more often than not, didn't work. As well them all being performed by Prince was a bizarre choice. I did like the atmosphere from the backgrounds and sets as they really felt gritty and dark like Gotham should be, a city in poverty and constant fear.

Micheal Keaton was probably only Batman for a quarter of the film. For the rest of it, he is Bruce Wayne who I found incredibly dull. When this Film isn't focusing on The Joker, it's focusing on the romance between bruce wayne and Vicki Vale. Though I did really enjoy watching Micheal Keaton run around in the Batsuit purely because it's so obvious it is difficult to move around since he turns in stiff almost robotic-like movements, it was just so funny to watch.

The action scenes weren't particularly thrilling either. Everyone just kinda flailed about and Batman didn't really do anything but run away. Then when he does fight, nothing really interesting happens.

The romance between Bruce and Vicki was horrible to watch. It seems to be quite stale, there is very little emotion in it and the only time they are held together is when Alfred is talking with them in the servant's quarters. The scene where Wayne and Vale are dining in the dining room begins with the idea that he cannot relate with people, but it falls down constantly. This is where I think they went wrong with this, they tried to make Batman, a millionaire relatable because he is lonely but he just comes across as a snidey "Playboy" type which really didn't sit with me. 

The Joker completely overshadows Batman in this, which is bizarre to me for a film literally called Batman. This is a big miss for me, I wouldn't plan on rewatching it or recommending it to people.

4/10

"Bruce Wayne: It's Japanese.

Knox: How do you know?

Bruce Wayne: Because I bought it in Japan."

"Vicki Vale: You're insane!

Joker: I thought I was a Pisces!"