Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie''s plot.
In 1989, Tim Burton’s Batman was released. I remember the movie receiving a lot of publicity and making a lot of money. For some reason, I wasn’t interested in seeing the movie then. I’m not sure why since I had enjoyed the Superman movies I’d seen and different super hero cartoons when I was growing up. Batman Forever was actually the first Batman movie that I watched. After watching that one, I eventually saw the other Batman movies. I actually didn’t see Batman until 2004. I did enjoy the movie once I finally watched it and have since picked it up on DVD.
Gotham City was preparing to celebrate its 200th anniversary even though crime was out of control. Harvey Dent, the district attorney, wanted to try to get rid of organized crime in the city, including Carl Grissom and Jack Napier. Alex Knox, a reporter was onto a story about a giant crime fighting bat in the city. Vicki Vale, a photographer, came to town because the stories Alex did on Batman intrigued her. Batman was actually Bruce Wayne, a very wealthy business man. His parents had been murdered when he was a child and he’d turned to fighting crime as an adult. Jack and Batman were both at Axis Chemicals one night and Jack fell in a vat that had either acid or some kind of chemicals in it. He survived, but was very different with white skin, permanent grin, and green hair. He started calling himself the Joker and went on a crime spree in Gotham. He went after Carl and then targeted Batman. Bruce and Vicki became involved and their relationship was complicated when the Joker saw her picture and decided that he wanted her.
Batman has been a popular character for years since he first appeared in a comic book. Over the years he’s been in comic books, serial movies, a rather campy television show, and several different cartoons before the 1989 movie was released. Some people saw this movie as a chance to show the true character, dark parts and all, unlike the sillier version that was done for television. I do think the movie took a more serious look at the character and showed some of the darkness of the character. Some of the Joker’s antics bordered very close to silly. I’m not sure if they were supposed to seem that way or if that is just the way they seemed to me. Maybe those things were intended to lighten the mood of the movie a bit. I did laugh at some of what the Joker said and did. The borderline silliness of the Joker didn’t bother me since he was more serious other times and a formidable opponent for Batman. The Joker acted a bit bizarre at times, but underneath the green hair and white skin was the mind of a devious criminal.
When Batman began, Bruce had already started fighting crime as Batman. Criminals had heard about him and were scared even while claiming they didn’t believe Batman existed. Alex had written at least one story about Batman and Commissioner Gordon had also heard about him. It wasn’t said how long Bruce had been fighting crime and I didn’t really like that. There were times when it seemed like he had just started doing it and other things seemed to indicate that he’d been doing it for a while. He already had all sorts of gadgets, including the Batmobile and a fully functioning Batcave. When I finally saw this movie, I knew a little about the character and his world, but I still didn’t know a lot about the origins of the character. I knew that Bruce’s parents had been killed when he was a child and not much else. I wanted to know how he got started as Batman and why he did it. I got that Bruce turned to fighting crime as a result of his parents being murdered. What I didn’t get was why he decided to dress up like a giant bat and work out of a cave to do it. People who weren’t already that familiar with the character could enjoy the movie. They just may not fully understand certain things or could be confused since not much of Batman’s backstory was shared. I think Batman Begins did a much better job of introducing and explaining the character.
I like superhero movies in general and I’ve seen some, like Fantastic Four, when I knew nothing or next to nothing about the characters. I have still enjoyed those movies and think that people who aren’t familiar with the original comics can enjoy movies based on comic books. The best superhero movies have shared the origins of the characters, introducing them and their powers so that anyone new to the character would better be able to understand and follow what was going on. Yes the fans of the original comic books will more than likely go to the movies and already the back stories, but a lot of non fans also see the movies, so that information is necessary. I think the biggest flaw in Batman was that the makers of the movie seemed to assume that only fans of the comic books would be going to see the movie. They didn’t seem to consider that other people could be interested in the movie as well which caused them to leave out some of the back story. In one of the interviews in the extras on the DVD - which I will talk about in more detail - one of the producers or writers said that everyone knew certain things about Batman which just wasn’t true. All I knew was that he was a man that dressed up like a bat. When this movie came out, I didn’t know that he didn’t have any actual super powers like most other superheroes have. At that point, I thought he had some sort of sonar or radar like bats have, and that was why he dressed as a bat.
Things are changed in movies based on comic books, and one change in this movie did cause me some confusion when I saw Batman Begins. According to this Batman movie, Jack Napier was the man that killed Bruce’s parents. When I watched Batman Begins, I didn’t understand why someone else was the killer. Then I picked up Batman: The Ultimate Guide to the Dark Knight and discovered that Burton’s Batman was the one that changed the killer. Having Jack as the killer of the Waynes did add a whole different dynamic to the conflict between Batman and the Joker, so I can see why the change was made. As far as I know, that was really the only major change from the comics. One thing that I finally paid attention to when I watched the movie again was that Harvey Dent was shown as the district attorney in a few scenes. For some reason, when I had seen the movie before, it didn’t hit me that he was the one who would become Two Face even though I already knew Harvey as Two-Face from Batman Forever. After realizing who he was going to become, I did think it was interesting to see him trying to deal with crime in the city.
Bruce created Batman to fight crime around Gotham City. He would go out as Batman and deal with criminals. It really wasn’t explained how he knew where the criminals were. He wasn’t working with the police at that point and there was no Bat signal yet either. Batman was shown dealing with a few thieves before he spent most of the movie trying to deal with the Joker. It was clear who the Joker really was from his first appearance, so there wasn’t any mystery there. That didn’t bother me because enough was going on to keep things interesting. It wasn’t completely clear what the Joker ultimately was planning to do. There was violence in several scenes of the movie from fighting and even some shootings. The violence really wasn’t that graphic, but it may bother some people. The movie was rated PG-13, so parents may not want younger children to see it.
Batman was set in the fictional Gotham City like the comic books were. I thought that Gotham was a unique looking city. There were elements that seemed to be inspired from some actual large cities, like New York, as well as other things that made it seem more like a fictional city. There was just something about the city that made it seem like it would be normal to see a bizarre criminal like the Joker running around along with a man dressed as a giant bat. The city looked dreary, even during the day and it had some dark locations. There was a gothic look to some of the buildings that worked fine for the movie. Several scenes took place in Bruce’s home or the Batcave. The Batcave was made to look like it was very large and spread out. There were some bats around, though they were really only shown once. Subdued colors were used for the scenery and even the characters clothing and make up for the most part. Brighter colors did show up in a few scenes on one or two objects. The subdued colors did add to the overall dark look of the movie. Shadows were around in several scenes and the lighting was so dim in a few scenes that it was harder to tell what was going on.
Bruce was a complicated character because of his secret identity. The murder of his parents played a big part in shaping the man he would become as an adult. He was very wealthy, having inherited a fortune from his parents and the huge mansion where he lived. To the outside world he had a charmed life but he had a lot of inner turmoil. Most of that seemed to be connected to the murder of his parents. Being wealthy had to help Bruce in creating Batman and accumulating all the gadgets he used when fighting crime. Bruce was a troubled man and had a darker side that many people didn’t see. It did seem like he was more comfortable with going out and fighting crime than with the more “normal” aspects of his life. He was a normal man that decided to go out and battle dangerous criminals dressed as a bat. He did have a lot of cool gadgets, but he didn’t haven’t any sort of special powers, not even super strength. When I first heard about this movie before it was released, I wasn’t sure what to think about Michael Keaton playing Batman. I’d only seen him in Mr. Mom and Beetlejuice, and neither of those characters was anything like a super hero character. He just didn’t look like he could be a super hero to me. I do think he did a good job with the part. I’ve also liked him in White Noise and Herbie: Fully Loaded.
Jack Napier had been a criminal all his life. He’d always been ruthless and not bothered by killing people. The accident that changed his appearance also seemed to affect his brain and push him over the edge. He was a devious criminal who didn’t hesitate to kill. He did act a bit strange and used some unique methods to reach his goals. His antics did border on the silly at times. I do think he was a very good villain. Jack Nicholson was wonderful in the part. He did get a little over board with his performance a few times, but overall it worked for the character and the movie. I’ve always thought that Nicholson has had a somewhat crazed look. That went perfectly with the character. Bob the Goon was a supporting character that had known Jack for years. After the accident, he worked with the Joker and was mostly around in the background.
Alfred Pennyworth was Bruce’s butler and had worked for him for years. Alfred knew that Bruce was Batman and would often alert Bruce to things that needed Batman’s attention. Alfred seemed to keep Bruce grounded. Michael Gough was very good in the part. Commissioner Gordon knew who Bruce was and had no idea that he was also Batman. Gordon really wasn’t in many scenes which made him rather flat. Harvey Dent, the DA for Gotham City was in a few scenes talking about how he wanted to deal with crime. He was also a minor character. Alex Knox was a reporter that had done stories on Batman and seemed interested in doing more. Robert Wuhl didn’t really have a lot to do since his character was more of a supporting one. Jack Palance had a small part as Carl Grissom, a boss for organized crime who Jack worked for. Jerry Hall was in a few scenes as Alicia, a woman that Jack and Carl were both interested in. I wasn’t impressed with her performance. She seemed like she was out of it in her scenes.
Vicki Vale arrived in Gotham after having read one of Alex’s stories about Batman. She was a photojournalist that had made a name for herself with some photos that were featured in Time magazine. She was an intelligent woman though she didn’t always think things through before acting. She did do a lot of screaming, especially when she was with the Joker. She and Bruce did start dating and that added a bit of romance to the movie. There weren’t any sex scenes or nudity in the movie though it was made clear that they started a sexual relationship. A strange love triangle was formed once the Joker decided that he wanted Vicki. Alex also tried to get Vicki to date him. She was a popular woman in Gotham. Kim Basinger handled the part well though all her screaming did get annoying. Her characters were very different in Cellular and The Sentinel.
Main Cast
Kim Basinger - Vicki Vale
Michael Gough - Alfred Pennyworth
Jerry Hall - Alicia
Pat Hingle - Commissioner Gordon
Michael Keaton - Bruce Wayne/Batman
Jack Nicholson - Jack Napier/Joker
Jack Palance - Carl Grissom
Tracey Walter - Bob the Goon
Billy Dee Williams - Harvey Dent
Robert Wuhl - Alex Knox
Tim Burton - Director
DVD Information
Late in 2005, a new two disc special edition version of Batman was released. A digital transfer was used which resulted in a gorgeous picture and very clear sound. I could tell from what was shown before the menu appeared that the picture was much sharper. The DVD does have 5.1 surround sound for people who have a surround sound system. The first DVD included the widescreen version of the movie, a commentary, and the original trailer for the movie. The second DVD included several very interesting extra features that I really enjoyed watching. Throughout the extras, some footage from the filming of the movie was shown that would tie in to whatever aspect of the movie was being discussed. In one of them, the screenwriter, Sam Hamm, shared that he did not write the scene in which Alfred let Vicki into the Batcave. He didn’t like that it was done and said that many people have complained to him about that scene since the movie came out.
Legends of the Dark Knight: The History of Batman shared the history of Batman from his first appearance in a comic book to the way the character was in the 1990s. The ways that the character was changed over the years were discussed. Shots of panels from comic books were shown during this segment to illustrate the changes in the character. The television show and the impact it had on the character was talked about. A few short bits with Bob Kane, the man who created Batman, were shared. Some of the many writers for the Batman comics talked about different aspects of the comics and the character. People involved in the making of the movies and the cartoon series were also featured talking about Batman. There was a short segment that showed Bob Kane on the set of the movie. That only lasted a few minutes.
Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight had three parts. The Road to Gotham City, The Gathering Storm, and The Legend Reborn, featured many of the people who were in Legends of the Dark Knight: The History of Batman talking about the process of getting the Batman movie made. From the beginning the producers wanted to make a movie that would return to the dark roots of the character. It was talked about how some people assumed it was going to be a more campy movie when Michael Keaton was cast since he was best known for comedic roles. I know I had wondered on his casting, but I had forgotten that there was a lot of publicity questioning him in the role. There was even an article in The Wall Street Journal about it. Sean Young was briefly shown talking about how she had been cast as Vicki but had to pull out after she got hurt falling off a horse. It did seem like she was still a bit bitter about that.
Once shooting had started on the movie, the screenwriter was left out of a few changes because of a screenwriter strike going on at the time. It was during that time that the scene of Alfred letting Vicki into the Batcave was added as well as Burton changing the backstory a bit to make Jack the man who had killed Bruce’s parents. The last of these three documentaries also showed all the publicity that went into Batman before the movie was released and just how popular the movie was. I remember back before the movie was released seeing posters with just the bat image on them. However, at that time, I didn’t see the bat part and it looked like some weird mouth to me. One of the producers talked about that image, saying that he hadn’t been able to see the bat at first either. It made me feel better to know that even people involved in making the movie didn’t get that symbol at first.
Beyond Batman Documentary Gallery included six documentaries that focused on the design and look of different aspects of the movie. People talked about how the look of Gotham was decided on as well as working on creating the Batmobile, the Batcave, the Batsuit and all the other gadgets that Batman used. For From Jack to the Joker, Jack Nicholson talked a lot about his take on the character of the Joker. The make up that was used to create the Joker’s look was also talked about along with the decisions that were made for his clothing and hair. Danny Elfman talked about creating the score for the movie in Nocturnal Overtures: The Music of Batman. Prince had done several songs for the movie and videos for three of the songs are included. The Heroes and The Villains Profile Galleries showed some information about the different characters in the movie and classified them as either heroes or villains. I found out from these extras that in an early draft of the story, Robin was going to be introduced. That part was later cut from the movie because they felt it didn’t work well with the story. The storyboard sequence for the introduction of Robin was included.
Batman was a very entertaining movie that fans of the character should enjoy. The movie showed Batman as a dark character like he started out in the comics, which should make the fans happy. I do think people who aren’t already familiar with the character can enjoy the movie, though they may wonder about a few things. Fans of Batman really should pick up the two disc special edition because it gives the movie the treatment it deserves.
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