Batman (1989)

[baumer]

Discuss

[CoolioD1]

A

[TheMovieman]

Doesn't hold up quite as well but still it's impressive for the production design and, of course, Michael Keaton who was great as Batman (his Bruce Wayne wasn't great but it wasn't particularly a nuanced character either).

[Master Scottb]

AStill my favorite Batman movie.

[DAR]

Michael Keaton was great in this. And Nicholson was Nicholson. But it gets a little silly at times, not like Schumacher films but it's not as "dark" as people say. I still enjoy it. B+

[narniadis]

A great film

[75Live]

I still remember the whole experience when I saw this film, from the extremely long line and a whole story with that, the heat while waiting in the line, able to buy movie merchandise in the theater. yes I was able to buy a tshirt and a water bottle at the concession stand. The whole lead up, the Prince tie-in, etc, etc. It was truly a movie moment. Luckily for me, the movie did live up to the hype at the time. While the movie may have dipped a bit as I grew up, I can't necessarily remove everything that went along with it so it still give it a high mark.

Maybe the 2nd best Batman movie for me

A

Edited June 25, 2012 by 75live

[Warhorse]

A. My favorite Batman movie with my favorite Batman/Bruce Wayne and favorite Joker.

[Goffe]

I wanted to like, but this is a huge mess, even if not compared Nolan's Batman. Effects, Michael Keaton, Awful Joke Origin, entire cast and the godawful action are the worst thing about this first big Batman movie. The saving grace is the score. A very superficial Batman adaptation.

 

Batman Begins 10/10 A+

The Dark Knight Rises 9.5/10 A

The Dark Knight 9/10 A-Batman 4/10 C-

Edited July 27, 2013 by Goffe

[Squaremaster316]

The Good:  Some set pieces, Elfman score, quotable lines from Nicholson, nice looking batsuit

The Bad:  Other set pieces that look like props, Prince soundtrack, Vicki Vale, Knox, not very functional batsuit, pacing, majority of the plot

 

*** out of *****, the 6th most overrated comic book film of all time (Though it used to be my #1 on that list).

Edited October 16, 2013 by Squaremaster316

[The Movie Man]

I have to admit this has a special place in my heart for bringing Batman back. And I liked Keaton as a Batman, not as a Bruce Wayne.

 

PS. Wow, this is about to hit 25 Years!

[CaptainJackSparrow]

This movie was terrible, IMO. Heath Ledgers portrayal of the Joker was much better. Also this movie just wasn't fun watching. Now that I think of it, The only Batman films I have liked were Batman Forever and the Dark Knight, those films had great villian portrayals

[Sam]

I liked it, that is all.

 

A-

[redfirebird2008]

While not the best movie I've ever seen, it is my favorite movie of all-time for nostalgic reasons. If I was forced to live on an island and could only choose a single movie to take with me, it would be this one.

[The Stingray]

This movie was seared into my brain throughout my childhood and early teen years. It still kinda is...

[Dark 33Legend of the Sith]

One of my favorite theatre experiences and one of the best movies of my youth.  It is awesome and is underappreciated since the Nolan movies came out.

 

A

[RobinHood26]

Re-watched this last night. The opening title credits are so fucking awesome. Makes me feel 10. 

This is Gotham city to me, and Burton is just spewing with creativity.

 

Kim Basinger is gorgeous, and I really like Keaton portrayal of Bruce Wayne. I also love that there is no origin story, he is batman from the get go.

 

B+ (87)

Edited November 22, 2016 by Jay Hollywood

[Kalo]

Re-watched this last night, I had only ever seen it once before and I was a teen and obsessed with CGI  fests. and couldn't really appreicate it. I definitely enjoyed it more this time, but I don't know if it's because there is no nostalgic value for me, but it seemed a little thin on substance, there were some nice character moments, I really liked Keaton's subtle portrayal of Bruce Wayne, and there were some great Nicholson scenes, although it was one of his lesser performances imo. and some great creative visuals, however there was some very poor fight choreography.  B/B+

[Hatebox]

Had the pleasure of watching this again for the first time in years on 70mm at a cinema in London the other night. A few things struck me:

 

- To state the obvious, the score really is wonderful and does so much emotional legwork. Modern SH films are really shooting themselves in the foot by not giving a shit about this crucial aspect.

 

- The direction is much better than I remember. Burton has pretty much disowned the film after having to wrangle with the studio so much, but he composes single scenes with real verve here.

 

- Nicholson is really, really good as the Joker. I don't feel compelled to compare him to Ledger, but in recent years I think his performance has become underrated. He's like a psychotic Al Capone, and his obvious joy at playing the character is infectious. It's a much tougher role than is given credit for.

 

- I do wish Burton had been more interested in Batman. The plot makes Vicki Vale even more of a protagonist than the titual character, and there's no escaping the fact that Keaton feels underused.

 

- The back and forth between various scenes in the middle act gets a lot more trying than I remember. It is not a brilliantly plotted movie.

 

- Gotham still looks amazing. As much as I like Art Deco, I can't help but wish they'd kept this aesthetic and explored it more in Batman Returns.

 

 

Edited November 17, 2016 by Hatebox

[Rorschach]

The biggest problem for me is that Keaton's Batman doesn't even feel like the main character in his own movie. The focus seems to be more on the Joker and Vale for the majority of the film. A little more focus on him would've made it a hell of a lot better for me. Still, this is a brilliantly made film with awesome production design and some fun sequences. For the time he's in it, Keaton does a good job as Batman and the rest of the cast is pretty great too. The atmosphere and visuals alone are absolute perfection in my opinion. Not perfect but always a fun watch.

B+