Tuesday 28 June 2005
Batman (1989)
With "Batman Begins" now in cinemas I thought the time had come to re-evaluate the first of the modern Batman films. Of the two Tim Burton-directed movies, I have always preferred "Batman Returns" to the original -- and watching it again did not change my mind. The star of the film is the impressive production design which did win an oscar but the dark and oppressive city is less effective on the small screen. The picture did not win any kudos for its story and is little more than a series of unconnected scenes. Among the actors the most watchable remains Jack Nicholson's Joker who is still good fun. Michael Keaton while far preferable to Val Kilmer or George Clooney in the third and fourth outings is not really that impressive; he is capable of wild interpretations, but I think he was restrained by the inhibitions of his double role. It will be interesting to see if Christian Bale brings more life to his enactment.
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2 comments:
One villan I could never take to in the series and films is 'the penguin' good actor but he just made me cringe.......laughably that was the point I suppose.~xxR
I remember seeing this film at the cinema when it was released in 1989 and feeling a huge surge of excitement at seeing such a grown up, violent Batman, the scarred vigilante of the Frank Miller books. The only problem with the film when viewing it now is how dated it has become...the grandstanding of Nicholson makes the film nullifies the sheer point of it, practically renaming the film JOKER would have been perhaps more apt...and as for Batman Begins, it is a far better interpretation of the Dark Knight and a very well made film...go check it out!
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