I remember getting out of the car, walking up to the theatre and in front of the ticket window was the Batmobile. Not the old 60’s version, but the new, sleek, jet-black Batmobile. I didn’t know the word when I was eight, but that car was sexy. And now, as I watch Batman again, almost twenty years later, I realize the word isn’t sexy; it’s stylized.
I’m not going to dwell on the shortcomings of the film or turn this into an “Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Tim Burton’s Batman” blog, but I can only talk about my memories of the movie as a kid and how I look at it now. It is one of those great movies like
Apparently, there was a huge outcry against the casting of Michael Keaton in the movie. The internet did not exist then and I don’t really remember any of it, but I can understand why people were suspicious and also, why they were satisfied. His is great as Bruce Wayne, but in all of the movies, I’ve never seen anything as compelling as Keaton trying to tell Kim Basinger that he is Batman. He captures the true essence of
One cannot talk about the film without talking about Jack. The Oscar winner goes over the top for this role, playing off his public persona and previous performances. But enough about Jack Palance, Jack Nicholson is the star of the film, as expressly written in his contract giving him top billing and a huge percentage of the film’s gross profit, approximately sixty million dollars. He chews through the scenery, has the best lines in the script and did I mention he made sixty million dollars off this movie? He was the definitive Joker character, but even Mark Hamill in the cartoon was better than Nicholson’s incarnation.
I really loved Kim Basinger in the movie and especially Robert Wuhl, as the more intrepid reporter Frank Knox. That they never brought back his character is another shortcoming of the series, right up there with not bringing back Billy Dee Williams, opting for a different three named actor to flesh out that role.
The final climax is one which never was really topped, not even in Begins. Everyone knew that Bale could beat Neeson, but in this movie, Batman is in mortal danger and having already saved the city, fights for himself. Instead, he would go on in other movies to always save someone else or, (I can’t believe I’m typing this) save
My thoughts kept returning to The Dark Knight though and I was struck by how many themes in this film are to be revisited in the new one. Of course, there is the obvious comparison’s between Nicholson and Ledger’s performances, but I think we can lay those to rest now. I’m talking about issues like corruption, organized crime, a love triangle and the city’s ambivalence towards Batman. Plus, you add in beefed up roles for both Alfred and Gordon, toss in secondary characters like Lucius Fox, Scarecrow, the Gordon kids, Mike Engel and more, it’s no wonder the film is almost three hours long.
As I watch the film again, I’m filled with a sense of nostalgia. It’s feeling that has permeated me lately with the impending release of The Dark Knight. Because Batman is timeless, the movies make me feel like a kid again, only this time, I’m going into it a much wiser and older kid. I can’t wait.
2 comments:
Just seeing the images takes me back.
I was 12 when Batman came out. It's safe to say that I was right about the target audience, and it's also safe to say that I gobbled it up hook, line and sinker.
It saddens me a bit to watch it these days and admit to myself that it hasn't aged as well as I thought it would (for example, despite the mostly old-time look, the use of 80s-era sedans for the Joker's goons and other cars in the background kill the illusion for me every time), it still has aged okay for a 20 year old film.
It's a dead heat for me in the "best Batman" contest between Keaton and Bale. Thankfully, they're very different actors giving us very different portrayals.
I love Nicholson's perfomance and can't stand when others say how he was just being himself. I disagree - I think he really caught the spirit of the character, and damn - he was dangerous.
And I gotta tell ya - that Batmobile is still the sweetest damn car around. I'll take that over the Rumbler any day of the week.
It's a shame that the first in each series is so strong, as they can't help but be compared - it'd be a lot easier if one of them really sucked. ;)
(No, I'm not counting this as my entry to the blog-a-thon, but it's probably long enough. Sorry.)
I'm afraid I may have saturated my childhood in saccharine as well. Sugar coated with syrup on side, some should say, all alliteration aside.
It is not as great a movie as I remember it to be. But, I tend to let go of myself for about ninety minutes and get caught up in it again. The good parts definitely keep me moving through the bad parts and I truly get excited for that scene in the apartment between Bruce and the Joker.
Mean kid. Bad seed. Hurt people.
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