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 Batman (1989) 

What grade would you give this film?
A 50%  50%  [ 17 ]
B 44%  44%  [ 15 ]
C 3%  3%  [ 1 ]
D 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
F 3%  3%  [ 1 ]
Total votes : 34

 Batman (1989) 
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The Greatest Avenger EVER
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Maverikk wrote:
Easily the best Batman movie. Batman Begins pales in comparison.


Watch it.. Your words will get turned around on you to for not praising Nolan's movie..


Sat Aug 19, 2006 12:57 am
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Maverikk wrote:
Easily the best Batman movie. Batman Begins pales in comparison.


I agree, well kinda, I don't think Begins pales by comparison, just that Batman '89 was a more enjoyable movie and worked better as a superhero flick. Burton understood the world of Batman better then Nolan and while it's not perfect, Bat'89's narrative is the more consistant of the two. Superhero films like Batman and SM are about establishing comic characters and creating a story which is believable within the context of it's own universe and not about being 'grounded in real world reality'.

Grade B+


Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:45 pm
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Agreed that it's better than Batman Begins.


Wed Aug 30, 2006 8:04 pm
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The best of all Batman movies. Really, no one can top Nicholson. He was brilliant.

A


Fri Sep 01, 2006 1:21 am
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Post 
Maverikk wrote:
Easily the best Batman movie. Batman Begins pales in comparison.

While I like Returns a slight bit better due to the interplay between the actors, I would agree that the Tim Burton movies are full of so much more life than the lifeless Nolan film is.


Fri Sep 01, 2006 2:24 am
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andaroo wrote:
Maverikk wrote:
Easily the best Batman movie. Batman Begins pales in comparison.

While I like Returns a slight bit better due to the interplay between the actors, I would agree that the Tim Burton movies are full of so much more life than the lifeless Nolan film is.


OUCH.. It's only a matter of time before the Nolan fans lynch you for this comment.. If this were RT, you'd be dead since there's nothing but Nolan loving ###### over there.. Burton's BATMAN movie's simply had more imagination to them and that's what counts plus Keaton was simply better than Bale was..


Fri Sep 01, 2006 2:40 am
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I watched it again last night. I always thought the film was overrated, but still pretty good. Tonight I watched and now I can say that it's extremely overrated, but still good.

I guess the thing I don't understand is, if you're going to name a film Batman, shouldn't the film be about Batman? He's a secondary character throughout the entire film to Nicholson's Joker. Maybe it's because Nicholson's Joker is much better than Keaton's Batman (Which is still very good), but you kind of forget that Batman is a character until the final act.

Also, while watching the commentary Burton says the film tried to stay away from the campiness of the TV show. While I'm not going to begin to even argue the fact that this is less campier, it's still quite campy. Maybe that's because The Joker is a campy character and a "prankster", but the scene of him running around and dancing to Prince is borderline embarassing.

However, the film works when it's focused on Batman. I thought there could've been a little more figuring out what makes Batman tick, besides Joker shooting his parents, but what's there is fine. The film also contains exciting action sequences and is fun to watch thanks to the performances.

It's good, but overrated.

B - Begins is a much better film.

Batman Forever is better.

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Wed Mar 14, 2007 2:11 am
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Post 
Batman Begins was pretty cool, but I liked Batman best. The best superhero flicks make you as interested in the villain as you are in the hero, which makes the conflict between them all the more satisfying. It's the quality that you have in Spiderman, but not Spiderman II. BB is too Batman-heavy. I know that sounds daft, but in a way, it's the villains that make the superhero.

I agree that BB was great in a lot of respects, but the Joker gives original B the edge. R'as al-Ghul just isn't a classic enough Batman villain. He appeared in the Batman universe as a cynical James Bondifying force, and it's always shown...


Thu Mar 15, 2007 6:27 pm
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Mine go

1. Batman Returns
2. Batman Begins
3. Batman

All three are A+ in my opinion though

Batman Forever- B-
Batman and Robin- F

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Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:23 pm
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C. Burton holds the film back.


Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:28 pm
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Wow, I'm surprised how much my opinion fell of this since I last watched it, considering that I'm a big fan of both Batman and Burton. It just seems like he toned down his style too much to appease the studio for this one. And I don't really like Keaton, though I thought he did alright with the eccentric part of Bruce Wayne. Jack is great, but in it for way too much and is way too comical - even for the Joker. I didn't really like the Basinger storyline either, though she was much better then some of the other Batman girlfriends (I'm looking at you, Katie Holmes!). Still, though, it's iconic and the cathedral fight is a highlight. I much prefer Begins, though, and am looking forward to the dark approach they'll take to the Joker in TDK.

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Fri Jun 22, 2007 10:34 pm
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Post Re: Batman
Watched this last night for the first time since I was like 10, I'll admit

I liked it quite a lot. I can understand a lot of Batfans' anxiety over the Joker really being the star of the show, but I liked Nicholson's work so much here that it worked for me. His deliveries, physical acting, etc. are just perfect for the role, showing Joker's insanity yet wit. It's really just classic Jack. Oddly enough, I also thought the Prince songs worked. The museum and parade sequences were among my favorite in the movie. Really any of the action sequences or ones where Burton gets to use his massive set, work pretty well, including the cathedral thing and the escape in the batmobile (which is badass).

It's not flawless, I think the dialogue and acting is shoddy when it gets away from Nicholson or the action sequences. Most noteably the Vicky Vale stuff both with Bruce or her work with Knox, and the Bruce/Alfred interaction, which isn't nearly as strong as it is in Nolan's version... Alfred really doesn't have much to do here. I think this is also why I didn't mind the Joker stealing the spotlight from Bruce, because really, Burton's Bruce scenes are really weak in comparison... it all worked out for the better. Also, it kind of makes sense with the characters that Joker would be the flash and scene stealer of Gotham, while Batman hides in the shadows and does his work quietly.

By the way, is it just me or is Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent the worst and least accurate casting decision of all time? I mean, even getting past the part where they cast an African-American for a white character... Billy Dee Williams!??!?

Pretty great movie overall

4/5

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Mon Jul 14, 2008 4:48 pm
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Post Re: Batman
Ummm yea this doesn't hold up very well to be honest. For one thing it looks insanely cheap, and the action set-pieces are horribly stilted.

I must have been high or drunk when I used to enjoy this, maybe if they laser out all the Prince stuff it might be better.

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Mon Jul 14, 2008 5:17 pm
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Post Re: Batman
I'm sure the fact that I now know what this had the potential to be affects my judgment a little bit, but only a little.

I remember never loving this movie and the re-viewing highlighted the reasons. First and foremost, this was Jack Nicholson's movie. He got top billing, his character drove the whole story, and he took over whenever he was on screen. The logistics of how things "worked" sometimes always bothered me. I know, I know--"It's a comic book movie" etc etc but that just isn't an argument to me. The people in this movie still exist in their own reality but the physics of things and on occasion the outright nonsense got to me.

There are plenty of reasons I don't really enjoy this movie that most others have mentioned already, but I just want to address the casting/directing.

As the Batman movies go, I think this one had one of (second only to Batman & Robin for me) the crappiest casts. Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Michael Gough, and Billy Dee Williams did not do it for me. The only one I enjoyed at all was Jack Nicholson and that's a big problem for the Batman movie. Burton's direction was blah, uninteresting, and pretty run-of-the-mill.

I didn't hate this movie, though. It was fun when it wasn't boring and Nicholson did completely save it. Overall I'd say C+/B-.

Of the 4 Batman movies from 89-97, Batman Returns was easily my favorite. The screenplay was better, the directing was better, and while it was missing Nicholson the DeVito/Pfeiffer combo worked well.


Mon Jul 14, 2008 11:42 pm
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Post Re: Batman
The most influential film I ever saw...it's so...immersive; captiviating-the reviewer who said "you cant take your eyes off it" hit the nail on the fucking head. 3rd best sh movie ever behind bb n superman 2.

A++++ :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup: :2thumbsup:

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Tue Jul 15, 2008 6:29 am
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Post Re: Batman
On par with Returns and definiteLy better than Forever.

B+


Tue Jul 15, 2008 11:06 am
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Post Re: Batman (1989)
I watched this for the first time in years and years, probably since I was a kid. I was surprised by how much I had forgotten. It's a good film, definitely feels like an event movie, but I wasn't a fan of handing over most of the film to Jack Nicholson's Joker. It's a smart decision because he's, well, Jack Nicholson and is fun to watch in every scene, but it makes Keaton's Bruce Wayne feel like a side character.

I can forgive it for being dated (it hasn't aged well), but I can't forgive those Prince numbers. If it wasn't Batman and it wasn't 1989, that would've been laughed off the screen today, and in a bad, bad way.

***/****

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Post Re: Batman (1989)
PRINCE

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Wed Jun 25, 2014 4:50 pm
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Post Re: Batman (1989)
I think it's aged pretty well.

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Thu Jun 26, 2014 12:17 am
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Post Re: Batman (1989)
Chippy wrote:
PRINCE



Thu Jun 26, 2014 8:26 am
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Post Re: Batman (1989)
Rewatched for the first time in 10+ years. Still amazing how immersive the atmosphere is, IDK if theres another film the felt so transportive as this one. It's a good thing the scenery and music (and Basinger) are so attractive because the story is very sloppy.

-Jack makes eye contact with Jerry Hall = affair, time to turn him in!
-Wayne and Vale spend a few hours together = time to try and love each other!

Lots of plot holes. Still great fun but...lots of holes.

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Mon Jun 24, 2019 11:34 pm
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Post Re: Batman (1989)
Maybe it hasn't aged well or maybe its because Nolan's version exists but I didn't like this one at all. There were lots of pacing issues and plot holes. Loved the atmosphere, Nicholson is brilliant in this, the gadgets are great (even for being such old movie).


Sun Jun 14, 2020 5:03 am
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Post Re: Batman (1989)
The atmosphere here is beyond captivating. Not sure I can think of another film that makes you so convinced that you're in another world.

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Mon Jun 15, 2020 3:41 pm
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Post Re: Batman (1989)
This has amazing direction, production design, costumes, makeup, and the actors are all game for what's given to them. But it sorely lacks heart and the character development is weak here. Nicholson is best in show here but his scenery chewing antics lack subtlety. I remember liking Returns a lot better. Though, this style of dark but larger than life and fantastical is what I would want from a Batman film, rather than something that is "realistic" or "gritty"


Tue Mar 08, 2022 12:16 am
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Post Re: Batman (1989)
Nicholson is fun and his transformation scene with the plastic surgeon is one of the best scenes in cinema history, but yeah, Returns is better and really sinks up how great of a match Burton and Batman were

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