The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being the clownishly homicidal Joker.
When “Batman” was released in theaters in 1989, I was still living back in my hometown of Dublin, Ireland. At that time, I hated “Batman” but not because it wasn’t a good film, on the contrary, it was one of Tim Burton’s best, no, the reason I despised the movie was that it was competing with “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” and to understand my feelings, you have to go back a little further. Without going into too much detail, when I was a child, my father left my mother and my younger sister and I and not long after, I discovered Indiana Jones in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Suffice it to say, Indy became a surrogate father for me. He was not Superman, he was not invincible, he was a good guy but could make mistakes. If you shot him, he bled. If you punched him, he hurt. He wasn’t perfect but at nine-years-old, for me, he was. And when “Batman” challenged “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” in the summer of ’89, I was pissed. Granted, I was 17-years-old then but I was still very protective of Indy and as I got older, naturally, that changed and my appreciation of Burton’s vision became more unclouded.
Sitting down to watch this 4K version was the first time I had watched it in many years and it is probably my favorite Tim Burton film, along with “Batman Returns.” I have found that after these two movies, Burton’s visual interpretations became, how do I say, weirder? More eccentric? More outlandish? “Edward Scissorhands.” “Mars Attacks!” “Ed Wood.” And the less we say about his version of “Planet of the Apes,” the better. This was the first time Batman was brought to the big screen since the 1966 iteration, “Batman: The Movie,” which starred Adam West and Burt Ward. People were curious, would we have the now famous BIFF? BANG? WALLOP? every time someone was punched or kicked? Thankfully, no, Burton’s “Batman” remained faithful to Bob Kane’s more serious comic book overtones but wasn’t without moments of levity.
As we are introduced to Bruce Wayne/Batman (Michael Keaton), he has already made a name for himself combatting crime in Gotham City. His womanizing and philandering, which was more prominent in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, here, is not even touched upon. He is seen as a genuinely caring person who loves the city he protects and until he meets Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger), a journalist and photographer interested in his story, he has no apparent love interest(s) in his life. Naturally, every Batman story needs a criminal mastermind and who better than the most recognized and celebrated villains of them all, the Joker, played with delightful relish by Jack Nicholson. After Batman drops Jack Napier, a known psychopath, into a vat of chemicals, the resulting change in his facial features causes a plastered-on grin, culminating in the creation of Napier’s alter-ego, The Joker. From here on out, both protagonist and antagonist go at it with each other, until the inevitable final confrontation on top of Gotham City’s tallest cathedral.
“Batman” was a huge financial success around the world upon its release in 1989 and spawned three sequels, which I will be reviewing below. The impressive sets and production design brought back memories of Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner” and much like that film’s dark atmosphere, here, while the action takes place mostly after dark, we do have a few scenes that transpire during the day, giving us a much-needed break from all the nighttime doom and gloom. Michael Keaton, who was known more as a comedic actor up to this point, proved to be a good choice to play the Dark Knight as he brings gravitas to essential scenes but as Bruce Wayne, he is unassuming and likable, much more so than Christian Bale’s drunken and at times, arrogant portrayal. Of course, this movie belongs to Jack Nicholson, who obviously had no qualms about playing a cartoon villain but because of his sardonic wit and devilish grin, you can’t take your eyes off him every moment he’s onscreen. While Nolan’s films were enjoyable, they suffered from unrelenting seriousness and very little humor. Burton’s “Batman,” however, while nowhere near as solemn as Nolan’s trilogy, infuses itself with just the right mix of earnestness and humor.”
“Batman” will be released individually on 4K Ultra HD June 4th and as a special four-film collection September 17th
When a corrupt businessman and the grotesque Penguin plot to take control of Gotham City, only Batman can stop them, while the Catwoman has her own agenda.
The great aspect of continuing a franchise like Batman is that after setting up the series with the first movie, typically the origin story, the rest of the series can concentrate solely on telling new narratives, and that is exactly what “Batman Returns” does. Michael Keaton, minus Jack Nicholson of course, returns as the Dark Knight but this time around, he faces off against another well-known villain, The Penguin, played with hilarious depravity by Danny DeVito. But The Penguin isn’t Batman’s only nemesis, he must also tackle crooked businessman Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) and a leather-clad Catwoman, played with sexy fervor by Michelle Pfeiffer.
After having been born deformed, Oswald Tucker is dumped by his parents into Gotham City’s sewer system, where eventually, he is found by a family of penguins at Gotham Zoo. Many years later, businessman Max Shreck (Walken) announces to the citizens of Gotham, his plan to build a new power plant that will supply the city with much-needed energy but before he has a chance to move forward, he is kidnapped in a brazen attack by the Red Triangle Gang who take him underground to meet The Penguin. There, Penguin blackmails him with evidence of his wrongdoings, unless he helps him return to the surface, to exact revenge against the people who shunned him all these years. He agrees but when his secretary, Selina Kyle (Pfeiffer) uncovers his nefarious plan to drain Gotham City so he can take control of it, Shreck has her pushed out her bedroom window. Thought to be dead, she is revived by her cats and takes on the moniker of Catwoman, vowing revenge against Shreck.
As Penguin comes to the surface with plans on bombing the entire city into the ground, Batman must prevent the ensuing chaos from happening, all the while trying to navigate a new relationship with the mysterious Selina Kyle. As tensions grow, and abominable plans come to fruition, Batman and Catwoman, dressed in their fetishistic costumes, must confront their opponents, and each other, if they are to succeed in saving Gotham City once more.
“Batman Returns” never feels like a sequel, much like the James Bond series, it’s just a new entry in the Batman universe. Bruce Wayne’s love interest from the previous film, Kim Basinger’s Vicki Vale, is only mentioned briefly by Bruce when he’s talking to Selina, stating that she couldn’t handle his duality and as a result, they broke up. Michael Gough returns as Wayne’s loyal friend and family butler, Alfred, while Pat Hingle returns as Commissioner James Gordon, the only two actors that appeared in all four of the initial Batman movies.
Director Tim Burton keeps the story flowing at a rapid pace and ups the ante for Batman, giving him not one villain, as in the aforementioned “Batman” but three, The Penguin, Max Shreck, and Catwoman. Much like its predecessor, a lot of the story takes place at night and the action set-pieces are filled with sinister visual grandeur, thanks to production designer Bo Welch, who took over from Anton Furst. What I found with these four initial Batman pictures, was that by the end of each one, they established a set-up for the next movie, only for said film to go off in a completely different direction. We are led to believe that Catwoman perishes by the end of “Batman Returns” but we know she is still alive and so the stage is set, so to speak, but in the next two iterations, she is never seen or heard from again. A pity because Batman and Catwoman had genuine chemistry and seeing them team up together in a future story would have made for a far more interesting story than the collaboration of Batman and Robin, which would transpire in the next film, “Batman Forever.”
“Batman Returns” will be released individually on 4K Ultra HD June 4th and as a special four-film collection September 17th
Batman must battle former district attorney Harvey Dent, who is now Two-Face and Edward Nygma, The Riddler with help from an amourous psychologist and a young circus acrobat who becomes his sidekick, Robin.
After two outings as Batman, Michael Keaton reportedly turned down a $15 million payday to reprise his Bruce Wayne/Batman personas in “Batman Forever” stating that he wanted to move on to other projects. Tim Burton decided to step away from the director’s chair too, staying on in a producer capacity and that is when Joel Schumacher was hired for the sought-after position. Val Kilmer, who had made an impact on audiences but also on Schumacher as Doc Holliday in George P. Cosmatos’ 1993 “Tombstone,” won the role of Batman over Ethan Hawke, Ralph Fiennes, William Baldwin, and Johnny Depp. As before, the only recognizable faces to return from the previous two movies were Michael Gough as Batman’s butler and Pat Hingle as Commissioner James Gordon.
This time around, Batman must face off against The Riddler (Jim Carrey) and Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones). When Edward Nygma (Carrey), a researcher who works for Wayne Enterprises, tries to sell his invention, a device that can beam television signals into a person’s brain, to Bruce Wayne, initially he is intrigued by the idea but when Nygma presses the situation, demanding that Wayne give him a straight-up answer, Wayne refuses, stating that his idea is awfully close to mind manipulation. Nygma has a meltdown as he thought Wayne would jump at the chance to utilize his creation and he develops an alter-ego, The Riddler. He teams up with the disgraced former district of Gotham City, Harvey Dent (Jones), who while trying to convict crime boss Sal Maroni in court, was attacked by Maroni with acid, causing half of his face to become badly scarred, which made him go insane, thereby creating the “Two-Face” persona.
While Bruce Wayne (Kilmer) is attending the circus with his new love interest, Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman), Two-Face and The Riddler appear, threatening to blow everyone up unless Batman surrenders to them. When Wayne stands up and claims to be Batman, the surrounding noise is too much for anybody to hear and The Flying Graysons, who are performing at the circus, decide to take on Two-Face’s men, knocking many of them out. The youngest, Dick (Chris O’Donnell), climbs to the roof and successfully manages to throw Two-Face’s bomb over the side and into the river but Two-Face shoots the rest of his family and then he and The Riddler leave. Having watched Two-Face kill Dick’s entire family, Bruce now feels responsible for him as he knows the pain of losing both of his own parents and offers a place for him to stay at Wayne Manor until he lands on his feet. Dick declines, stating that he wants to find Two-Face and kill him. Bruce tries to tell him that killing him won’t ease the pain but will make it much worse.
When Batman is led into a trap by Two-Face and The Riddler, Dick appears, dressed up in his circus costume and helps rescue him. Bruce is outraged that he would put his life on the line for him but at the insistence of Alfred, Bruce finally acquiesces and gives Dick his own costume and Dick chooses his alter-ego name, Robin. Together, they track down Two-Face and The Riddler who have taken Chase hostage and are residing on Claw Island, Two-Face’s lair. The Riddler, who has refined his brainwave collecting device, plans on using it to control all of Gotham City’s citizens to where he can collect all of their private information, credit card numbers, bank account information, but before he can turn it on, Batman destroys it with Batarang, causing The Ridler to have a mental breakdown. When Two-Face corners the three of them, Batman manages to get the upper hand, causing Two-Face to fall to his death. With Batman and Robin now a team, the only thing left to do is review “Batman & Robin,” the movie.
As the director, Joel Schumacher decided to tone down many of the dark elements and undertones that Tim Burton had employed in the previous two Batman outings and offered more lighthearted comedy, which was much needed. At this point in time, Jim Carrey had already made three movies in a row with each of them making over $100 million, “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,” “The Mask,” and “Dumb and Dumber,” so his casting as The Riddler was met with enthusiasm by fans but after watching him onscreen for a while, one tends to get tired of his customary slapstick ridiculousness, and you realize you’re not actually watching The Riddler but The Riddler by way of Jim Carrey. Tommy Lee Jones had just won his Oscar for “The Fugitive” but even he could not give Two-Face the proper personality he needed, resorting instead to exaggerated overacting, the kind of performance that would have been best suited for the 1960s campy “Batman” TV show. Tensions on set didn’t help things either with Val Kilmer being branded as “childish and impossible” by director Schumacher and years later, Carrey himself said that Tommy Lee Jones told him on set once that “I hate you. I really don’t like you…I cannot sanction your buffoonery.” Schumacher himself summed things up perfectly when speaking about Kilmer and Jones and their egos when he said, “Jim Carrey was a gentleman, and Tommy Lee was threatened by him. I’m tired of defending overpaid, overprivileged actors. I pray I don’t work with them again.”
In spite of these on-set issues, “Batman Forever” went on to become a huge financial hit, making more money than its predecessor, “Batman Returns.” Onscreen, the cast works well together, in spite of the behind-the-scenes turmoil that plagued the set but overall, “Batman Forever” feels more like an extended MTV music video, filled with bright, glossy colors and it’s here you realize that while Burton’s movies were much darker, Gotham City really needed that characterization, after all, many of Batman’s nemeses rose from the darkness within the city and the city, much like the people who populate it, is as much a character in any Batman narrative as any of its physical counterparts, probably even more so.
“Batman Forever” will be released individually on 4K Ultra HD June 4th and as a special four-film collection September 17th
Batman and Robin try to keep their relationship together even as they must stop Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy from freezing Gotham City.
“Batman & Robin” was a complete waste of talent, time, and money. Joel Schumacher returned as director once more but stated years later that he tried to convince Warner Bros. to let him direct an adaptation of Frank Miller’s “Batman: Year One,” where he would go back to basics and make a darker film than had been done before but Warner Bros. wasn’t interested. They felt that “Batman Forever” had been such a huge hit because the film lightened the tone of its two dark predecessors and insisted that “Batman & Robin” follow suit. While it did make money upon its initial release, it paled in comparison to “Batman Forever” and it suffered at the hands of the critics, with many stating it was “A loud, long and pointless spectacle” – Steven Rea: Philadelphia Inquirer, “‘Batman & Robin’ is as bad as anything on screen this year” – Rod Dreher: South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and “A sniggering, exhausting, overproduced extravaganza that has virtually all of the humanity pounded out of it in the name of an endless parade of stunt sequences” – Gene Siskel: Chicago Tribune.
While Val Kilmer decided not to reprise his role as the Dark Knight, choosing instead to film the debacle that would become “The Island of Doctor Moreau” with Marlon Brando, George Clooney, who was a big name on TV thanks to the success of “ER,” stepped in. Chris O’Donnell returned in his role as Dick Grayson/Robin as did Michael Gough as Alfred, Wayne’s butler and Pat Hingle as Commissioner James Gordon. This time around, Batman and Robin end up adding another member to their superhero family in the form of Barbara Wilson/Batgirl, played by Alicia Silverstone. With Alfred as her uncle, she comes to visit him at Wayne Manor after her parents have perished in a car crash and eventually gets her own suit and moniker. Our three superheroes must face off against Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who plans on freezing all of Gotham City but they must also fight Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman), a botanist who uses plant toxins and mind-controlling pheromones for her criminal activities.
“Batman & Robin,” despite its A-list cast, is a mind-numbing embarrassment. The one-liners are groan-inducing, the flashy visuals are overly ostentatious, and yes, our superhero suits are complete with nipples. I never saw this movie upon its initial release as the word of mouth was so bad and I once tried to watch it on DVD many years later but turned it off about 15 minutes in. I had to endure its full 125-minute runtime and so badly wanted to switch it off every five minutes but because it was for this review, I had to stick it out. Do I feel better now that I can finally say I’ve watched “Batman & Robin” in its entirety? What do you think?
The only praiseworthy aspect of “Batman & Robin” is its closing credits. There is nothing else worth mentioning about the movie. There are no redeeming qualities, no special shoutouts, nothing about the film is commendable and that is pathetic, considering how much onscreen and behind-the-scenes talent was involved. Luckily, the cast and director Joel Schumacher were able to put this nightmare behind them and move on to bigger and better projects, and in Hollywood, to be able to successfully walk away from a catastrophic disaster such as this, that is the stuff dreams are made of.
“Batman & Robin” will be released individually on 4K Ultra HD June 4th and as a special four-film collection September 17th
