Batman:
This movie came at a crucial time when Batman was seeing new life in the comics as a darker, grittier, and more realistic series. Burton's Batman captured the seriousness of the series without forgetting what made silver age Batman fun. Equal parts action, drama, and dark comedy, it featured memorable dialogue, brilliant (albeit dated) scenery and a strong supporting cast, with Nicholson's joker as the highlight. Nicholson feels like he came right out of the stellar 90s cartoon, just goofy enough that his dark side seems even darker by contrast.
Michael Keaton is still the definitive Batman. He's just the right balance of everything that makes the character great, without taking the grittiness or the campiness too far. He has a naturally intimidating presence without looking like he's trying too hard and a voice that commands both fear and respect without sounding like a chain-smoking Clint Eastwood. The only drawback is that he's not given much to work with as Bruce. Keaton's Bruce Wayne feels more like a regular guy who happens to be Batman, and while he's able to subtly internalize everything that drives Batman, he doesn't stand out as a character.
The action scenes are decent but nothing unforgettable by today's standards. The dialogue is a bit cheesy at times, but it helps that the movie can at least have a little fun at its own expense.
Final Score:
Batman Returns:
Burton's Sequel is bigger, louder, campier, and bolder in every possible way. There's more of an emphasis on action and Burton's trademark macabre surrealism. The cast this time around is just as strong, with the villains at the center of attention. Danny DeVito is endearingly creepy as the Penguin, but a disappointing departure from the comics' cold, calculating villain. Michelle Pfeifer is the definitive Catwoman (not that Halle Berry is exactly competition.) She's charismatically sexy, but vicious enough to hold her own, and never allows her exaggerated quirks to feel too campy. Christopher Walken is lovably devious as Max Shreck, and feels like he was born to play a comic book villain. Keaton gives another good performance as Batman, but doesn't shine like he did in the original because the plot gives him less to work with. The chemistry between him and Pfeifer is great, but there's less connection between him and the other villains.
Unfortunately, the few things that didn't work in the original are also made bigger and louder in the sequel. The subplot about the Penguin's identity goes nowhere, and his race for mayor offers some great dark comedy but hardly feels essential to the movie. Catwoman's origin feels a little bit cheesy, but it's presented with so much style that you won't care. Luckily Batman Returns makes up for its few pitfalls with pure style and charisma All in all a solid sequel that's almost as good as the original.
Final Score:
Batman Forever:
Val Kilmer is a passable Batman but doesn't hold a candle to Keaton. He has the boyish charisma to capture the billionaire playboy side of Bruce but he's never convincing as the conflicted hero. The plot, sets, acting, and just about everything else in the movie is campy, cartoonish, and somehow feels more dated than the Burton movies despite being newer. It's kind of ironic considering how mature and realistic the cartoon felt.
The villains this time around, Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face and Jim Carey as the Riddler, are bright and flamboyant, reveling in silver age cliches. On the one hand they offer some good, silly fun. On the other hand, they do absolutely no justice to such potentially great characters. Unfortunately with dumbed down villains comes dumbed-down action, and none of the confrontations between the heroes and villains have the dramatic weight that they should. Also, I'd need an entire rant just to explain how asinine the Riddler's scheme was.
Schumacher's movie also makes a risky move introducing Robin into the fold. Needless to say it's a risk that doesn't pay off, since Robin is just as uninteresting and undeveloped as the rest of the supporting cast.
I'll admit there were some moments of delightful, campy fun, but not enough to deserve comparison to Burton or Nolan's movies. Sometimes Batman Forever is delightfully quirky, and sometimes it's just plain dumb. I had some fun with this movie, but I can't in good conscience recommend it to anyone else.
Final Score:
Batman and Robin:
There's a fine line between misunderstood masterpieces and bad movies. Beneath that is a broader line between bad movies and terrible movies. Still beneath that is a line like an airstrip with bright lights commanding you to steer clear. That's where we find Batman and Robin. This is a movie whose very name is among the scariest phrases a viewer can hear, along with "Tyler Perry presents" and "From the Mind of M. Night Shymalan."
While Batman Forever might at least qualify as a guilty pleasure, Schumacher's second outing is just embarrassingly bad. This time around, George Clooney stars as Batman, which turns out exactly how it sounds. Imagine Bruce Wayne being played as the lead in a light romantic comedy and you'll more or less get the picture. Robin's still around and he hasn't gotten any less bland since the last movie. Alicia Silverstone joins the cast as Alfred's daughter and Batgirl. For what it's worth she at least brings some excitement into her character, even if she's rarely given anything interesting to say or do
The villains for this one are Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze and Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy, both of whom look more like random people in Halloween costumes than legitimate Batman villains. Bane is also featured as a minor villain. He's big and he breaks things, making him the most accurately adapted character in the whole movie. Poison Ivy acts as a temptress trying to turn Batman and Robin against each other, except there's really nothing tempting about her to the viewer. And it takes a special kind of ineptitude to make Uma Thurman unappealing.
Mr Freeze is the best part of the movie, which is a already a bad sign, since his personality consists entirely of making ice-themed puns and being Arnold. The puns are unBEARable (bonus points if you get the reference) but at least they're something to laugh at.
The plot involves something about Mr. Freeze stealing diamonds in order to fuel a machine that will bring a new ice age on Gotham. To explain it any further in full sentences would require putting more thought into it than the writers did. The action scenes feel even more goofy and slapstick than in Batman Forever and are accompanied by too many cliched one-liners. I highly recommend this movie as a drinking game or hazing ritual, but otherwise steer clear of it.
Final Score:
Batman Begins:
Now this is more like it. A Batman movie that captures the feel of the 90s animated series and some of the best comics. Batman Begins is a reboot and a very loose adaptation of Frank Miller's Batman Year One. Rebooting was definitely the way to go since no logical continuity could possibly flow from Batman and Robin. The absence of Robin and the re-imagined Batmobile are both welcome changes. This time relative newcomer Christopher Nolan takes the helm, and his straightforward yet cerebral style suits the Batman series perfectly.
The movie features Christian Bale as Batman in his first days as Gotham City's caped crusader, and he's easily the best since Keaton. He captures the anguish and conflict of his character but can also play the billionaire playboy side with just the right hint of sarcasm and self-loathing. Though while he excels as Bruce Wayne, he's merely okay as Batman. Sometimes he's appropriately dark, like early Frank Miller's batman, and sometimes he completely overdoes it, like latter day Frank Miller's "Goddamn Batman." And oh God that voice. It sounds like no one told Bale he wasn't playing the lead in Gran Torino. It's a clear example of Bale's Batman going out of his way to seem scary instead of just naturally being scary. Visually, however, Batman is handled perfectly, especially when he uses stealth and fear against his enemies
The supporting cast is the best the series has ever had. Michael Caine plays a phenomenal Alfred, equal parts compassionate father figure and subtle badass. Katie Homes is a bold and energetic Rachel Dawes, but she looks a bit young for her part (something I never thought I'd say about a former Dawson's Creek member). Gary Oldman plays Gordon well enough that the movie could easily have been a great cop drama without Batman. Cillian Murphy gives a chilling and understated performance as Scarecrow, and has a way of conveying threats with his eyes alone.
The absolute highlight of the movie, however, is Liam Neeson as Ra's Al Ghul. He's the rare kind of villain who never steals the spotlight but is always the center of attention. He can pull off being sympathetic and sinister at the same time, all while keeping a straight face. And most importantly, he's the only villain who actually feels like a legitimate foil for Batman who can match him on every level.
The plot is a tightly structured thriller that would work almost as well without Batman, which speaks volumes about the believability of the world Nolan creates. My only complaint is the that the action scenes occasionally feel a little rushed and chaotic, making them hard to follow. Still, when a movie gets so much right, pointing out a minor flaw or two feels like nitpicking.
Final Score:
The Dark Knight:
I'll do my best to keep this short since there's so much I could ramble on about for hours with this movie.
First, my one major complaint about the first movie was addressed. The action in The Dark Knight not only flows more coherently, it's also bigger, bolder, and more imaginative. The Batmobile chase scene and the assault on Lau's office stand out as some of the best action scenes of the last decade.
Bale is once again an excellent Bruce Wayne, although less screen-time and a shift in focus to the villains means that his character isn't as interesting this time around. And once again, Bale's Batman is merely decent. He carries himself with more confidence this time, but some of the one-liners and cliched hero speeches he has to deliver in the batman voice are just painful.
The supporting cast is as tight as ever, with Maggie Gyllenhaal replacing Katie Homes as Rachel Dawes. While she gives a strong performance and transforms the character into a more emotionally vulnerable figure, she ultimately gets stuffed in a fridge purely for the sake of plot advancement. And afterwards, her death is never brought up again in any meaningful way. Aaron Eckhart plays a cool and sympathetic Harvey Dent with just enough of a dark side to make his transformation into Two-face believable. Alfred and Fox are unfortunately relegated to giving motivational speeches. They play their parts well, but they simply aren't given as much to work with.
And finally, Heath Ledger plays a lovably disturbing Joker. It's as if he took everything that worked about all the previous portrayals and added a little extra insanity just for good measure. Everything from the calculated madness of his plots to his chilling laugh and instantly quotable scar stories is sure to make him a character for the ages. While he doesn't quite match the simple brilliance of Neeson's Ra's Al Ghul he's by far the more iconic villain. My only problem with this version of the Joker is his need to over-intellectualize everything. The mystery behind the character is half his appeal, so viewers don't really need him to explain his philosophy on the world. To quote another rendition of the Joker, "My jokes are elegant in their simplicity! You see them, you get them, you laugh." That's what this movie sometimes misses. Characters don't need to go out of their way to explain what they're already implying with their actions.
The plot this time is almost as good as Batman Begins. While Nolan's first outing was a tightly structured thriller, The Dark Knight is frantic and loose, hinging on pure intensity and cool twists that sometimes don't quite make sense in retrospect. Nitpicking aside, this is still a damn fine movie.
Final Score:
