Batman

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

It's been quite a while since I've caught up with these version of the character, the ones I was nuts for as a little kid without ever being allowed to actually watch the film.

This is the film many people credit (or blame) for creating the modern day studio tent-pole blockbuster movie franchise that we are saturated with today. The impact this film had, just in terms of marketing and tie-ins, was unprecedented. And it was made back when no-one was really making comic book films, all people remembered about Batman was the hilarious Adam West TV series.

Tim Burton goes for a much more modern, dark take, although compared to the current films Christopher Nolan is making it's still very comic book-ish, graphic and stylised. The design of these films and their success lead to a lot of imitators, still too this day. It's a very iconic film. Jack Nicholson's Joker, Danny Elfman's score, The design of Gotham City, even the Logo, they all exist in my memory, even before I ever saw the film.

I remember when I did I was surprised how violent it was. Doesn't seem like much now though. I listened to Burton's commentary where he talks a lot about his experience dealing with his first big studio picture at a time when the word "Franchise" didn't exist in the executives minds.

There was actually a lot of stuff I had completely forgotten about with this film. The humour is what stood out most. And probably in comparison to some later films, just how much I liked Kim Basinger in the female lead.

Nolan's films are just incredible but I still really like a lot of Burton's stuff.