Batman on Film

Putting on the Tights One Last Time

A comprehensive review of Batman in Film

By Noah Westerfield.

As the final installment of the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy is scheduled to be released worldwide in the Summer of 2012, I was tempted to look back on the ups and downs that have been Batman on the silver screen.  For purposes of this article I am sticking to live action movies, though the animated feature length works are worth note, if merely to mention that Mark Hamil, Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars trilogy, does the voice of the Joker.  As most of these movies have been out for quite a while, I feel free to use spoilers as needed, you have been warned. 

Batman the Movie (1966)

Here we see the first treatment of the Caped Crusader on the big screen, played by Adam West.  This is not the Dark Knight as we have come to know with a gruff voice, but rather the most outlandish “theater of the absurd” rendition of a comic book character I have ever come across.  And let me tell you all, I have come across MANY an absurd comic book movie; the 1994 Roger Corman version of the Fantastic 4 comes to mind.  There is more cheese in this film than in a large queso from the Gristmill, and it’s somehow even tastier.  Impressionist Frank Gorshin plays Riddler with a manic energy, famed Latin lover Cesar Romero plays the Joker…and if you look close, you can see that he refused to shave his equally famed moustache for the role, and just had it covered with white paint, and Burgess Meredith plays the Penguin.  How much better could the cast get? Lee Meriwether as Catwoman.  Meow.

6 Shuriken

Batman (1989)

Here is the movie that made me fall in love with Batman.  The Michael Keaton Batman, directed by Tim Burton.  One thing I truly love about Burton as a director is his ability to mix the absurd and the dark.  This movie has both, dished out in heaping helpings by Jack Nicholson as the Joker.  His portrayal was chilling, insane, yet campy and way over-the-top.  We see Joker use his infamous smilex gas, which kills and leaves their victims with a rictus grin on their deceased faces, along with more “gag-like” killing devices, acid in a squirting flower, and a joy-buzzer that delivers a lethal shock.  Kim Basinger is mostly forgettable as love interest Vicky Vale, while the true glory of this movie lies not in any one performance, but in that this movie made Batman cool again.  It brought a whole new generation of readers to the delightful world of comics, and opened the door for geeks who knew nothing but that world to interact with others who were just getting started. 

7.5 Shuriken

Batman Returns (1992)

Tim Burton and Michael Keaton return, bringing with them the same delightful mix of dark gritty realism and cartoonish weirdness.  Along for the ride this time around are Danny DeVito as a fiendish Penguin, Christopher Walken as corporate shill Max Shreck, and Michelle Pfeiffer as a conflicted Catwoman.  Double meow.  This film falls short of achieving the glory of its predecessor, as most sequels are wont to do, but one thing that need be mentioned about the Burton Batman films is the extraordinary score done by Danny Elfman.  One final note.  The Red Triangle Gang, the Penguins henchmen comprised of circus themed villains, scare me to this day. 

6 Shuriken

Batman Forever (1995)

And here we go into the steep decline of Batman film history.  After two wildly successful films by Burton, Warner Brothers decides to switch directions and go with Joel Schumacher at the helm.  I can just imagine him walking in on day and saying: “What the Batsuit needs is nipples!” and instead of people slapping him and telling him how ridiculous that is, they went with it.  This could have been a good movie judging from the cast.  Val Kilmer plays the title role in his somewhat dry manner, and is offset by a stunning and seductive Nicole Kidman playing psychiatrist Chase Meridian.  This movie introduces Chris O’Donnell as Robin, injecting some youth to the cast, while Jim Carrey also dons tights as the Riddler, and Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face…who looks like some bizarre cross between a lawyer and a purple zebra.  But despite the decent casting…this movie is just bad.  But not as bad as it could be…

3 Shuriken

Batman and Robin (1997)

This is the epitome of a horrible movie from start to finish.  Terribly cheesy dialogue permeates the entire film, and more proof that A-list talent is not enough.  George Clooney is behind the mask this time in one of his most forgettable roles.  Blonde Alicia Silverstone plays Batgirl, who in the comics is a redhead, Musclehead Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Mr. Freeze, who in the comics is a wimpy scientist, and Uma Thurman plays Poison Ivy, who in the comics is attractive.  I am seething with anger right now that I had to watch that horrible movie again for this review. 

0 Shuriken I cannot think of a single bright moment to give this even one Shuriken

Batman Begins (2005)

What’s this you say? That was the last of the horrible Batman movies? Joy and rapture!  After nearly a decade for people to forget Batman and Robin, director Christopher Nolan took the franchise into the new Millennium with a gritty, realistic, back-to-basics stance on Batman.  No cheese, no campiness, just a Batman that will kick you in the teeth and have you begging for more.  We get to see the journey that a child takes to being a young man having to deal with the anger and pain of having watched his parents murder, and how he transitions to become a creature of the night, and take his first steps to right wrongs and fight injustice in a corrupt Gotham City, which is as much a character in this film as anyone.

9 Shuriken

Batman: The Dark Knight (2008)

The most recent foray into the world of Batman takes us into the darkest chapter to date.  We are introduced to Heath Ledger as the Joker.  When I first heard that particular casting decision I admit I was more than skeptical.  I think I said: “No WAY pretty boy Ledger can play the Clown Prince of Crime.”  Not only did I have to eat those words, I choked on them, as not only did Ledger give the best performance of his career, he studied insanity and depravity to such a degree in preparation for this role, it lead in part to his untimely death.  Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face was a breath of fresh air after the previous version, performed as he should be: equal parts rational and crazy.  The storyline weaves seamlessly from one arc to the next, and you never are allowed off the edge of your seat.

10 Shuriken, and a bushido Katana.  I do not give this rating lightly.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Once again an eyebrow was raised when I heard Anne Hathaway was to play Catwoman, but then I decided to wait and see.  And the waiting is killing me.  Summer can’t get here soon enough.  See you at the theater!

Noah Westerfield is a part-time ninja, a part-time writer, and a full time geek.