memento_mori's Movie Review of Batman (1989)

Rating of
2.5/4

Batman (1989)

Batman runs away from everything.
memento_mori - wrote on 09/28/13

Spoilers

I guess I'm in among the very few that don't love the 1989 Batman for its supposed large charisma and great action. It's the opposite, in fact.

The philosophy and pacing of the story arches were very muddled, though. Near the middle of the film nothing had really happened except for a few scenes where I could say: these are truly fantastic and embody what I think of Batman. Too much emphasis on puns made by the Joker, who wasn't that good to begin with.
I still think Keaton made the best Bruce Wayne, but the film has too little to say about the subject matter. Too little to say about Batman. It beats around the bush, so to speak.
And I couldn't stand the decision to make the Joker the murderer of Wayne's parents. Come on, seriously?
I'm in the minority that thinks Nicholson's Joker is terrible. He wasn't creepy, he wasn't frightening, he wasn't interesting, he was just a man with unremovable makeup that laughed a lot.
By now you might have noticed I'm not too fond of the characters, because most are extremely underdeveloped. Rarely is any cause or decision explained and never do we get remotely clever or refreshing dialogue. They felt almost unfinished.

It also has very unoriginal and uninteresting action. I found the shots of the Batmobile entertaining at first, but I was ready to break it by the end of the film. There are only so many scenes of the Batmobile driving away from danger that I can take.

Although it may have the best display of Bruce Wayne, it certainly doesn't have the best one of Batman. Guy in a suit, watchful protector, homicidal maniac, dark knight: what is he?
We never find out. Burton left it up to our imagination, and I don't think he should have, I still prefer the Nolan trilogy.
An unfinished script, outdated action, sloppy direction and overdone acting do not equal a fun Batman film in my book.

If you're going to do it dark, do it right.

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