30 years later, thoughts on the 1989 film BATMAN

[daBronzeBomma]

June 23rd, 1989.





I still remember it like it was yesterday.

I had never seen legitimate Bat-Mania before. The original Bat-Mania came and went in the 1960s (surrounding the Adam West TV show) years before I was even born. And Bat-Mania III in 2008 (surrounding the Heath Ledger film) was viewed thru a much more jaded eye.

But the 2nd Bat-Mania was utterly inescapable. I had never seen a marketing campaign like it before.

And the movie itself?

At the time, mind- blowing.

Tim Burton at the peak of his powers as a director.

Michael Keaton, as unlikely a choice as there was at the time, made a believer in his Bruce Wayne and Batman out of me.

Kim Basinger was great with what she had to work with in her Vicki Vale.

And Jack Nicholson? An absolute tour de force as the Joker.

To this point, I was not buying Batman comics. I may have only read one Batman comic prior to this movie. My exposure was strictly the 1970s/80s Super Friends cartoon and reruns of the 1960s Batman show.

The movie itself hasn't aged that well over the years, but at the time completely changed how I viewed the Dark Knight.

But it definitely hit me like a figurative bomb.

And was the coronation of Batman as the new Omega Super Hero.

Batman has ruled the superhero world for exactly 3 decades today. And that movie is the start of his reign.



Your thoughts and memories on this influential film?

[regg215]

Overall I think this is one of those movies that just means so much to the success of the character that it is really almost impossible to criticize the movie. I was born in 87 and was too young to remember seeing it in theaters although I know my dad did take me, but I must have watched the movie a 100 times on VHS when I was younger. My overall fandom of Batman started with this movie and while stuff like the animated series really grew my fandom it all started for me with this movie. Almost all my batman stuff as a kid was related to this film, it's impossible for me to separate the nostalgia of how much this movie meant to me as a kid from my actual view of the film. Watching it now I know there are all kinds of things that are off about the movie, from Batman Killing, to joker being the one who killed his parents as well as several other things. But as much as those things bug me, I just don't really care or hold it against this movie because of how much it shaped my fandom of the character.

While it has been surpassed by other Batman films,I still this as one of the top 10 comic book movies of all time and would argue until I am blue in the face with anyone who disagrees.

[Spencermalley935]

While I don't hold it as a benchmark of Superhero cinema like a lot of people do, It's still a damn entertaining movie.

[dancj]

I liked its visuals a the time, but I've never liked the film that much - and I really dislike it now.

Jack Nickolson was terrible.

The costume was too stiff - and ruined the fighting scenes.

Commissioner Gordon was completely wrong.

The sets were the thing I liked most at the time, but they irritate me now.

I didn't really care for Michael Keaton, but he wasn't terrible.

Alfred was lacking the sarcastic wit he should have (it took till Batman vs Superman for them to finally get that right).

The Batplane happening to turn up with exactly the same pliers built in to grab the balloons (and which have no other possible use) was a terrible bit of Deus Ex Machina.

I thought Batman Returns was a big improvement.

[Mace Dolex]

I was collecting Batman for two years prior and was aware of the live action film due to Denny O'Neil's editorials in the letter columns but at the time I was living in Ecuador that celebrity news was few and far between that we didn't get first glimpses of any footage until the June 23rd U.S. premier because the actual movie came to Ecuador in November 1989.

And Batmania did cross over the Spanish speaking countries just like in the U.S., there were Bat paraphernalia everywhere from bootleg T-shirts to even reruns of the 60's Batman show.

The movie itself was fantastic even with Joker taking up much of the film and the dated Prince songs.