The Batman Anthology: 1989-1997
The first four movies about Gotham's crime fighter are a mixed bag
With the latest Batman movie The Dark Knight just months away from its July 18 release, here's a look back at the first four big screen outings for the caped crusader
Director Chris Nolan did an excellent job with the most recent entry in the Batman franchise, Batman Begins, and his follow-up is widely anticipated. Until audiences finally get to see what could be a rare case of a sequel that's better than the original, kick your nostalgia up a gear and jog some memories of what the Batman series used to be like.
Batman: The Original, And Still One Of The Best
The 1989 Batman is a highlight of the series. Michael Keaton stars as the troubled hero, taking on his most famous nemesis the Joker (portrayed with playful lunacy by Jack Nicholson). This movie helped break the mold on comic book hero productions, showing that they could be dark and slightly edgy, while retaining enough great action to keep mainstream audiences entertained.
Director Tim Burton brilliantly conjured up a memorable version of Gotham City, Batman's home town. Sticking to the spirit of the comics, he presents it as a sprawling, Gothic and dangerous place, and injects Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne with far more depth than comic book movies before had given their protagonists.
Action in this movie is well done, with some great set pieces -- including the first sight of Batman's plane the Batwing, and a climactic battle with the Joker atop a bell tower -- and a script that doesn't try to rely on puns.
Batman Returns Retains The Charm Of The First Movie
Burton and Keaton came back for 1992's Batman Returns, which is almost on a par with the original. This time round the bad guys are the Penguin (Danny DeVito) and Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer). Great casting on both parts, but unfortunately it began the trend of there being at least two bad guys in every Batman movie.
For the most part, the movie does well in recalling the brooding atmosphere of the first entry in the series. Once again, the puns of the 1960s Batman television series are wisely abandoned, though Burton does start to let gaudy, somewhat campy elements peek through, especially in the set design.
But the action remains top-notch and it's fun watching Batman have to spar with two villains at the same time. Overall, it's a fine film and definitely worth checking out.
Over-The-Top Batman Forever Still Has Some Pluses
Sadly, things start to go a little sour when Joel Schumacher takes over the franchise for 1995's Batman Forever, with Val Kilmer taking over the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.
Those slight camp elements in Burton's second movie? Totally overdone here. The lack of puns? Thrown out the window, as Schumacher starts to paint with broad allegedly audience-pleasing quips and one-dimensional characters that threaten turning the movie into a by-the-numbers genre picture.
Still, the bad guy performances by Jim Carrey as the Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face are good, and the finale is pretty fast-paced and exciting to watch.
Batman & Robin Is The Worst Of The Film Franchise
Unfortunately, the bad elements in the third movie take over completely for Schumacher's 1997 effort titled Batman & Robin. The least said about this headache in cinematic form the better, but here's a quick summary: unfunny dialogue; ridiculous plot; paper-thin characters; overdone camp; and just about any other negative you can imagine.
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as bad guy Mr. Freeze, while Uma Thurman crops up as Poison Ivy. But they just add to the painful experience, especially having to hear Arnold mutter such genius lines as “Ice to see you!”
The fourth Batman movie turns the Dark Knight into a joke, and should be ignored. Tim Burton got things right with the first two movies by realizing that Batman is a melancholy character, but Batman & Robin rejects that idea entirely in favor of cheap laughs, gimmicks and over-the-top camp. The movie completely misunderstands its material and makes for just a generally awful action feature that just happens to have the name Batman attached to it.
