Back in the 80s, an action movie by a young director with only two films under his belt was shot at a venerable British studio with a motley cast of Oscar winners and veterans of 60s schlock from Hammer/American International.
I think Batman and Batman Returns are peak Batman films. Nolans are good, but self indulgent and souless. I recently re-watched Returns and was amazed by how fun and great Davito and Peiffer were as the villains, not to mention the character building in the slow in-between scenes, like at the Christmas party. One thing that always has to be mentioned is that the Burton movies are a direct link to the Animated Series with its weird Art Deco style that really defined batman for the past 50 years.
Being a geezer who watched Batman on the big screen, opening night in 1989, this will always be my favorite of the Batman movies. Jack Nicholson ate up the screen and Michael Keaton was a perfect Bruce Wayne and Batman. As stated in the article, it was the first successful transition from comic books to movies and kicked off a flurry of decent to excellent comic based follow ups.
I’ll never forget seeing this movie in a packed theater on opening night. Bat-shirts everywhere. As Elfman’s score crescendoed, the title BATMAN on the black screen, the crowd went bananas. So fun. I think I saw it 3 times that run.
I think Batman and Batman Returns are peak Batman films. Nolans are good, but self indulgent and souless. I recently re-watched Returns and was amazed by how fun and great Davito and Peiffer were as the villains, not to mention the character building in the slow in-between scenes, like at the Christmas party. One thing that always has to be mentioned is that the Burton movies are a direct link to the Animated Series with its weird Art Deco style that really defined batman for the past 50 years.
Just rewatched it because of your article. Your assessments are correct, and, frankly, it’s even better now as an adult.
Being a geezer who watched Batman on the big screen, opening night in 1989, this will always be my favorite of the Batman movies. Jack Nicholson ate up the screen and Michael Keaton was a perfect Bruce Wayne and Batman. As stated in the article, it was the first successful transition from comic books to movies and kicked off a flurry of decent to excellent comic based follow ups.
Where's the love for the first Batman movie? The Penguin's submarine is still one of the greatest supervillain gadgets ever!
I’ll never forget seeing this movie in a packed theater on opening night. Bat-shirts everywhere. As Elfman’s score crescendoed, the title BATMAN on the black screen, the crowd went bananas. So fun. I think I saw it 3 times that run.
Yes. It's still the best live action Batman, albeit lacking some of the characterisation.