So in the first entry of this project I stated that this version of Batman has taken a beating since the release of Nolan's Batman's and people compare them unfairly for two reasons.
1. The Batman Origin story
2. The Joker.
Tim Burton really didn't want to go into the background story of Bruce Wayne and wanted to focus more on Batman and the Joker. So in the opening of this film it is rather unclear with how long Batman has been in Gotham City, but it's clear that the criminals of Gotham fear this new 'boogy-man' and the two criminal sitting on the roof talking about him is almost like two little kids comparing scary stories about the monster under the bed. Batman comes in and quickly takes out the two criminals. His entrance and exit is imposing and you could see how the criminals of Gotham would be terrified of this figure.
So we cut to the mayor, Harvey Dent and Commissioner Gordon (Lee Wallace, Billy Dee Williams and Pat Hingle) at a televised dinner pledging to stop crime and take out the mob. (By the way it was a nice Easter Egg to see a Bruce Wayne name tag at the head table, but he's missing and no one seems to question it.)
We than go to Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson) watching Dent saying that Gotham is a city for decent people and Napier remark that decent people shouldn't live in Gotham. Now this is where the movie gets compared again to Nolan and gets unfairly shit on. Now when Nolan first announced that Heath Ledger I can't count how many times I heard or read the bitching about this casting. (He's too pretty. What the hell! Jack Nicholson was the best!) Afterwards, everyone turned around and shit all over Jack Nicholson's performance, mostly that Nicholson was campy, over the top and not scary.
Ok both actors turned in good performances for what they were asked for. Ledger was asked to be a version of madness and chaos unleashed and Nicholson was asked to crazy, murderous and in control. People say this Joker isn't scary...he poisons the city of Gotham with freaking make-up, murders three mob bosses to take over the crime underworld (One of these bosses was killed in the middle of a press conference on the steps of city hall), maims his ex girlfriend and shoots his head guy and kills him. And all the while gloating to the city officials of his crimes and yet he still lures the people of this city to parade where he tries to kill them. How is this not scary to people? This Batman was the first to be serious and this version of the Joker was more to the comics and actually inspired how they used him in the animated series.
Meanwhile we find that the press is starting to dig around this story. Alex Knox (Robert Wuhl) is at the scene of the latest scene of the Batman sighting. He gets shut down by Lt. Echardt (Williams Hootkins) who is our cop on the take for the mob and meets up with Napier who wants Echardt to keep Dent and the Commissioner away from the mob's business fronts.
Meanwhile Knox is getting shit from his co-workers about his wanting to find 'The Batman'. Now I like Knox. He seems like a cool guy. I was sort of bummed that we don't see Knox after this movie or a version of him in the Nolan films. He would have been cool to see as a TMZ sort of guy that Batman uses as a mole in the press. So Knox gets the best surprise of his life when he gets a hot girl sitting on his desk. We're now introduced to Vicki Vale. (Kim Basinger)
Now this is one of the only problems I have with the movie. It's not Basinger's performance that is the issue, it's how Vale is written and she flips back and forth. One second she a cool, sassy, smart and independent woman who has a kick ass job and wants in on the Batman story. Than she flips into helpless whiny maiden who needs a saving. We'll go into that later in the movie. Right now let's focus on sassy Vicki.
So Knox wants to talk to Gordon, but isn't having any luck with phone interviews. But he's going to be at a charity function hosted by everyone's favorite millionaire. Vicki has managed to get them into this function and her and Knox make a plan to get an interview. The interaction between Knox and Vale is fun to see, he honestly thinks this hot famous photographer is here to screw with him about his story and she seems honestly interested in what he's doing when everyone else is mocking him. They make a good team.
So we cut to the the party and wow the late 80's fashion on Basinger is amazing. I really wanted her dress when I was kid, it was so white and puffy. Basinger said it was her idea to have the Vale character dress in white to contrast how 'dark' Batman/Bruce was. Well played Basinger...well played. So party stuff happens and Knox is getting nowhere with the interviews and he and Vale set aside to talk about the party and mock their host Bruce Wayne and his house. Now a lot of this movie doesn't feel like a Burton movie, expect with the architecture and decoration. This house, the decor and the city of Gotham have the Burton feel to them.
So while mocking their host he just happens to walk in. Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) comes in and yeah!!!! Now Keaton's performance is also of victim of getting shit on about his performance and I can't figure out why. He didn't do a bad job...I think I have it figured out why he gets shit on. Keaton is not...the most attractive man in the world. When you look at this man he doesn't strike you has a rich million playboy that Bruce Wayne is pictured to be. He's not ugly, but this is a guy that actually has personality...compared to who we have coming up in the rest of this series. ^_^(). Keaton's entertaining to watch, he seems so awkward as 'Bruce the playboy', but serious and collected when he's in 'serious' Bruce mood and down right frightening when Batman.
On the other side of the plot we have the mod boss Grissom pissed that Dent is getting close to some of their front businesses, namely a chemical plant. Napier suggests trashing the front offices and steal all paper work tying them to this business. Grissom tells Napier that he will be leading the charge on this. It's soon revealed that Napier is being set up by his boss since Napier was banging his girlfriend. He could have just pulled out a gun and shot him where he stood, but that's too easy and would ruin our movie fun.
When Gordon leaves the party to find out what's going on with this raid and with Echardt. We than get this funny little scene between Bruce, Alfred, Vicki and Knox. Alfred is letting Bruce know that this is something he should look into and Bruce is trying to get rid of Knox and Vicki. "Get Knox a grant!" says Bruce before running away to be Batman.
At the chemical plant Napier figures out that he has been set up and that Echardt is there trying to kill him. Chase scene happens between cops and mob members. When Batman shows up he starts quickly taking mob guys out. Napier is trying to make his escape when he runs into Batman. Now remember this is a man who kills for the mob and yet when he sees Batman the look on his face is sheer terror and Batman just picks him up like a rag doll. Bob the Goon threatens to shoot Gordon so Batman has no choice but to let him go. Instead of taking his out, Napier takes a shot at Echardt killing him. Round two between Batman and Napier starts only it doesn't end well for Napier this time has he ends up dropped in a vat of chemicals. It's a little unclear if Batman drops him on purpose or if he just slips out of his grasp. Either way our hero decides to ninja vanish and the cops who have been denying the Batman now have no choice but to hide what they have seen from the public and the press.
Of course Knox isn't buying that Napier committed suicide and he and Vicki think that the Batman may have something to do with this. Knox wants to take Vicki to dinner to talk about their story, but she's ditching him for Bruce. Now I can see why the initial spark is there, he's rich and witty and she's smart and hot. Their date is rather low key for a millionaire and this seems like Bruce Wayne being Bruce Wayne. He doesn't want to be the playboy with her and this guy seems like someone you want to date and not someone who dresses up like a giant bat. The little remark about him not being sure if he had ever been in that room was funny and how they spent their date in the kitchen with Alfred was sweet. This is how Bruce should be.
Meanwhile Napier is really not happy with his former boss and his reveal as The Joker in just cool. He just walks off the elevator, expresses his displeasure with being set up over a set of boobs and lays waste to the old man while the happiest music in the world plays and he dances. I'm sure I heard this tune in a Disney movie where animals dance. I really love Danny Elfman's score it just always fits everything without even trying. With his boss out of the The Joker now turns his displeasure towards the Batman.
Now I would be fine if the rest of the movie was just about Batman and The Joker, however we have to deal with Vicki the love interest. This is were she flips from sassy Vicki to whiny Vicki and it's annoying. After her date/happyskippyfuntime with Bruce, he fibs about leaving town and instead of just chalking it up to this guy is an asshole and dropping it. She stalks him like Single White Female and follows him around town taking pictures. I'm surprised she didn't rat him out as Batman after they broke up out of bitterness and spite. She seems like the crazy girlfriend type from out of nowhere after coming off as a career driven person. It almost takes you out of the movie because it makes no sense where this is coming from. They only had one real date and they haven't known each other for a week at this point in time when she goes crazy for him. She's almost Bella Swan like for Bruce and she barely knows him.
So The Joker decides to stalk Knox since he's on the Batman story and makes quick work of taking over the Gotham crime lords and yet all his fame and glory are going to Batman and this line is just great. "What kind of a world do we live in where a man dressed up as a bat gets all my press!?" This is classic Joker material. So his plan is to just start randomly killing people with beauty projects is great. Oh another great Easter egg is when you notice the reporters look like they haven't showered in days after one of their own dies from using Joker Products. Taking something that people don't think about and use everyday to terrorize the city is great. But his sudden stalking of Vicki...groan...I know it has to be there to tie the stories together, but it just seems out there and forced. But it gives us a cool scene in a museum with Prince music.
So we're treated to Vicki being an idiot again. She gets tricked into thinking that Bruce has asked her on another date, but since she's running late she calls Bruce to let him know. This of course clues Bruce into the fact that something is rotten in the city of Gotham. Instead of trying to call Vicki and stop her from going he lets her go. So she goes to this restaurant and waits for what we can only assume is a long ass time until she gets a present sent to her table and it's a gas mask and than people around her start dropping like flies. Now I can understand her being scared out of her mind when these people start dying around her and being in shock to not hide. However, once The Joker sits now, starts making not so subtle threats, shows her how he disfigured his other girlfriend and than tries to disfigure her...run bitch run...She throws a pitcher of water at him and than he starts screaming like a girl and she goes to comfort him. WHAT...run bitch!!!!! He just murdered a room full of people and tired to kill you. Don't baby the bastard!
Batman comes to save our damsel of course and for a few minutes we get smart Vicki again as she tries to get pictures of Batman in a fight with The Joker's goons. This fight scene is very well done, the goons finally figure out that the Batman is mortal underneath his body armor. Once again it's like kids finding out the monsters aren't real. So Batman takes Vicki to the Batcave and the driving scene is well shot, the music is perfect and it feels like a Burton film. He reveals to her how The Joker is killing people and asks her to take it the press. She's clearly confused by this attention and than we cut scene to Vicki back in her bedroom and missing her film.
The press quickly runs with the story and Joker is once again pissed at the Bat for spoiling his fun. Meanwhile Bruce is on the verge of revealing to Vicki that he is Batman and I don't understand why. Yeah he likes her, but he barely knows her. The Vicki part of the story is annoying and feels out of place in this movie. It kind of slows the whole movie down and takes down from a five star to a four star movie. So than we have this bit between The Joker who has stalked Vicki to her home, Vicki and Bruce. So really the movie kind of snags between this scene and the end so we're just going to cut to the end battle.
The end battle is set up by The Joker who has lured all the citizens of Gotham to a parade where he is giving away free money and calls out Batman to fight him. Bruce has figured out that Napier was the one that killed his parents. This is a little unneeded, but Burton wanted it this way and than Alfred brings Vicki to the Batcave. Really...one date and she's forever now...really? So The Joker plans to kill everyone with his balloons of death and a Prince song. Batman saves the people by taking out the balloons. The Joker shoots Batman's plane down. Vicki almost kills Knox trying to get away and than gets taken hostage again and than we get our semi epic fight between The Joker and Batman. Batman starts the trend of killing our bad guy at the end of all superhero films and Batman gets his Bat Signal and for a second it looks like Batman is about to drive off into the night with our crazy lady.
Now after watching this Batman I can see where Nolan took some beats and made them better: a city overrun with mobs, gangs and officers on the take and turned them into a serious crime drama with a caped crime fighter. I really enjoyed this movie and really if we could have tightened up the story line with Vicki and made her maybe a little less stalker like, more sassy and less whiny. Batman and Joker were done well and it could have been a good one shot movie, but it did set up what could have been a go franchise had...oh we'll get there soon.
So come back next times, same Bat Blog for Batman Returns.
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