Franchise Review - Batman

Batman: The Movie (Leslie H. Martinson, 1966) - The movie adaptation of the classic, cheesy Adam West television series, this movie crams three of the later movie's villains into one action packed film. In light of recent films, it is interesting to see Batman reduced to the essentials: a spandex suit, a loyal sidekick, and the occasional Pow! and Kaboom! The only Batman to be intentionally funny, Adam West's performance is sublimely campy and, in many ways, a parody of the entire genre. For those more interested in Batman's "damaged psyche," as Dr. Meridian will later call it, this film doesn't carry nearly the emotional resonance of its successors but it does pack in the puns and remains supremely entertaining.
Batman (Tim Burton, 1989) - The first of Tim Burton's Batman outings established the real character of Batman, a billionaire playboy who masquerades at night as an avenger-- the Dark Knight., by combining elements of action, noir and horror. It's inspired casting has made it one of the most loved comic book movies of all time. Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the Joker was so wonderfully balanced between homicidal and joyful that it almost seemed as if this was his film. Burton also succeeds tremendously by making the city of Gotham as dark, foreboding and oppressive as its always seemed it should be. Unfortunately, the relationship between Bruce Wayne and Vicki Vale is one of the most forced relationships in the history of film. They lack any chemistry but even more damning, they just aren't interesting together. Batman's really the only superhero without an instantly identifiable lady by his side but Burton certainly could have done a better job of fleshing out the Bruce Wayne character and giving him even a temporary lady friend for this film. The film probably wouldn't have been that memorable without Nicholson's inspired, sadistic performance but it really works because it cuts to the heart of Batman. His suit is relatively simple and his weapons pretty mundane and that allows his conflict to show through.
Batman Returns (Tim Burton, 1992) - Tim Burton outdid himself with Batman Returns proving that everything could be improved upon, even the most successful aspects of the original Batman. The macabre, somewhat bizarre world of Returns builds upon the established city of Gotham and injects it with a little more personality. Similarly, Batman himself is updated a little bit more, showing a bit more range of emotions and definitely getting flashier. The film's biggest weakness is the lack of character arc for Batman and Bruce Wayne himself. We don't see much of a change from the second film except that his gadgets are a bit more developed. Conversely, the best part of this film is it'd villains. No one would have expected for Burton to be able to top Nicholson's Joker but Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny DeVito rise to the occasion as Catwoman and The Penguin, respectively. Pfeiffer is a stunning Catwoman, dressed head to toe in sleek, black stitched leather. Her Selena Kyle is a fully realized character, unlike the cardboard villains that would later appear. Furthermore, her "relationship" with Batman is one of the most believable in the entire franchise. How could he not be entranced with her fractured, tortured soul that rivals his own. Similarly, Danny DeVito's Penguin is not only visually interesting but his backstory makes you not entirely sure you want to root against him. The action is also ramped up in Returns, which makes the film both entertaining and thought provoking and one of the best of the series.
Batman Forever (Joel Schumacher, 1995) - Joel Schumacher is often looked upon as the man who ruined Batman. Schumacher fans say he is the man that returned Batman to his comic origins. However, Batman doesn't work on screen as a balance between comedy and drama, at least not here. The film is just a little bit too over the top, specifically the performances of Jim Carrey as the Riddler, Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face and Chris O'Donnell as Robin. The film is not entirely unwatchable though; it just doesn't manage to successfully merge Batman as tortured avenger and Batman as campy superhero. There can't really be any type of cohesiveness between a scene where Robin's family plunges to their deaths and a scene where he does the laundry martial arts-style. The one bright spot of the film is the introduction of Dr. Chase Meridian, played by Nicole Kidman, who falls in love with both Bruce Wayne and Batman and puts them both through some rigorous psychological manipulation. She is, without a doubt, the bright spot in a lengthy line of lackluster ladies who long to enter the Batcave. The entire film is just a little bit too stylized to be a complete success but it does manage to maintain a little bit of the Burton magazine.
Batman and Robin (Joel Schumacher, 1997) - Batman and Robin was just simply not good. It's script was terrible and it's villains forgettable or worse, annoying. The introduction of Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone) made the movie even more complicated and pointless than Forever threatened to be. Terribly miscast, except for Clooney as Batman, terribly acted with terrible exposition and storytelling. Schumacher should be embarrassed for this entry into the Batman canon. He should also be thankful that he didn't singlehandedly destroy the franchise thanks to Nolan's unique vision.
Catwoman (Pitof, 2004) - Like it or not, it is part of the franchise. Spin-offs count. Unfortunately, Catwoman is the worst bastardization of a popular character that Hollywood has ever seen. Halle Berry defines a new level of terrible as the feline anti-hero, a level only exceeded by this film's horrendous script. Eartha Kitt, Michelle Pfeiffer and every other woman who has played Catwoman must have nearly died (if they hadn't already) when they found out that the best Pitof's Catwoman had to go up against was a corrupt cosmetics company. Pitof's camerawork is actually very adept. Catwoman is a beautiful film, except for the terrible Catwoman costume. Everything else, though, is utter crap.
Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan, 2005) - Batman Begins rebooted and reinvented the franchise by making Batman serious again. His distinguishing feature has always been his internal conflict and Nolan and Bale took advantage of that. Furthermore, they explained away a lot of the contrivances of former films and introduced an entirely new villain (to the big screen, at least). Nolan's Gotham is even darker, even creepier, even more foreboding than it used to be and the casting of Batman is finally spot-on for both Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego. As Batman, Bale's raspy voice filled with anger rationally strikes fear into the criminals he apprehends. Also, he has the physical build to pull off the look of Batman. It's as Wayne, though, that he excels. Bale is the only actor to convincingly pull off the billionaire playboy in Bruce Wayne. He is young enough and naive enough for the audience to believe his becoming Batman. From every angle, Christian Bale is Batman. In fact, the entire cast is spectacular and really grounds the film. Nolan proves that he knows what he is doing by giving Batman fans everything that Burton and Schumacher missed. Finally, he gives us an in-depth look at Batman's origins. Finally, we see a Batman grounded in reality in all of its gritty, dark and atmospheric glory. Best of all, we finally see an educated, introspective look at Batman's psyche in a way that isn't forced or contrite but rather organic and necessary for his character to work. Batman Begins is the first film to truly understand Batman. It transcends the superhero genre by being not only entertaining but relevant and supremely well-made.
The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008) - Of course, this is all speculation as the film hasn't been released yet but The Dark Knight looks to have the potential to dethrone all of the former Batman movies as King of the franchise. Nolan and Bale made Batman relevant and unsettling again with Begins and judging from the trailer they are going to complete his transformation by making this next film genuinely horrifying. Heath Ledger's Joker is certainly an update to Nicholson's, not necessarily better but definitely different and more scary. If this film lives up to the hype and what we have seen so far, there is no doubt it will far exceed the popularity of any film that came before it. Check out the trailer by clicking on the picture below.

The real question, of course, is who is the best Batman? From Adam West to Christian Bale, it's the question that plagues Batman fans. In a battle royale to end all, here are the combatants.


Adam West
Michael Keaton
Val Kilmer
George Clooney

Christian Bale

My pick? It's a difficult decision for me because I think that George Clooney was the ideal Batman and was also a really good Bruce Wayne. However, he was in the absolute worst incarnation of a Batman film ever. Christian Bale is amazing as Batman and is also perfect for Bruce Wayne (although his is certainly a different character than Clooney's). Thus, it comes down to how the character is written and portrayed. I love Clooney's take on the Dark Knight but he wasn't given a real chance to shine in Batman and Robin. Bale on the other hand not only played the character perfectly but did so in a great movie.
In my opinion, he takes the prize as the ultimate Batman.