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Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle ... see more see more... , Billy Dee Williams , Michael Gough , Jack Palance , Jerry Hall , Lee Wallace , Tracey Walter , Michael Balfour , David Baxt , Paul Birchard , Lachelle Carl , Carl Chase , Edwin Craig , John Dair , Keith Edwards , Christopher Fairbanks , Garick Hagon , Kate Harper , William Hootkins , Amir M. Korangy , Dennis Lili , Mac McDonald , Bruce McGuire , Steve Plytas , Liz Ross , George Roth , Richard Strange , Philip Tan , Rocky Taylor , Vincent Wong , John Lurie , Sam Douglas , Joel Cutrara , Leon Herbert , Kit Hollerbach , Jazzer Jeyes , John Sterland , Marion Dougherty , Del Baker , Wayne Michaels , Elliott Stein , Richard Durden , Philip O'Brien

Jack Nicholson is the Joker, who emerged from a horrible accident as a maniacal criminal. Michael Keaton is the Caped Crusader, who emerged from a childhood trauma to become a masked crimefighter. Kim... read more read more... Basinger is Vicki Vale, the talented photojournalist desired by both men. And Batman is the movie, the all-out spectacular directed by Tim Burton, set to songs by Prince and a music score by Danny Elfman, and an Academy AwardO winner* for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (Anton Furst and Peter Young).

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78% liked it

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72% liked it

53 critics

PG-13, 2 hr. 6 min.

Directed by: Tim Burton

Release Date: June 23, 1989

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DVD Release Date: March 25, 1997

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Flixster Reviews (37,299)

  • joelkelly319
    February 7, 2012
    joelkelly319
    How much awesomeness can you fit into one film? Well, this one certainly pushes the boundaries. This highly stylised Tim Burton adaptation of one of the most iconic comic characters ever is an exciting and darkly atmospheric adventure story. Michael Keaton plays a very straight a... read morend seriousness Bruce Wayne, under acts everything, and does it really well. Jack Nicholson, however, plays the campy and happy Jack Napier, and overacts everything, and does so brilliantly. These 2 are at the centre of the film. All the side characters that are a massive part of the Batman mythology are side tracked for a story about 2 men. Both are responsible for each other's circumstances, both are after the same woman, and they both stand for completely opposite ideologies. The film uses this dynamic very well, and its overall tone is a mix the order and morality of Batman, with the chaos and sick immorality of the Joker. As they both spiral towards the conclusion, we get to take in the heart pounding action, feel the presence of the dark city of Gotham, and meet with Corrupt cops, plucky journalists, and politicians who've lost all control. If 3 years ago you, like me, went to the cinema and enjoyed the Christopher Nolan Batman Film "The Dark Knight" it's imperative that you see, or at least acknowledge, this other superhero masterpiece.
  • jarobb3
    September 30, 2011
    jarobb3
    The original is still the best.
  • fb100002535597619
    September 24, 2011
    fb100002535597619
    Jack Nicholson steals the show as the Joker in the first REAL Batman movie. The film is dark, sad, funny, and has an incredible original soundtrack.
  • spielberg00
    August 28, 2011
    spielberg00
    Michael Keaton stars as a stereotypical, overly-generic version of Batman in this early, 1989 work of Tim Burton's. The Joker, played by Jack Nicholson, is very creepy and well-acted, though not as much as Heath Ledger's later take on the character in THE DARK KNIGHT. BATMAN is... read more quite enjoyable, if flawed, and it is definitely not one of those "die-hard fans only" type of movies. Every moment is gripping and keeps you watching until the very end, whether you are a die-hard fan of all superhero-centric films, just a plain "Bat-fan", or quite indifferent. Whoever you are, I guarantee you will find Tim Burton's 1989 take on BATMAN very lovable, witty, and thrilling.
  • DreamExtractor
    August 15, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    Did I like this, yes. But I also had many problems with the movie. The cast was good but couldve been better, the production was great, Tim Burton can sure spend money well. The story was okay but it didnt really give me something new. Batman was a fine piece of work, and a m... read moreust watch for Batman fans.
  • CreedsDelight
    August 14, 2011
    CreedsDelight
    Thug: Who are you?
    Bruce Wayne/ Batman: I'M BATMAN!

    Flawless film. Tim Burton brilliantly directs this top-notched adaption of the caped crusader, with such detail and hard work, he makes an unforgettable film. While it in no way compares to Nolan's take on the dark knight, this... read more is still a great film, with an unforgettably creepy performance from Jack Nicholson, whose portrayal of the joker is magnificently brilliant. Keaton plays a fine batman, but is nothing to brag about. Ultimately, this is one of the best Batman films and I highly recommend it.

    Read more reviews at www.creedsdelight.com
  • fb729949618
    July 31, 2011
    fb729949618
    First movie I saw as a baby (even though I don't remember)! This movie single handedly made me love batman throughout my childhood and even until now. Great for it's time, and still fun to watch. Jack kills as the Joker.
  • blkbomb
    July 10, 2011
    blkbomb
    The Joker: Tell me something, my friend. You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?
    Bruce Wayne: What?
    The Joker: I always ask that of all my prey. I just... like the sound of it.

    This is the movie that first introduced me to Batman and probably to superhero movies ... read moreof any kind. I've seen it many times, but my love for it went down a lot after the last two Batman films. Nolan's films are far superior to any of Burton's or Shumacher's. After recently giving Batman another viewing I still find very entertaining and just an overall great movie. My love for it is back.

    Jack Nicholson is great as The Joker. Anyone who saw The Dark Knight before ever seeing this probably won't give Nicholson the respect he deserves for his Joker. His character is much different then Ledger's so I don't believe they should be compared. They were both great. Michael Keaton is a really good Bruce Wayne/Batman as well. He fits the part really well. Elfman's score is good and the settings are really cool as well.

    There are some negative aspects I feel the need to point out though. I hate the Prince music. When The Joker dances to Prince, I just find it weird and really out of place. Also I don't think they made good enough use of Comissiomer Gordon. He's not really at all important to this movie. I also wish Robert Wuhl wasn't in this movie. I find him to be a horrible actor. He single handedly destroyed Cobb for me.

    Overall Burton's vision of Gotham City is really exciting and entertaining and the movie is no different.

    The Joker: Gotham City. Always brings a smile to my face.
  • mumby1988
    July 6, 2011
    mumby1988
    At a time when the default way of putting comics on screen is to 'go dark', it's easy to forget how radical Tim Burton's Batman would have seemed to 1980s audiences. The only previous attempt at a 'serious' superhero movie had been Richard Donner's Superman, which in itself was c... read moreompromised by its heavy-handed producers. More than 20 years on, Batman remains an ambitious and entertaining attempt to bring Bob Kane's vision to the big screen, and while not all of it works, there is much to enjoy and appreciate.

    Both at the time and in light of his subsequent output, Burton was an interesting choice to direct. He admitted to having little interest in the comics before he was offered the project - a revelation that led to a clash with Kevin Smith in the late-1990s when both were developing a Superman project. On the other hand, Burton's background in animation gave him an understanding of characters' physicality, and of the way in which their surroundings could be employed to reflect or express their emotions in a fantastical away.

    Burton's vision for Gotham City stems from the expressionist traditions of German cinema. The architecture, with its dizzying skyscrapers and bustling streets, tips its hat lovingly to Metropolis and thereafter to Blade Runner. The latter is particularly evident in the rooftop scenes, where Burton contrasts light and shadow very effectively to show the fractured nature of both heroes and villains. This and the recurring image of smoke rising from the streets give things a film noir feel which plays into the hands of the source material.

    Whereas Christopher Nolan's 'Gotham trilogy' is set in an alternative version of the present, Burton's vision finds the 1940s and the 1980s living side by side, like a lighter version of Blade Runner's retrofitted future. This hybrid reflects the comics' desire to stay with the times while keeping the characters timeless, and can be seen in every aspect of the art direction. Robert Wuhl's reporter is a 1940s flatfoot with a contemporary tape recorder, and at every press conference there is a mixture of old and new microphones. All the men wear classic suits while Jerry Hall and Kim Basinger flaunt the height of 1980s fashion. Even the Batmobile is part of this admixture, mixing fastback and hot-rod styling under a Chevrolet soundtrack.

    But although the film captures the marriage of old and new reflected in the comics, there is a conflict between Burton's imagination and the extent to which this can be conveyed through the special effects. Even if we make allowances for model shots and moving backdrops (like the dated sequence of Batman and Vicki Vale falling off the cathedral), some of the action sequences look as though they were constrained, not for budgetary but for creative reasons. In his later films Burton would bring more of his vision to the screen thanks to carefully controlled digital effects, but no matter how many effects there are on the Batmobile, only a small amount ends up in plain sight.

    Burton's interest in the characters lies less in what the comics lay out as to the split personalities and motivations of Batman and the Joker. Batman examines the psychology of individuals who choose to live separate lives and hold separate identities, whether out of moral conviction or because of some hideous accident. In the climactic "duel of the freaks" in the cathedral belfry, Batman and the Joker emerge as being formed from both aspects, with their worldviews being shaped by their attitudes to the accidents. The murder of Bruce Wayne's parents leads him to strive for justice, while Jack Napier's cruel accident drives him to revenge through creating chaos.

    Confrontations like this exist outside Batman's relationship with the Joker, and tie in with Burton's running theme of outsiders. Michael Keaton plays Bruce Wayne as the awkward billionaire who has everything he wants but yearns to be accepted rather than just admired. He is torn between his desire for a normal life, embodied by his relationship with Vicki Vale, and his urge to fight injustice by becoming a monster. As in the sequel, some of the best moments in Batman find Keaton struggling over whether or not he should reveal his true identity to the woman he loves.

    Because of the balance between Batman and the Joker in terms of character study, the Joker is naturally on screen for a large amount of time. But Jack Nicholson, who is clearly having fun, almost walks off with the whole film, leaving just the awkward silences between the two lovers and the bluster of Robert Wuhl to fill in the time. Ever since The Shining, Nicholson had been playing the over-the-top card to his advantage, and had been rewarded in this field with an Oscar for Terms of Endearment.

    There have been many comparisons made between Nicholson's Joker and Heath Ledger's, with fanboys seething long into the night over which version is best. Suffice to say, they're two completely different styles, for completely different stories, in completely different universes. But if one were to draw a comparison, we could say there has been a steady progression from light to dark, beginning with Cesar Romero, moving through Nicholson and Mark Hamill and finishing with Ledger.

    Much of Nicholson's performance finds him clowning around, with most of the Joker's stuff being more funny than scary. This is not entirely a bad thing; the Joker wouldn't be the Joker without a sense of humour, however dark. In certain sections the balance of humour and horror is well-judged, like the Joker electrocuting a rival gangster while dancing around, saying he's "got a live one here". But after a while Nicholson's shtick begins to get tiresome and you yearn for the straight-ahead sliminess that he exhibited as Jack Napier.

    Character development is one of the big problems with Batman, with Sam Hamm's script making a number of odd detours and U-turns which jar with its opening act. Vicki Vale begins as a resourceful photojournalist straight out of the present day - but somehow, about halfway through, she turns into a damsel in distress, frequently screaming and having to be rescued. Jerry Hall exists only to swoon and pose on cue - although considering her background in modelling, this is arguably perfect casting. The peripheral characters come and go with little new to stimulate them, with Billy Dee Williams being very underused as Harvey Dent.

    The story of Batman itself is much of a muchness. It takes a good 15 minutes to separately introduce us to all the different groups, before we get to Axis Chemicals and the origins of the Joker. When you get down to it, the plot is just about enough to fill an episode of the TV series - the Joker taints make-up products, Batman stops him, and they have a big showdown. Burton was still developing his craft as a storyteller and would not reach a good balance until Edward Scissorhands a year later.

    There are also a number of incongruent elements which keep tripping the film up. The Prince songs in the soundtrack don't work; in fact the whole art gallery scene brings the film to a grinding halt, so Jack can show off and the studio can flog records. An earlier sequence, of the Joker cutting up photos in his lair, is never incorporated meaningfully into the plot. And then there are the usual contrivances surrounding gadgets - not only does Batman always have the gizmo he needs, but he can blow up an entire factory without leaving so much as a scratch on his car.

    Batman is a flawed but thoroughly entertaining attempt to put the comic books on the big screen. Burton was still finding his feet as a director, and his work on Edward Scissorhands would ensure that the sequel was more focussed and substantial. Whole sections of Batman feel out of place, or ill-disciplined, or just plain odd. But in the end the whole just about works, and as a piece of entertainment it still holds up.
  • sergioogarcia
    June 23, 2011
    sergioogarcia
    I remember the long, long line outside the theatre. Tim, Jack and Michael didn't disappointed.

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Critic Reviews

April 16, 2007
Variety

Director Tim Burton effectively echoes the visual style of the original Bob Kane comics while conjuring up a nightmarish world of his own. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
April 16, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

The conceptual side of the movie--two rather sick two-sided antagonists having it out in a black and sordid context -- lingers. Full Review

Vincent Canby
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times

The wit is all pictorial. The film meanders mindlessly from one image to the next, as does a comic book. It doesn't help that the title character remains such a wimp even when played by Michael Keaton. Full Review

James Berardinelli
March 27, 2001
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

There are a lot of things wrong with Batman, but it still makes for decent entertainment in the fine tradition of the typical low-intelligence summer movie. Full Review

Hal Hinson
January 1, 2000
Hal Hinson, Washington Post

Dark, haunting and poetic Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

An exhilarating mix of cartoon lore (though not nearly enough for rabid Batpurists), screen presence (this is pretty much the Jack and Mike Show), psychological murkiness (though it could have used ev... Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

A triumph of design over story, style over substance - a great-looking movie with a plot you can't care much about. Full Review

Ed Grant
January 1, 2011
Ed Grant, Common Sense Media

Stylish, violent, and often dull Batman adventure. Full Review

Matthew Pejkovic
July 7, 2010
Matthew Pejkovic, Matt's Movie Reviews

A dark and refreshing interpretation of one of comic kingdom's most beloved characters, Batman successfully wiped away the memory of the camp 1960s television show and proved that comic book movies ca... Full Review

Brian Orndorf
August 26, 2009
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com

The element of surprise appears in every frame of this motion picture, creating a rich sense of joy and mystery that seems to befuddle Burton and his primitive instincts. Full Review

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    • Joker/Jack Napier: [addressing the parade crowd] And now folks, it's time for 'Who Do You Trust'! Hubba, hubba, hubba! Money, money, money! Who do you trust? Me? I'm giving away free money! And where is the Batman? He's at home, washing his tights!
    • Joker/Jack Napier: [after destroying a TV, irritated] Batman? Batman?! Can somebody tell me what kind of a world we live in where a man dressed up as a bat is eating all my press?! This town needs an enema!
    • Vicki Vale: What do you want?
    • Joker/Jack Napier: ...My Face on the one dollar bill.
    • Batman/Bruce Wayne: You way a little more than One-Hundred and Eight!
    • Vicki Vale: Oh really?
    • Joker/Jack Napier: Where does he get those wonderful toys?
    • Vicki Vale: What do you want?
    • Joker/Jack Napier: My face on the one dollar bill.
    • Vicki Vale: You must be joking.
    • Joker/Jack Napier: Do I look like I'm joking?
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