You never forget your first love. While there have been many Batmen that have come and gone over the years on television, film, and in animation, I'll never forget the one that left a lasting impression on me. Michael Keaton. I've said this before but when I was a kid, Keaton's performance scared the living hell out of me. More so than any other Batman that came after him, or came before him, his Batman left a lasting impression. I watched the first two Tim Burton films, Batman and Batman Returns, dozens of times when I was a kid. I was analyzing and dissecting them before I could even read or write. And this was before the internet was a big thing you see (fuck I'm old).
Since then we've had several other Batman films. Believe it or not, every single one holds a special place in my heart if for no other reason than it's Batman on film. However, those first two films are the gold standard. Yes I acknowledge that The Dark Knight had a better plot. Yes I know that Batman v Superman had a much more comic book accurate costume. But like I said, you never forget your first love. I'd like to share with you why I still think that these first two films still hold up after all these years. Don't worry I won't be too terribly biased or nostalgic, or at least I'll try ;)
ALFRED PENNYWORTH
Without a doubt, one of the best performances in the original Batman films is Michael Gough as Alfred. While he plays Bruce Wayne's most loyal servant, he's also Wayne's most trusted confidant. In the first film Alfred has a great line that says everything about his character:
BRUCE - What's on your mind, Alfred?
ALFRED - I have no wish to spend my few remaining years grieving for the loss of old friends . . . or their sons.
Gough's delivery of this line says everything you need to know about him. While he may support Bruce's insane mission to clean up the streets of Gotham City, he still worries for him and doesn't want to outlive him. In Batman Returns, we get to see Alfred take a much more active participation in Bruce's mission. He helps him stop the Penguin's assault on the city. Before that he helps scramble the feed at Penguin's press conference and expose him as a fraud. Plus, Gough just nails Alfred's dry sense of humor. When Selina is trying to come up with an excuse for leaving Bruce, Alfred says he'll take care of it and lets Selina run out. In the first film, like a doting, loving father, Alfred tells stories to embarrass the hell out of Bruce in front of his date. If that doesn't scream Alfred Pennyworth I don't know what does.
COLORFUL VILLAINS
One could argue that the Batman villains are much more interesting than Batman himself. I've thought of that and in some cases, depending on the story, I would agree. Tim Burton certainly felt this way when he crafted his films. While there's a reason that Batman is overshadowed by his villains, more on that in a bit, it does make sense. Too many people these days complain about the villains portrayal in a comic book film. I myself have stated several times that I'm very disappointed with Marvel and how they constantly underdevelop their villains. With Batman and Batman Returns we get rich, interesting characters. Joker, Catwoman, and Penguin were all characters with little to no back story in the comic books at that time. Burton, Nicholson, DeVito, and Pfeiffer took the time to give these characters motivation and tragedy. If they're going to be going up against Batman, a totally not sane dude, then they better be just a little bit crazier. While some would call the performances campy, and maybe they are, I still find them extremely entertaining. Speaking of the villains . . .
MY FAVORITE PENGUIN
Although I'm thoroughly enjoying Robin Lord Taylor's performance on Gotham, I must say that Danny DeVito will always take the cake for me. He scared the hell out of me as a kid and now as an adult . . . still scares the hell out of me. If you read this blog often then you know how much I truly love acting. I never really thought much of it before, but after watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (which I love), I have to say that, and not just because of the make up, DeVito is completely unrecognizable as the Penguin. This version of the Penguin I thought had a much more interesting backstory and motivation. He's a truly complex character. At first you want to sympathize with him but it's clear that he's a monster and always will be a monster. He's someone that can throw on a smile and charm the people of Gotham City but behind closed doors he's truly evil and won't hesitate to kill anyone that gets in his way. Fantastic performance. And while we're on the subject . . .
DAMAGED GOODS
I don't know about you but I've always been of the mindset that Bruce and Selina belong together. They just seem like such messed up people that it makes sense to me that they would eventually settle down together. This film probably cemented that idea for me. I loved Selina way more than I liked Vicki Vale (which wasn't much to begin with). The first film was showing how much Batman and the Joker are both insane in their own way. The second film was more about showing how damaged both Batman and Catwoman are. It helps that the actors had great chemistry. Pfeiffer's performance as Selina was completely unique and really inspiring to me. Like I said, Catwoman didn't have much back story in the comics (at the time). In the film she starts off as a mousy secretary (executive assistant) but then transforms into this powerful woman ready to take on Gotham City. Pfeiffer plays both sides of her personality with such ease. She really makes us all fall in love with Selina and hope that she decides to stay with Bruce in the end. Plus, if I'm being honest, it always really bummed me out that she didn't come back in the later films. Oh well. Maybe DC Comics will get their act together and do that Batman '89 comic book! Oh that reminds me . . .
GOTHAM CITY
While I loved that Christopher Nolan decided to make Gotham City look realistic in his films, let's face it - it's not a real place. It kind of makes sense that the city would look real but at the same time not real. On the first film, Burton and his production designer, the late great Anton Furst, designed Gotham to look like a clash of different architectures. It gave it an ugly, dark feel. It was a world that Batman could easily inhabit. In the second film, the production design fell to Bo Welch. They designed a much more post-modern Gotham City. In that particular film, the style works. Again, it looks real but it doesn't look too real. It's just outside the realm of what we believe. We recognize it as a city but can also recognize that it's a more comic booky type of city. While this particular style probably wouldn't work in a film that's made today, it fit the time period in which it was made. Also, it fits Tim Burton's quirky style of filmmaking.
JACK UNLEASHED
OK . . . Full disclosure - Heath Ledger is my favorite Joker. I felt that he captured the spirit of the Joker better than any other actor thus far (in live action at least, animation is another story ;) ) But like I said, you never forget your first love. Nicholson gave us a man that was just another ordinary gangster, with maybe one or two screws loose, who turned into a maniacal madman. Once he's the Joker, all his inhibitions are gone. He's now the wild man he's always wanted to be and he's loving every minute of it. It's clear watching the film that Nicholson is CLEARLY having the time of his life playing the Joker. To me, when you are playing an over the top villain, that's extremely important when playing a character in one of these films. While this is clearly Jack Nicholson going crazy with his creative freedom it totally works. He allows himself to give a wonderful performance as Batman's greatest foe. Because, and there's no denying this, if you're going to play one character completely abandoned and wacko and get away with it it's the Joker. Nicholson was the gold standard for so many years before Heath Ledger showed up and ruined it (in a good way).
THE BATMOBILE
This is my all time favorite Batmobile. Maybe it's the nostalgia talking but more so than any other Batmobile this one feels like the one Batman would drive. It's got a very sleek, simplistic design. It is fully functional. Plus it's ready for battle. That's probably the best part about it. It might look unassuming but it's fully equipped with different weapons to fight the bad guys. I think the thing I like most about it, and this will sound silly, is that it looks good from all angles.
Even when it was in that weird cocoon thing.
Yeah that! Weird looking. But it's still cool. Plus, just like the other actors that played Batman, it seems to fit the suit and the actor. Although I bet behind the scenes Michael Keaton rarely, if ever, drove it. However, when you watch the film, it's edited so well that it looks like he is driving this incredibly powerful machine with ease.
DARKEST KNIGHT
When crafting the Batman character, Tim Burton had this idea, "Batman is a private character. So we should respect that privacy and not show him much in the film." While that might seem counter-productive, after all the films are named after him, it actually makes a lot of sense. In context of the film it works very well. Batman may not show up very much but when he does, it's unforgettable. In the first film, he shows up as this intimidating force that you don't want to mess with. In the second film, he comes in, kicks ass, and leaves. The Red Triangle Circus Gang aren't afraid of him at first, but by the end of the film, when they learn Batman is approaching they run and hide. By now they know they do not stand a chance of defeating him.
Another interesting thing about Keaton's Batman is that he's the only live action Batman to not have his voice changed in post-production or "in film" by a voice modulator. His voice comes from the place he thinks that Bruce Wayne would live in when he puts on the suit. While Keaton was extremely uncomfortable in the Bat-suit, he channeled that into his performance. His Batman is incredibly intimidating. He's going to kick your ass and not think anything of it because that's what Batman would do. Even when speaking to his allies, he doesn't give them much time of day. He's going to do his job and then leave. That feels like Batman to me.
DANNY ELFMAN
It's sad to say that music isn't as memorable in a film as it used to be. People most likely think of John Williams and his wonderful scores for Indiana Jones, Jaws, Harry Potter, and of course Star Wars. If another composer comes to mind it's definitely Danny Elfman. Elfman has scored almost all of Burton's films as well as quite a few superhero films. Most of you probably know him best from writing, and singing, the music from The Nightmare Before Christmas (a Tim Burton production), but I'll always remember him as creating the best Batman score that has ever been produced. While Hans Zimmer killed it with The Dark Knight Trilogy and Junkie XL wrote some cool stuff for Batman v Superman nothing will ever top Danny Elfman's score from the original Batman films. It's clearly had more of an impact than most people realize. In the very first Lego Batman video game the only score that plays is Elfman's original Batman music. Years ago, I don't know if this is still the case, but while you waited for the Batman ride at Six Flags they played his Batman music. I remember listening to it in line and getting so excited to get on the ride. Of course it also made me think of the movie. Then I talked my family's ear off about how much I loved the movies and wanted to watch them when I got home. It was the type of score that really lent itself to repeat listenings. When I would listen to it, I could see the film in my head. I wish music was like that in more films. Because this definitely impacted my reaction to how much I loved Batman and Batman Returns.
"I'M BATMAN"
Ok. So we're finally gonna talk about it. This scene in the first Batman film, more than anything that's come after it, influenced my personal opinion of Batman as a character. Two thugs are celebrating their latest score. One starts to get nervous claiming that he heard that a friend of his was taken down by "the Bat." His friend thinks he's full of shit. While they argue, a dark figure descends behind them like a creature out of a horror film. They argue a bit more and then realize they hear something above them. It's HIM! The Bat swoops down in dramatic fashion. The two thugs immediately open fire and put it down. At first they laugh, thinking they've beaten it. They're wrong. It stands up, wings spread wide. It slowly makes its way toward them. With one swift kick, one thug is down for the count. The other runs for his life but is caught in the creature's web (so to speak). As the thug pleads for his life, the Bat responds, "I'm not going to kill you. I want you to do me a favor - I want you tell all your friends about me." Knowing that he's not talking to a human being, the thug shrieks, "What are you?" The Bat pulls him in close and whispers, "I'm Batman." Then it disappears into the night.
That. Is. Batman. He shows up, kicks ass, intimidates, and then leaves. I got so excited just typing that scene up! While I loved Christian Bale's Batman intro and Ben Affleck's was super creepy, this one will always have a special place in my heart. When people ask me why I love Batman so much I refer them to this scene. It's Batman at his most pure. He's taking on a couple of two bit thugs and he scares them half to death. That's who Bruce Wayne set up to become when he dawned the cape and cowl. As I said, this scene scared the hell out of me as a kid. Now as an adult it fills me with awe. If I were ever lucky enough to make a Batman movie I don't think I could ever top this scene. It's exactly who Batman is to me. Keaton and the actors playing the thugs perform the scene to perfection. While, like I said, Batman may live in a somewhat unrealistic world, this scene grounds it in reality for us. And I love it so much!
I like to joke that people have short memories when it comes to superhero films. Tom Holland is the best Spider-Man! Ben Affleck is the best Batman! That's probably easy to say when you're watching the movie right now. If you were to reflect on the context of everything that came before you might have a different opinion. While I think Ben Affleck captured the spirit of Bruce Wayne/Batman very well, Keaton gave us something else. Burton's films will always remain a special part of my life and my understanding of who Batman is and will become in my life. I owe a lot to these films as they helped shape me into the Comic Junkie. I'm getting all teary eyed now! Better go watch some Batman to give me nightmares!
Till Next Time!
JJ - The Comic Junkie
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