| Product: |
Batman - Special Edition (DVD) |
| Date: |
09/06/05 (77 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Bye bye camp ridicule, Dark and deliciously menacing, It's a Burton movie...surely you can see the advantage of that?!
Disadvantages: They got rid of the 'kapow!'...sob :p
Thank God for the eighties. Out with old and in with new…goodbye camp, ridiculous Batman, HELLO new, improved, dark and scary Frank Miller-esque Batman. Along comes 1989, and Tim Burton takes up Miller’s crusade to darken the image of our mysterious hero. The result? There’ll be no jokes about Batman’s ‘little helper’ Robin any more, for Gotham City’s Dark Knight has turned Gothic…and it’s EXCELLENT.
Setting the scene sees a vast diversion from the camped up sixties TV version of the same comic. Gotham City is a mass of tall, spindle-like towers, gargoyles, polluted skies and Gothicism galore. Forget your bomber jackets, these guys like to wear pin-stripe suits and rain coats…very detective indeed. The mock seriousness will go completely over the head of kids, but there is a nice dose of black comedy parody present in the set design, costume and dialogue of this movie, and at times it makes for snort-into-your-popcorn viewing. Aside from the slight mocking tone, the Gothic element and hammed up script conspire swimmingly to create a truly scary atmosphere. As one critic pointed out, the set gives the impression that ‘Hell has burst from the pavements’. And yes it has. Gotham is a politically, morally and criminally baaad city, and it seems our Dark Knight is the only one who can save it from the pits of despair. Cue Michael Keaton donning a leather bat suit, Kim Basinger running about with a camera and lusting after rich men, and Jack Nicholson being…well, his usual deliciously nasty self.
With a director like Burton at the helm of your project, it would have been impossible for a film to go anywhere but into the realms of fantasy and darkness. Burton’s heavy, Gothic theme sits well with the plot and atmosphere of this tale, after all, could we really stomach a superhero dressed as a bat portrayed in the sunny, comic way in the ilk of Superman? I think not. Michael Keaton’s Batman is an almost silent, brooding figure of mystery and danger. Like all the best heroes, there is an element of ambiguity over his moral leaning. He could either be the saviour of the doomed city, or a crazed idiot with a liking for violence. It’s a nice one for the kids to puzzle over, for us adults, it’s simply entertaining and delightfully sarcastic on Burton’s part.
The cast is supreme, with Keaton doing well as the quiet hero, Basinger putting in a nice scream here and there and looking the appropriate beautifully vulnerable lady, and Jack Nicholson genius as always; portraying The Joker with a flair and vibrancy that other actors would kill for. Nicholson steals every scene, which sits well since his character has the subtlety of a brick in the face. William Hootkins as Detective Eckhart, the dodgy codger that he is, gives a hilarious performance that quite blatantly laughs in the face of cops shows of old across America.
The film as a whole is a slick, cohesive and dark interpretation of Frank Miller’s superior ‘Batman’ comics. Burton’s script veers between the subtle mockery to the dark drama with a skill that surprises. The plot is simple, though effective, portraying Batman’s struggle to return Gotham to a safe haven whilst winning the girl. Fans of the TV show will be sorely disappointed that the camp ‘kapow!’ element has been purged, but real superhero movie fans will realise the beauty of this. Amidst it’s mocking and judgement, ‘Batman’ is a glossy though dark take on a great figure, and it’s well worth a watch.
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