I'm Batman !!! (Batman - Special Edition (DVD))

Member Name: martyfarty69

Product:	Batman - Special Edition (DVD)
Date:	24/06/09 (19 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Set the tone for how the Dark Knight is portrayed, wonderfully shot and great performances

Disadvantages: Takes some liberties with the Batman legend

Batman is a 1989 Film based on the DC Character of the same name, Directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton in the lead role, this film is a dark version of the Batman mythology and deals with the rise of the Joker.

The Plot :

The Movie starts with a scene of a wealthy couple, possibly out of towners, leaving the theater with their young son, after failing to hail a cab the father decides to lead them down some of Gotham City's dark and dangerous alleyways, they are eventually attacked by two petty thugs who rob the couple and leave.
Next we see the thugs high up in an abandoned building counting the loot and the spoils of their evening, suddenly we see a dark figure in the background and before long the thugs are attacked by this figure, after dealing with the Thugs the figure reveals himself to be Batman ( Michael Keaton )

Gotham City is under control by crime boss Carl Grissom ( Jack Palance ) despite the best efforts of newly elected District Attorney Harvey Dent ( Billy Dee Williams ) and Police Commissioner James Gordon ( Pat Hingle ) the city's police department is rife with corruption and is largely under the control of Grissom.

Reporter Alexander Knox ( Robert Wuhl ) is joined by high profile news photographer Vicki Vale ( Kim Basinger ) in his quest to learn more about Batman, while no-one else believes his story, Vale does and they team up to uncover more.

Vale and Knox attend a charity event held at Wayne Manor where they meet wealthy but reclusive industrialist Bruce Wayne ( Michael Keaton ) , there is instant chemistry between Vale and Wayne much to the disappointment of Knox, meanwhile elsewhere Grissom's second in command Jack Napier ( Jack Nicholson ) is sent to raid one of Grissoms front companies "Axis Chemicals" by his boss, however it turns out to be a set up by Grissom as revenge for Jack having an affair with Grissom's mistress Alicia ( Jerry Hall ) , the police department are dispatched to capture Napier and at the same time Batman shows up as well, after a gun battle between police and Napier's men, Napier is prevented from Killing Commissioner Gordon by Batman and as a result is dropped in a vat of chemicals, presumably killed.

Shortly after we see Napier in a dirty back alley Dr's office having reconstructive surgery, we soon learn that Napier has been horribly scarred and his skin bleached white, with his hair turned green, Napier assumes the name of Joker and has been turned quite mad, after murdering Grissom he assumes control of Grissom's men and begins his quest to control Gotham City, leaving Batman to prevent him from succeeding.

Batman is one of my favourite movies, Im a superhero movie fan anyway and while I hailed the resurrection of the franchise ( Batman Begins, and particularly the masterpiece that is the Dark Knight ) as an achievement, they wouldn't exist without this movie.
Batman certainly has its fair share of detractors, many criticised it for its twisting of the Batman storyline, established for years in the Comic Books ( In the original story, Batman's parents were murdered by petty thug Joe Chill, not Jack Napier ) , many also criticised it for its dark feeling, and right there in my opinion is where the genius of the movie comes into play, Batman is a Dark character by nature, Tim Burton's vision of having the movie shot with dark colours, and having Batman as a tormented soul was perfect, Michael Keaton's portrayal of the Dark Knight is in my opinion still the best ever ( Closely followed by Christian Bale ) and while Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker is legendary, Jack Nicholson's maniacal yet lighthearted portrayal is just as important, and as fitting as the campy 1960's TV Series was back then, this movie would never have worked if they had kept the material light.

I think the Dark Knight is technically the superior movie, but its also almost 20 years later as well, and as I mentioned before, this movie set the template for how the Batman character would be portrayed on screen in not only Movies, but also Cartoons as well and as a result deserves its place amongst the very best comic book superhero movies.

If you're a comic book fan then this is a must, and if you're a Batman fan then you need to watch this ( although if you are, why you haven't watched this yet is a mystery to me !! )

Summary: 20 years later, still one of the best superhero movies ever,