It's Movie Time!
Over the Christmas holiday, Andrea, Dean, Jan and I were out to dinner when Dean mentioned he had not seen any of the Batman movies.
I begged to differ in that we did see The Batman in 2022 starring Robert Pattison as the Caped Crusader and directed by Matt Reeves. It was a very good movie that we enjoyed emmensely.
We also saw Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice from 2016 with Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, directed by Zack Snyder. It was a very BAD movie that we regard as a shared traumatic experience, one best shut aside as something best left forgotten.
But I knew what he meant. Prior to 2016, there were 8 films that were Batman movies.
From 2005 to 2012, director Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy with Christian Bale in the lead role that took the mythos of the Batman oh so seriously.
From 1966, Batman made it to the silver screen with a film version of the campy ABC TV series starring Adam West that took the mythos of the Batman oh so NOT seriously.
And in between was a quartet of movies from 1989 to 1997 which.... well, it began with good intentions.
So we introduce Dean to the 1989 blockbuster motion picture Batman starring Michael Keaton as Batman, directed by Tim Burton. And getting top billing as the Joker, Jack Nicholson.
Normally when I do a movie post, I include some kind of summary of the film but I will forego that here.
OK, fine! Here you go!
Good guy who dresses like a bat versus a bad guy who was turned into a clown. Hilarity and tragedy will ensue.
There! You're caught up.
What I want to cover here is why this movie was important to me and other comic book fans.
In the 1970's, creators like Denny O'Neil, Frank Robbins, Len Wein, Steve Englehart, Neal Adams, Irv Novick, Dick Giordano, Marshall Rogers and more gave us a Batman to be taken seriously, a dark avatar of justice.
The efforts of these creators in the comics went a long way to give us fans the Batman we wanted, that we felt we deserved.
But the damage of the 1960's persisted.
Outside of the medium of comic books, most people knew Batman from this.
I hate to sound like a consummate fanboy who dies of embarrassment that my sacred comic book mythology is represented by something so silly, so demeaning.
In my old age, I've come to appreciate the absurdist charms of the Batman TV show and what Adam West brought to the role.
As corny and campy as it was, without the Batman TV show, there is a very real possibility that Batman would have faded away into pop culture obscurity.
But while Adam West may have been Batman, he was not THE Batman. Comic book fandom knew the truth of our beloved crime fighter. How could we get the rest of the world to see that?
Fan boy made good Michael Uslan secured the film rights to Batman which he still holds. Anytime Batman is on screen in anything, Uslan gets a credit and a check. Good work if you can get it.
A fan of modern comics, Usland made various pitches to get a Batman movie off the ground.
Uslan was selling the Dark Knight Detective, "the definitive, dark, serious version of Batman.....a creature of the night; stalking criminals in the shadows."
FIlm studios want the Caped Crusader. They wanted something fun, light and colorful.
At one point, Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman was attached to a Batman project that would have cast Bill Murray as Batman and (you gotta be shitting me here!) Eddie Murphy as Robin?!?
Were fans to be denied their definitive, dark, serious version of Batman"?
Warner Bros. hired Tim Burton to direct because they liked his work on Pee Wee's Big Adventure.
And Burton cast comic actor Michael Keaton as Batman?
Oh come on!
I wrote a scathing letter of objection to this nonsense that was published in the comic book fanzine Amazing Heroes.
Burton tried to assuage the comics fandom, citing his own bonafides as a comic book fan, referencing the works of O'Neil & Adams, Englehart & Rogers and the recently released The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller.
It appeared Burton understood the assignment. But could he deliver?
It was about a year out from the film's summer 1989 release when I was in a theater and saw the trailer for the first time!
Batman crashing through a skylight, his dark cape unfolding about him?
It's a scene lifted from a comic book panel by Marshall Rogers!
Michael Keaton decked out in his Batman gear, framed in shadow, a grim expression of determination and resolve.
This is a man on a serious mission of "stalking criminals in the shadows!"
Well, God Damn! I'm sold!
The lead up to the movie's release was insane!
The black and yellow logo was on everything!
Prince was in heavy rotation on radio and MTV (yep, back when they still ran music videos) with "Batdance!"
Then Batman finally hit the big screens and I saw the damn thing 3 times!
Each time with a different woman.
I was a nerd AND a playa!
The 3rd time was with future wife Andrea.
I was giddy fan boy! This was as close as I ever expected to see the Batman in my comic books on a movie screen.
Yes, it could be absurd and campy but that was OK. No one wants to sit through a 2 hour version of "There Is No Hope In Crime Alley".
And I was bothered by things?
Batman shooting machine guns from his Bat Plane?
Batman does not use guns!
And worse still, he misses?!?!
The Joker is standing still right in his sights!
And then....
The Joker takes out the Bat Plane with a single shot?!?!
Are you fucking kidding me?
And do NOT get me started on Alfred letting Vicki Vale into the Bat Cave?!
Watching this again a few weeks ago, I was struck by how stalkerish Vicki comes off. She seems to have crafted this whole big relationship thing from spending one night with Bruce Wayne.
Was it just one night? Joker's side man Bob says Vicki is seeing some guy named Wayne which would imply some public knowledge of an ongoing relationship.
The script is peppered with inconsistencies like this, due to constant re-writes and studio interference. Warner Bros. paid damn good money to get Jack Nicholson into this thing and by God, they wanna see him on screen!
Apparently some character building stuff for Bruce and Vicki fell by the wayside to make room for more Joker.
Here is one consistency: Vicki Vale loses her shoes! Three times! Once with Bruce, once with Batman and finally with the Joker.
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| "Hey, Batman! Have you seen my shoes?" |
Andrea and I have to be careful not to oversell any TV show or movie we like or have fond memories of. But he seemed to enjoy the experience.
I rather enjoyed seeing it again. Poking holes in the plot is part of the fun. Also there is that nostalgic rush of remembering those anxieties of what would become of my beloved comic book hero and the sheer relief that it delivered on the promise of "definitive, dark, serious version of Batman".
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