Batman: The Movie (1966)

Years before the Christopher Nolan Batman films there were the Tim Burton Batman films; years before the Tim Burton Batman films there was this: 1966's gloriously campy and compulsively watchable Batman: The Movie.  Directed by Leslie H. Martin, it stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin the Boy Wonder in addition to a (pardon this, I am in the mood for wordplay) fearsome foursome of foes: the Joker, the Riddler, the Penguin, and Catwoman.  Sporting a incoherent plot and holy-let's-just-go-with-it-Batman attitude, it stands in stark contrast to the much darker and grittier Nolan films and serves as an example of how to properly do a campy superhero movie (take note, Joel Schumacher).

The plot of the film involves the standard superhero plot: deadly villains, theme gadgets, and a taking-the-world-hostage sort of evil scheme.  Batman and Robin answer an urgent cry to save a stolen ship (with deadly new invention aboard) and end up battling a shark (mid-air) while the ship apparently disappears.  Following vague clues, they manage to deduce that the scheme has been formulated by the Penguin, the Joker, the Riddler, and Catwoman (Burgess Meredith, Cesar Romero, Frank Gorshin, and Lee Meredith).  The villains hatch a plan to lure Batman to them by having Catwoman, under the guise of the Russian Miss Kitka, seduce a millionaire and, through kidnapping him, bait Batman.  Naturally, the millionaire chosen is none other than Bruce Wayne, Batman's alter-ego.  Being the ladies man he is, he deems the seductive "Kitka" worthy of (actual dialogue) "International Relations."  He promptly escapes their grasp and seeks to stop there dastardly scheme.  The specifics of the scheme are not important, some key points are as follows: a billion dollars, a penguin-based submarine, and a means of dehydrating world leaders.

The plot of the film, though clearly ridiculous, is ideal for the campy tone and is utterly hilarious when viewing the final product.  The scheming done by the four antagonists is so out-there and incomprehensible it would make the writers of the James Bond films starring Roger Moore blush.  All that being said, the writing of the film is so ridiculous and over-the-top that it becomes endearing.  "What is six ounces, sits in a tree, and is extremely dangerous? A sparrow with a machine gun."  By the end of the film the Riddler's ridiculous riddles, such as that one, that Batman and Robin solve with apparent ease, almost make sense, almost.  For this, the writers must be given credit, nothing except for good writing could account for such a miraculous and shocking thing.

The acting of the film is excessive, hammy, and unbelievably fun to watch.  As our caped crusaders, Adam West and Burt Ward embrace the material with a veracity that inspires not a small amount of awe, and not a small amount of pity.  The quartet of villains also go hammy and generally succeed in doing so; though they are not quite as successful as one would hope.  Of the four, only Lee Meriwether as Catwoman really stands out.  The other three villainous roles seem as if they could have been condensed into one without losing much of their effect.  Meriwether replaced Julie Newmar (who appeared as Catwoman on the television series) and she created the cat-suit that was to be filled when Michelle Pfeiffer would slip into it over thirty-five years later.

Another facet of the film that must be mentioned is the amount of bat-gadgets that are in the film.  I counted four different vehicles used by the Dynamic Duo: the Bat-Mobile, the Bat-Copter, the Bat-Cycle, and the Bat-Boat.  In addition to that, they have a Bat-Ladder (a rope ladder with a sign that says "Bat-Ladder") and Shark Repellent Bat-Spray among many, many others.

Overall the film is highly enjoyable and so campy it makes one want to start singing "Camptown Races" around a fire.  If you want to see a gritty Batman film that also creates a realistic human-drama: see Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.  If you want to see a hammy, over-the-top action film with physical comedy taken directly from the films of Charlie Chaplin: see Batman: The Movie.  As a parody of the super-hero genre, it is, to quote my favorite villainous feline, "Purr-fect."

8/10

Note: Though the official name of the film is Batman, it was marketed as Batman: The Movie.  I credited as the latter to avoid confusion with the Tim Burton film of the same name that I will eventually review.

Additional Note: This review was previously posted on another blog I wrote.

Batman (1989)

A mugging in a dark alley in the crime-ridden streets of Gotham, the muggers think they pulled it off without hitch, little do they know, the night hides someone else watching: the Batman.  Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman, starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, is often heralded (along with 1978's Superman) as one of the primary inspirations for the modern superhero film.  The film focuses on Batman's attempts to thwart the sinister plots of the newest and most deadly member of his rogues gallery: the Joker.  All the while, his alter-ego Bruce Wayne tries to charm Vicki Vale.  The supporting actors include Kim Basinger, Michael Gough, Jack Palance, and Billy Dee Williams.

The film begins with reports of a shadowy Batman stalking criminals in the night trickling through Gotham's underbelly: petty thieves, corrupt cops, and tabloid journalists.  A high-level mobster, Jack Napier, is betrayed by the mob boss Carl Grissom (Jack Palance) and is left horribly scarred.  Bruce Wayne meets and falls for Vicki Vale, the paper's new star photojournalist.  Napier, taking on the name "Joker," plots to take over the city's organized crime with a (substantial) bit of pizazz.  As Batman becomes something of an icon in the city of Gotham, the Joker, not one to be outdone, seeks to become all the more outrageous in order to become the favored "freak" among the citizenry; but Batman will not ignore the Joker's crimes and remain in his cave for very long.

The acting in the film is good, but not great.  Michael Keaton does good work in the lead, despite his being miscast; he only truly encompasses one (important) facet of the Batman character: the inner turmoil.  Batman is supposed to be one thing in particular, which Michael Keaton is not: physically intimidating.  Jack Nicholson is good as the Joker, even though Burton commits the (oft committed) fatal flaw of focusing on the villain and not the hero.  Kim Basinger does her job; her job being to portray the type of character first addressed as follows: "Hello Legs."  Michael Gough is good as the faithful butler Alfred, even if the character is underused and does some objectionable things that a superhero's confidante should never do (at least according to the generally agreed upon comic-book rules).

The Gotham city that Tim Burton and his crew created for the film is absolutely wonderful to behold.  Despite the obvious (and necessary) use of some matte paintings, the Gotham city seen in the film is both (relatively) realistic and comic-bookish.  Wayne Manor, Bruce Wayne's mansion home, is both luxuriant and slightly creepy, which is befitting the Gothic nature of the titular character and his alter-ego.  The vehicles used in the film are befittingly ridiculous and outlandish, but it would not be a Batman film without them; though I did find the Bat-plane a tad unnecessary and particularly outlandish.

The film's plot is fairly standard and does not do either the actors or the characters justice.  Many details of the plot seem unnecessary and forced (such as the Joker being the one who killed Bruce Wayne's parents).  The score, one of the earliest by Danny Elfman, is both good musically and is an excellent fit for the film in terms of subject matter and tone.

Despite having a severely miscast lead (though Michael Keaton does a great job, he just wasn't right for the role) and a confusion of who the film is about, 1989's Batman is a decent Batman flick, but is nowhere near the seminal superhero film many seem to remember it as; it is inferior to its sequel Batman Returns (granted it is far superior to both Batman Forever and Batman and Robin) and is far inferior to the Christopher Nolan films released in recent years.

6/10

Note: This review was previously posted on another blog I wrote.