Think about the Future!

BATMAN (1989)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

The Caped Crusader has always been a mystery to me. What kind of person dresses up as a bat and roams the city streets of Gotham City at night? That question is an actual line of dialogue in Tim Burton's film, "Batman," but it is never answered. Batman was more fully realized in comic-book form than in any film or TV series version (until Christopher Nolan's epic vision in 2005) so, it is unfortunate that Burton's "Batman" sees him only as a one-dimensional freak with a two-dimensional wealthy playboy as the character whom we identify with, ever so slightly.

"Batman" is a strange entertainment in that it has sweep and a sonic boom to the visuals and the music (aside from the stirring orchestral score by Danny Elfman, there are songs by Prince) but little inner life and nothing ever seems at stake. Michael Keaton is Bruce Wayne, the wealthy playboy who lives at Wayne Manor which also houses an enormous Batcave. He has his lifelong servant and butler, Alfred (Michael Gough), whom he sees as his only family (Wayne's parents were killed by thugs). Beyond that, there is not much more to take away from Bruce Wayne except he can be deep in thought, and apparently loves the Batman-loving and global photojournalist, Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger, in one of her surest roles performing with wit, romance and a sense of humor). Can Bruce Wayne ever admit to Vicki that he is a giant flying rat? Added to the mix is a Mayor Koch lookalike; smooth though again underwritten Harvey Dent character (Billy Dee Williams); the comic schtick of Robert Wuhl as an ambitious reporter, and the fabulous Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon who is barely there there.

Jack Nicholson is the maniacal Joker, formerly maniacal Jack Napier, and he gives the role what it needs - a real shot of adrenaline that allows the charismatic actor to dance on screen for two hours. Except Nicholson is so damn good in the part (though whether he eclipses Cesar Romero's own interpretation from the Adam West TV show is one for the diehard Batman fans to digest and dissect) that he steals the movie from the inert Bruce Wayne/Batman complex. Old Jack is the star of the show, especially when mimicking a mime, joking with a fried corpse, performing in truly black-humored commercials, or destroying cultural works of art. Jack Nicholson becomes the movie - he owns it - and that is a high price to pay when you undernourish Batman's pain from having witnessed a significant tragedy in his own life. This aspect of identifying with the villains lead to the sequels that gave us less and less of our Caped Crusader.

"Batman" swooshes up and down on the screen, taking us on roller-coasters that pan Gotham City's architectural wonders and numerous buildings that we zoom in and out of. Tim Burton makes the city a grand character, thanks to the astounding production design by Anton Furst, and makes the Batmobile a threatening armadillo machine that goes beyond the TV series' own tame though no less iconic vehicle. The film looks spectacular in every respect and it is eye-filling. And when the rescue of Vicki Vale occurs, not to mention the various Batwing flying through the city moments, it is momentous and carries an electrifying, rousing charge of excitement. "Batman" is certainly entertaining but overall the film lacks urgency - Joker wants to poison everyone but to what end? Clearly he is the life of the party and his Joker feels extraneous when Michael Keaton is all gloom and doom in small doses. The "smile and smile and be a villain" is formidable, while the hero is stuck in a closet of his own mind.