Starring: Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough and Jack Palance.
This 1989 adaptation of Bob Kane's famous cartoon strip pits Gotham City's own caped crusader (Michael Keaton) against his archrival The Joker (Jack Nicholson). Obviously there is no need to talk about the storyline too much but this film is more than just another Batman adaptation it is THE Batman adaptation. Prior to this 1989 film Batman on the screen meant Adam West, Kapows, Coloured flashes and pantomime villainy, but with this movie Tim Burton went back to the comics bleak roots.
The architecture of Gotham City is suitably bleak and gothic, there is no sunlight and YES Batman kills the bad guys. This film is a triumph for comic books; it shows that the heroes and villains of the cartoon book don't have to be technicolorised for audiences to approve. More over this film is responsible for the up surge in comic book adaptations that continue to this day. Without Michael Keaton's Batman there would be no Phantom, no Spawn and no Wolverine.
This film is a damn good action adventure, Jack Nicholson is divinely evil as the Joker while Michael Keaton is at his best as the confused Bruce Wayne/Batman (Oh come on you knew that!).
A bleak 5 out of 5.
