I'll give an honest nickel if you didn't see this movie being anywhere in this top ten.
Batman? What can I say about it that I haven't already said in previous posts. It's basically my favorite Batman movie of all time, and with many good reasons. Michael Keaton, known for his comedy roles before hand, stirred the pot of controversy back in '88 when it was announced he was cast as the caped crusader. This caused an uproar because people feared that this meant Warner Bros. was only making a movie similar to that of the old Adam West TV show; Campy, cheesy, funny and absolutely not what they wanted Batman to be. What they didn't realize at the time is just how fucking wrong they were going to be proven, because not only did Keaton take the Bruce Wayne ball and run with it, but he also scored at home plate, picked up the bat and knocked another home run in with his Batman portrayal. Dark, violent and menacing.
Opposite Keaton is Jack Nicholson as the Joker, another one of my favorite portrayals of the Joker. We could sit here and have yet another Nicholson or Ledger debate, but save that for another time, if we haven't already. My memory sucks. Nicholson decided to play the Joker his own way, only borrowing lightly from previous portrayals. His maniacal laughter and twitchy mannerisms are comic book tropes the Joker is known for, but the other stuff? The talking and moving in the scene? That's all Nicholson, and it's what sets his Joker apart from other Jokers. You can argue that it isn't really the Joker, but just Jack Nicholson in clown make-up that he's playing, but still. Great chemistry. So much so that the Keaton and Nicholson won an MTV award in 1990 for favorite on-screen pairing in a motion picture, as well as the movie Batman itself winning for audience's choice award.
The movie was only the third directorial effort by then relatively unknown arthouse-beatnik Tim Burton, known today for his gothic movies with 30s and 40s inspired macabre and atmosphere. Beetlejuice, Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, Corpse Bride and even Dark Shadows all have that signature Tim Burton stamp on them. He's got his own swing and his own style. I like Tim Burton...except when he does remakes. Planet of the Apes (2001) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory were supposedly piles of garbage. Batman on the other hand? Give it a watch. Your superhero movie knowledge and collection are both incomplete without it.
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