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Batman

1989

This is a watch I've been putting off for a long time. I've originally planned it around late 2019, when Scorsese dumped on Marvel movies and people misunderstood it as an attack on superheroes rather than on Disney (or WB, for that matter). Obviously, superhero movies aren't inherently rotten, but has there ever been a superhero movie that you could call ''great cinema''? I'm not in the position to give a definite answer because I haven't seen that many of them, but I'd be glad if there was. So I took the most obvious course of action: Scorsese said he doesn't like these marvel movies because ''they're everything that films of Wes Anderson and co. aren't'', and considering Wes Anderson is just what Tim Burton used to be, that lead me to watch Batman.

Let me clarify one thing right out the gate: this isn't a ''serious movie'', nor does it need to be. Nowadays with all the downloads and streaming, cinema has become one big buffet where there's room for everything, including live-action cartoons. If it does its own thing and does it well, it's always welcome.

So then, what is Batman's ''thing''? What do people most remember it for? Like most Tim Burton movies, it's the aesthetic. Which is weird because it's completely unlike his other films. It has more in common with german expressionist films than it does with Beetlejuice. Gotham is portrayed as a dense, opulent ant colony of a city, just like Metropolis. The richly decorated architecture, crowds dressed in a mix of 30's and 80's fashion, and the tasteful use of smoke make it delightful to look at. The main duo, Batman and Joker, also look like something straight out of an old-school horror movie. I can't help but draw a comparison between this and the more practical, but less expressive Chris Nolan versions. I've always felt like superheroes are better suited for the Tim Burtons and Sam Raimis - directors not aiming for visual realism - and it shows. Whoever did the smile makeup for Jack Nicholson should be given a medal.

I'm more split on the story. There were things I liked: the structure, first of all, feels exactly like something you'd see in an auteur-driven action movie. The three main action scenes play out in the order of Batman vs. Jack Napier, Bruce Wayne vs.Joker, and then it finally comes to Batman vs. Joker. It uses its characters as chess pieces, which is something I'm always for. It's the reason I loved The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and An Event, but Batman uses the alter egos of the characters to put its own twist on the formula. On top of that, I love Jack Nicholson's Joker. He's everything the character should be - as slick and playful as he is insane. He's a villain who does what he does for the lulz. And you can tell Jack had the time of his life portraying him - he effortlessly goes from funny to intimidating with the same flavour of bat**** insanity. That's the third thing I have to point out: this is one of the funniest non-comedies I've ever seen. It uses humour sparingly, but it all comes naturally. There's never that ''pause for the joke'' feeling you get in something like Endgame.

What I don't like about the story is the characterisation of everyone other than Joker. Actually, ''don't like'' isn't accurate, it's more that I'm disappointed by it. Batman, Joker, and their alter-egos form the main chess pieces, while Gotham forms the chess board, and there was potential for a real interesting dynamic between them. Bruce Wayne is shown as socially awkward, and it only makes sense that a guy who grew up with no parents and spends his nights running around in a scary costume would be a bit of a weirdo, but it wasn't taken as far as it should've been. There was potential for an interesting hero, whose crime-fighting aptitude came at a price of his social aptitude, and as such love or friendship. That would've also made the love story with Vicki Vale a way bigger deal. As it is, it feels like something that was put in because Hollywood demanded it. I will say casting Michael Keaton as Bruce was a step in the right direction, as his weird eyebrows and choppy speech pattern give off the vibe I wanted to see. Gotham, likewise, could've been written as a town that has gotten to big and fat for its own good, one you could buy someone would destroy just for the hell of it, but it's only shown near the end, where the Joker's parade throws around big fistfuls of cash and nobody finds it suspicious.

As it stands, you know what Batman feels like? A precursor to the animated series. And I don't mean that as an insult, the animated series is amazing, but it's hard not to be bothered by some of the missed potential here. But what you get in the end is still good entertainment, and it has a unique style that may strike a chord with you, so it's a definite recommendation.