Tim Burton's Batman

Tim Burton's Batman

Before Christopher Nolan reinvigorated the Batman franchise, Tim Burton had his share of success. Under Burton's guiding hands, Batman was relaunched in the 90's in a more artsy and Gothic world with funnyman Michael Keaton donning the cowl. The Keaton starred Batman had two successful films (Batman and Batman Returns) before a downward spiral from two more sequels (Batman Forever and Batman and Robin) snuffed the life away from the franchise. Keaton was replaced in Batman Forever by an up and coming star in Val Kilmer with Burton still guiding the film as a producer. In Batman and Robin however, an even newer up and coming star in George Clooney took on the role. The story suffered in favor of making the Batman films star studded and a more merchandise friendly (think toys that could sell) costume changes and bat gadgets aplenty. The star studded cast that the whole four movie run was able to produce involves Jack Nicholson as Joker and Kim Basinger as Vicky Vale for Batman, Danny De Vito as Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman for Batman Returns, Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face and Jim Carrey as Riddler in Batman Forever, and Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze for Batman and Robin (with a small role for little known Pro Wrestler Robert Swenson as Bane). The Tim Burton led four picture franchise simply tells the story of Batman's first appearance up until he forms his team of Bat family. In Batman, Michael Keaton goes up against Jack Nicholson as both of these stars played the pivotal role of Batman and Joker respectively. Keaton's portrayal of a brooding Bruce Wayne and a jawline that screams of Batman made him the best Batman to ever appear on the big screen. Even to this day, Bat fans still have these heated debates as to who among Keaton and Bale is the best Batman on film. Jack Nicholson's portrayal of an animated Joker brought to light the more sinister side of Joker without sacrificing this evil villain's love for mischief. Some fans even prefer Nicholson's portrayal of Joker than Heath Ledger's more sadistic and psychopathic Joker. But that is still up for debates and I personally feel that both actors brought different facets to the Joker as seen in the comic books. The first Batman movie simply tells the story of the birth of Batman and Joker as both of these arch nemesis face each other head on until the brutal death of Joker. In Batman Returns, Tim Burton once again returns with Michael Keaton as Batman goes up against the filthy Penguin (played by Danny De Vito) and the sultry Catwoman (played by Michelle Pfeiffer). This follow up is even better in my opinion as we are even drawn to the sympathetic side of Penguin as an outcast and Catwoman's thirst for revenge. Penguin's run for the mayoralty of Gotham City under the support of a corrupt businessman however turned Penguin into a drunk for power as he thirsts for revenge against the surface world who deemed him as a freak and outcast. From there, all bets are off as Batman deals with both of these villains while also escaping the police force that goes after him after he was framed by Penguin.

Batman

The luster of the franchise however went into a drastic turn by the time Tim Burton relinquished the directorial duties (in favor of a producer role) to Joel Schumacher in the third installment of the franchise, Batman Forever. But there was no forever in Michael Keaton's book as Batman as he leaves the role due to his distaste of the direction of the film. The prior two Batman films were more brooding in nature, but Warner Brothers wanted a lighter Batman film for the third installment. Keaton was replaced by golden boy Val Kilmer in his one off role as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey were brought in respectively as Two-Face and Riddler, but Two-Face was more of a filler as his origin story was only featured through flashbacks. Riddler on the other hand was the main villain of the film as he was given a more fleshed out role. But Jim Carrey's over the top portrayal was too distracting for the film. Chris O' Donnell as Robin was also introduced in the film, and for the first time on the big screen, Batman is paired up with his partner Robin to form the dynamic duo not seen since Adam West and Burt Ward's Batman TV series. The mild success of Batman Forever led to another sequel, but this time without Tim Burton's involvement as producer. And from one golden boy to another, Kilmer leaves the franchise and George Clooney took over the cowl. Schumacher returns to direct and brought in Arnold Schwarzenegger to play Mr Freeze and Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy. Chris O' Donnell also reprises his role as Robin and Alicia Silverstone was brought in to play Batgirl to bring in an even more crowded superhero mix. O' Donnell would later on lament that filming Batman and Robin felt like filming a two hour long toy commercial than filming an actual film. Among the four movies, only the Keaton starred Batman movies were highly praised by critics and Batman fans, the last two however killed the franchise. It took 8 years from a duo composed of Director Christopher Nolan and Writer David S. Goyer to come up with a new Batman for the new millennium. The Dark Knight Trilogy would explode on the movie screens as perhaps one of the best comic book movies ever made.   

Michael Keaton as Batman

The Toyline: Kenner managed to milk this incarnation of Batman through the four films that this version of the franchise appeared. Fresh from the success of their Super Powers toy line (which was based from the Super Friends cartoon series), Kenner re-uses some of the body molds (most notably Joker and Penguin) of that toy line. Batman on the other hand lacked the knee articulation that the Super Powers toy line possessed. But the lack of articulation in Batman action figures would be made up through the various gimmicks that the Batman figures possess. These action figures simply possess the standard five points of articulation of the vintage toys of the 80s, namely the swivel head, swivel arms, and swivel hips. Here in this entry, I'm posting a photo of the Bruce Wayne to Batman dress up gimmick. This was the first Batman toy that I ever had when I was a kid. Other gimmicks consists of a Silverhawks like Batman, a Sky Commander like Batman, and other Batman action figures with a different color scheme. The Batman action figures for Batman Returns on the other hand (save for Penguin and Catwoman) were re-issues of the same ones from the first movie. The action figures for Batman Forever and Batman and Robin however, are more stylized than the Super Powers like action figures from the first and second movie. These were more in line with Kenner's Total Justice toy line as the toy company decided to improved their action figure's sculpts. Check out the other action figures not seen here in this blog. I've still yet to complete these action figures as I'm on the process of deciding if I should get these. Though I'm not a die hard Batman fan, having them in my collection helps beef up my DC Movies collection.

Christian Bale donning Keaton's cowl and costume

A tale of two Bruce Waynes, Michael Keaton and Christian Bale

Join me in my next entry as I delve into Christopher Nolan's the Dark Knight Trilogy. See you!