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Batman

year 1989decade 80sdirector Tim Burtongenre Fantasygenre Actiongenre Crime

126 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Michael Keaton Bruce Wayne / Batman
Jack Nicholson Jack Napier / The Joker
Kim Basinger Vicki Vale
Robert Wuhl Alexander Knox
Pat Hingle Commissioner Gordon
Billy Dee Williams Harvey Dent
Michael Gough Alfred Pennyworth
Jack Palance Carl Grissom
Jerry Hall Alicia Hunt
Tracey Walter Bob the Goon
William Hootkins Lt. Max Eckhardt

Batman | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanhost Sean Fennessey
Explore episodeClose episode

Producer credits not yet identified.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Drive into the Batcave; Party Man museum scene

In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:14Read transcript
  • The opening rooftop introduction with “I'm Batman” is nominated; Keaton reportedly wrote that line.
  • Knox and Vicki visiting Bruce Wayne’s office and Batman foiling the Joker’s gang ahead of the fall into the vat are listed.
  • “Wait till they get a load of me” is offered as the film’s most famous line, with the rhubarb line as a jokey rival.
  • The first Batmobile sequence and the drive into the Batcave, with Vicki fearing she will be killed, is called a favorite part of the movie and impressive for 1989.
  • The flashback revealing that the Joker killed Bruce’s parents is called well done.
  • The newscasts, the Smilex ad, and the parade with the poison gas are nominated; the parade is called completely bonkers but effectively the climax.
  • The Vicki-Joker scenes are grouped: the museum date, the “let’s get nuts” showdown, and the bell tower, whose violent Joker fall was traumatizing as a child.
  • The bell tower was left off because it is long, inexplicable, and geometrically confusing.
  • Final pick: driving into the Batcave.
  • Final pick: the Party Man scene where the Joker dances and defaces the museum art. — Sean Fennessey

What’s Aged the Best?

Keaton’s lower Batman voice; Kim Basinger; Nicholson as the Joker; the Batcave; the rushed Christmas teaser; making a Batman movie; Burton gamble; low angst; Bruce’s armor room

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:41:29Read transcript
  • Keaton using a lower voice for Batman than for Bruce Wayne was smart and widely copied.
  • Kim Basinger’s looks are singled out, while her acting is not evaluated.
  • Nicholson as the Joker, framed as Jack Torrance playing the Joker, is called probably the favorite thing about the movie.
  • The Batcave is praised.
  • Peters reportedly rushed out a trailer played in theaters around Christmas after reading of fan anger over Keaton; it created huge excitement and is still on YouTube.
  • The role as an exclamation point on Nicholson’s pop-culture career is added.
  • Making a Batman movie at all, and taking a chance on Burton, look smart given how many followed.
  • The relative lack of angst compared with the Nolan, Snyder, and Reeves films is praised.
  • Bruce’s office and armor display room are added, prompting a joke about needing one at home.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Dated effects; darkness; Vicki Vale framing; Keaton-Basinger romance; casting uproar; Prince soundtrack; Gotham Globe newspaper; Keaton’s hair; wasted Billy Dee Williams; Pat Hingle; Robert Wuhl as Knox

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:42:06Read transcript
  • The framing of Vicki Vale is flagged as weird and reserved for this category.
  • Some special effects, like the bat plane flight, feel very 1989.
  • The film is too dark and literally hard to see in places; The Batman is said to be darker still.
  • The Keaton-Basinger scenes feel rough; a defense says they convey chemistry and that the Joker is crude and after her.
  • Keaton’s Bruce is an odd, untraumatized weirdo, so the romance raises the question of why she likes him beyond his money; he is compared to a tech billionaire with a Steve Jobs look, though he had great chemistry with Michelle Pfeiffer in the sequel.
  • The uproar over casting Keaton, with a reported 50,000 protest letters, is hard to explain today and is contrasted with modern tweet-based hate.
  • The Prince soundtrack is named, while Trust and Party Man are defended as good songs.
  • The importance of the Gotham Globe newspaper has dated; the setting feels like both 1989 and 1948, and Gotham is a composite of many cities.
  • Keaton’s hair sometimes looks like a wig.
  • Billy Dee Williams is wasted as Harvey Dent and was later replaced by Tommy Lee Jones; Morgan Freeman is floated but his fit as Two-Face is debated.
  • Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon would be recast; William Hootkins as the lieutenant is defended.
  • Robert Wuhl as Knox is the worst part: he is in too many scenes after Bull Durham, which is called the most unfortunate part of the movie.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:28Read transcript
  • Tracey Walter as Bob the Goon is called a clear winner; Nicholson reportedly negotiated his casting, and Repo Man is cited as a favorite Walter role.
  • He is not a very intimidating gangster, a point saved for picking nits; his was the sixth-biggest part, secured by Nicholson’s juice.

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Keaton’s “Let’s get nuts”; Jack Palance’s death scene

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:53Read transcript
  • Nicholson has moments and the Prince-song scene is a candidate, but Keaton’s “you want to get nuts” outburst in the Joker showdown is highlighted.
  • Palance’s dramatic death after being shot is the platonic ideal of overdone dying; he is called bad here, indescribable in Tango and Cash, and undeserving of his City Slickers Oscar.

Apex Mountain

Michael Keaton; Jon Peters and Peter Guber

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:05Read transcript
  • Keaton is a yes: the biggest movie ever when released, and his juice got Pacific Heights made.
  • A joke asks whether Damon Wayans understood Apex Mountain.
  • Pacific Heights is defended as great, prompting a joke to schedule it.
  • Basinger could be argued yes given her fame and coming Alec Baldwin romance, but L.A. Confidential is offered instead; she worked little after it.
  • Nicholson is a no; his apex is elsewhere.
  • Peters and Guber are a yes, since this success helped them take over Sony before it fell apart.
  • The Knox actor gets an “absolutely”, but it is immediately deferred to Arli$$ as his apex.
  • For Burton, this film is possible but Batman Returns is preferred as the better movie he fully controlled; it has great performances throughout, with no bad Palance turn. — Sean Fennessey
  • For Batman movies, the answer is no: The Dark Knight.

Who Won the Movie?

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:35Read transcript
  • Nicholson is proposed and accepted; Burton is also floated.
  • Burton wins the next film instead, because he was unhappy with so much here and it is surprising he returned.
  • The choice closes on Nicholson.
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