Rate Your Favorite Batman Films

[david_b]

Not the biggest Batfan of anything since the Silver Age, 'cept for the Animated Series (Year 1).., so I'd list mine as:

1) Batman ('66)
2) Batman ('89)
3) Mask of the Phantasm
4) Batman XXX (I skipped the boring sex stuff .. loved Batgirl though).

Ledger was interesting, but haven't liked any Batman outing much of anything since Keaton. He made watching Bruce Wayne interesting.

david_b

[emeraldknight47]

This IS an interesting topic and seems to be generating a lot of issues with various members, so here's my two cents worth...

I'll probably be presenting this in several parts as I'm verbose about Batman movies, so please bear with me....

NUMBER ONE:

BATMAN 1989 - I mean, this is where the current age of comic book movie was really birthed. Had Burton not made this and proven that comic book characters could translate to the big screen, I don't know that we would ever have seen some of the films that many of us have come to know and love in later years. PLUS, it was such an EVENT. I remember the June it opened, it was like Bat-mania was rampant everywhere and for those of us who were/are comic geeks, it kind of gave us a little justification for our interest. Did it have it's flaws? Heck yeah, but name me one comic book that hasn't had it's flaws.

Was Keaton perfect as Batman? No, but he came pretty damn close because he had that semi-crazy approach I think someone would need to go out at night dressed up like a giant bat. Plus, despite the fact that Keaton couldn't really turn his head at all, that batsuit [and the one in Batman Returns] came the closest to capturing the actual comics feel of his outfit, including the all important trait of making his cape as much a character as he was.

Nicholson's Joker was not the Joker from the comics any more that Ledger's Joker was, but I think it hewed closer to the source material than Ledger's did, plus, come on, it was f*****n Jack Nicholson, a man who virtually has the copyright on crazy in movies.

[kingdom warrior]

BATMAN 1989 - I mean, this is where the current age of comic book movie was really birthed. Had Burton not made this and proven that comic book characters could translate to the big screen, I don't know that we would ever have seen some of the films that many of us have come to know and love in later years. PLUS, it was such an EVENT. I remember the June it opened, it was like Bat-mania was rampant everywhere and for those of us who were/are comic geeks, it kind of gave us a little justification for our interest. Did it have it's flaws? Heck yeah, but name me one comic book that hasn't had it's flaws.

Was Keaton perfect as Batman? No, but he came pretty damn close because he had that semi-crazy approach I think someone would need to go out at night dressed up like a giant bat. Plus, despite the fact that Keaton couldn't really turn his head at all, that batsuit [and the one in Batman Returns] came the closest to capturing the actual comics feel of his outfit, including the all important trait of making his cape as much a character as he was.

Nicholson's Joker was not the Joker from the comics any more that Ledger's Joker was, but I think it hewed closer to the source material than Ledger's did, plus, come on, it was f*****n Jack Nicholson, a man who virtually has the copyright on crazy in movies.

Good post! Had Nicholson played Joker younger thinner it would have made more of an impact than it was......but let me tell you the one scene with him saying "Winged freek terrorizes" wait till they get a load of me...when i saw that....it gave me chills......Ledger never gave me chills.....

[CrimsonGhost]

I think Nicholsons Joker is pretty much how I think of the Joker, although The Animated Series nailed all of the characters perfectly as far as I'm concerned. And Ledger is pretty much a violent Beetlejuice and doesn't represent the Joker to me at all.

[david_b]

Mr. Hamill as the Joker in TAS is STILL the benchmark portrayal.

TOTALLY agree on Nicholson's Joker, though. He was easily MUCH more chilling than Ledger, AND he had style.

[MIB41]

I think the two Jokers are really from two different approaches. Burton's Joker leans more towards the comic interpretation, whereas Nolan's Joker is more of a literal perspective. A "what if" approach if you will. I love both versions. I don't think I have a preference for one over the other. Both have their strengths and both have their shortcomings as well.

Nicholson's performance is both entertaining and fun, but also very familiar given his portrayal of other wacky characters from his eclectic resume. When I watch him, I see Nicholson as much as I see the Joker. But STILL a very good (and BRILLIANT) casting choice for that period and one I still very much enjoy watching. Ledger's Joker is more of a psychological examination. His appearance is less "stylized" than the Burton Joker. And Ledger is completely absorbed in that role. You never know what he's going to do and that unpredictability fits more to the psychological origins of the Joker, than Burton's terminal "gagster". But Nolan's Joker never gets the send off Burton's Joker does, and the finale is less satisfying. To me if your THAT crazy, you should be equally disposed of in a similar fashion. Burton's Joker got that treatment absolutely right. Nolan's did not.

[thunderbolt]

^^^ Too bad we never got Burton's pick for the Joker, Willem Dafoe. Jack was forced on him by the suits.

[MIB41]

^^^ Too bad we never got Burton's pick for the Joker, Willem Dafoe. Jack was forced on him by the suits.

WOW! Now that would have been interesting...and less costly too. I think Nicholson ended up getting a percentage of the grosses from every Batman film through to B&R.

[emeraldknight47]

DaFoe probably would've made a killer Joker since he pulled off the Goblin so well (sans the Power Ranger suit). The scene of him talking to himself in the mirror and switching personas back and forth was chilling and SO ultra-cool.

I wonder, if Burton were doing BATMAN today, would Depp be considered to play The Joker...? After all, it's the kind of character that would seem to play to his strong suite...

[MIB41]

DaFoe probably would've made a killer Joker since he pulled off the Goblin so well (sans the Power Ranger suit). The scene of him talking to himself in the mirror and switching personas back and forth was chilling and SO ultra-cool.

I wonder, if Burton were doing BATMAN today, would Depp be considered to play The Joker...? After all, it's the kind of character that would seem to play to his strong suite...

Interesting thought! I think he would make an ideal Riddler though... His quirkiness would lend itself to that character.

[sprytel]

This IS an interesting topic and seems to be generating a lot of issues with various members, so here's my two cents worth...

I'll probably be presenting this in several parts as I'm verbose about Batman movies, so please bear with me....

NUMBER ONE:

BATMAN 1989 - I mean, this is where the current age of comic book movie was really birthed. Had Burton not made this and proven that comic book characters could translate to the big screen, I don't know that we would ever have seen some of the films that many of us have come to know and love in later years. PLUS, it was such an EVENT. I remember the June it opened, it was like Bat-mania was rampant everywhere and for those of us who were/are comic geeks, it kind of gave us a little justification for our interest. Did it have it's flaws? Heck yeah, but name me one comic book that hasn't had it's flaws.

Was Keaton perfect as Batman? No, but he came pretty damn close because he had that semi-crazy approach I think someone would need to go out at night dressed up like a giant bat. Plus, despite the fact that Keaton couldn't really turn his head at all, that batsuit [and the one in Batman Returns] came the closest to capturing the actual comics feel of his outfit, including the all important trait of making his cape as much a character as he was.

Nicholson's Joker was not the Joker from the comics any more that Ledger's Joker was, but I think it hewed closer to the source material than Ledger's did, plus, come on, it was f*****n Jack Nicholson, a man who virtually has the copyright on crazy in movies.

I totally agree.

I still love Burton's "Batman". While I really appreciate what Nolan has done with his movies, I think there is something special about Burton's vision... and it changed the face of comic book movies forever.

[MIB41]

I completely agree. Without Burton's Batman, we would not have the industry we have today.

[thunderbolt]

Interesting thought! I think he would make an ideal Riddler though... His quirkiness would lend itself to that character.

Just typecast Depp as the Mad Hatter.

[Werewolf]

My favorite live action Batman movie is the 1989 movie followed by Batman Returns. Third is the 1966 movie. Yeah, it's silly but it was good for its time. Do not like Joel Schumacher's Batman movies and try to ignore them. The Nolenverse is okay to me. Don't hate them or love them.

I like the animated DC movies the best. Do the Batman and Superman team ups count? Those were all really good.

[Hector]

Good post! Had Nicholson played Joker younger thinner it would have made more of an impact than it was......but let me tell you the one scene with him saying "Winged freek terrorizes" wait till they get a load of me...when i saw that....it gave me chills......Ledger never gave me chills.....

Nicholson gave you chills? I thought he was just funny...in a cute sort of way...lol.

Ledger >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Nicholson