Yes, it's been 25 years since Tim Burton's Batman hit the big screens. I was eight years old when this monster hit the silver screen and the anticipation was immense. And it wasn't just 8 year old kids who were anticipating this big screen release, adults and long-time comic book fans were drooling in suspense as well. This was the Star Wars of the 80's. The hype was enormous. Casting decisions were front page news on respectable rags(Michael Keaton is playing Batman! got as much ink as real headlines back then). The trailer showed just enough, but still left something to see in the actual movie. The posters were everywhere. The toys were littering every shelf. Cups. Plates. Bed sheets. EVERYTHING was Batman in 1989!
I got to see Batman twice in theaters in the same year. You see kids, back then, especially successful movies, would play in theaters for six months or more. You had to wait almost a year for a home video version or for the cable premiere broadcast. The idea of downloading a movie to your phone two months after it's theatrical release and watching it on a tiny screen would have seemed impossible, and a really awful way to watch a movie. Actually, I can't understand why anyone would want to watch a movie on a tiny phone screen right now, but I digress. Back in '89 there were actual lines to get into a big movie. If you didn't show up early enough, GASPS, you would miss your show and have to catch the next one! Also, back then there was just Batman. There weren't three other big budget Hollywood blockbusters to choose from. If you wanted something besides Batman to watch you would have to wait three weeks for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade to come out. It was Batman or nothing. Unlike now where movies just pile on top of each other and measure their dicks for three days, and eventually one of them has to go away. Maybe to get some sort of penile implant... I would assume anyway. In '89 an event movie was truly an event movie. The studios and the film's producers would market the hell out of this one movie and try to make it as enticing as possible so that everyone and anyone would go and see it. It didn't matter if you were a Batman fan or not. You saw Batman.
Luckily for Tim Burton's Batman it's set in some alternate universe and doesn't seem to have any finite time period. There's computers, and then there are old cars. The denizens of Gotham all dress in suits out of the 40's. Some of the Joker's henchmen use Tommy-Guns. There's no 1989 cultural references or puns. Sure, we do get some Prince pop songs on the soundtrack, but that's about it. So, the movie doesn't feel dated in that way. Where it does feel dated is in the details of the story. The violence is that of the 80's action hero. "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out" type of heroics are on display. Once Batman realizes the Joker is the same man behind the murder of his parents, he simply stops trying to expose his evil scheme and get the info to the press, and just FUCKING MURDERS his goons, and blows up his factory. Really, re-watch the third act of Batman. He just one night decides to up and blow up the factory and then murder the Joker and all his men. He could've done this technically at any time! Very 80's machismo type action vibe going. Some of the visual effects really haven't aged gracefully either. Some of the model shots are beautiful and breathtaking. Others are just shitty model shots(aftermath of the Bat-Wing crash being a prime example). Though, the movie is so stylized that it barely feels out of place when the visual or special effects have some warts on them.
Looking at the movie without nostalgic baggage reveals a few things: Firstly, it mostly holds up as a fun and unique ride, and secondly that once the third act rears it's ugly head the movie almost entirely falls apart. This movie was obviously being re-written as they were making it despite having a script that everyone agreed was the one to make(you can find many quotes from initial screenwriter Sam Hamm in regard to this). They added more Joker once the great Jack Nicholson was cast-which is only smart. They also seemed to muddy up what the story was and add things that just seemed shoe-horned in; Revealing late in the game that the Joker's alter-ego Jack Napier Killed Bruce Wayne's parents;Vicki Val simply being escorted into the Bat-cave by Alfred of all people! Vicki and Bruce have had one date, some sex and suddenly they're both obsessed with each other! And the fore-mentioned Batman goes on a killing spree big action finale. The visuals and fun effects keep things afloat, but once it's over your mind just reels with questions.
Finally, I'll quickly mention Danny Elfman's brilliant score. One of his greats and one of the true greatest scores of all time. It's right up there with John Williams' scores to Star Wars and Superman: The Movie as well as Jerry Goldsmith's Star Trek scores. It's fun, weird, gothic, and bombastic. I dare you to listen to the Batman march and not get it stuck in your head. By the way, whatever happened to memorable themes for super hero or comic book movies? The last theme I can remember worth any note was Elfman again with Spider-Man. That should really come back. Scores these days have all become very cannibalistic of one another, especially of James Newton Howard and Han Zimmer's work on the Dark Knight trilogy and Inception. Anyway, Danny Elfman's score is a great listen even to this day and I highly recommend the soundtrack album if you haven't heard it already.
So, happy 25th Batman. You were the first event movie I ever got to see on the big screen and you gave a new bankable legitimacy to comic book based movies after the Superman sequels and spin-offs squandered it. Sure, your sequels quickly did the same, but you will still always be the non-campy, if not still wacky in a dark way, big budget summer event comic boy movie. Good for you!
