I’ve never seen it, and I’m wondering if it’s worth seeing. I’ve always liked Batman, he’s one of my favorite heroes, but for a comic book movie the movie is fairly old. I don’t know if it stands the test of time.
But I do love Val Kilmer, and I think he’s in there. I could be wrong of course. And it kind of is a classic.
What do you say Dopers?
Mods: I didn’t know where to put this. It’s about a movie, but it’s a poll. Feel free to move it should the mood strike you.
There were Batman Serials in the 40’s, and the TV show in the 60’s - but it looks like you mean the quadrilogy of movies : Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman and Robin.
The first two star Michael Keaton. The first one is passable, the second is bad. the third stars Kilmer and is again pretty decent. The fourth stars George Clooney and is awful.
The first movie is great. I liked the second one, which seems to be a minority opinion. The third one was okay, but should probably be avoided. The fourth…NEVER HAPPENED. George Clooney was never batman. Ah-nuld was never Mister Freeze. Never happened! Doesn’t exist!
sticks fingers in ears and walks away shouting lalalalala I can’t hear you
There’s not really any continuity between the movies. I’d just watch the first one, if that. It’s not particularly good, but unlike its sequels, it’s not painfully bad, either.
Just watch the first and third. Unless you have Netflix, and feel curious.
Basically… the first two are Tim Burton films, and they have his gothic sensibility stamped all over them - in the first one he’s close enough to the Batman comic feel that it’s okay, but in the second one he goes all Batman Scissorhands.
The next two are Joel Schumacher films, and they’re… campy and a little effeminate. The third one is again close enough to the Bat-comic feel to make it a decent watch (but on the other side of that feel from the first Burton film) and the fourth one jumps out into Priscilla, Queen of the Batcave.
The first one is okay, though Batman is almost a secondary character in his own movie. The focus is on Jack Nicholson as The Joker. My perception of Batman from the comic books was that he was intensely physical in his dealings with crime i.e. he knew more ways to kick criminals in the nuts than any other hero…and he’d do it too. Michael Keaton’s performance is pretty damn far from intensely physical. The Batsuit does the performing when Batman is on screen and Keaton fades to near-invisibility as Bruce Wayne.
I cherish hope that the movie presently in production will finally get it right. Failing that, we still have the excellent animated series.
I’m going to swim upstream here and say that Batman Returns was my favorite. Look for Pee Wee and Dottie in Scene I. And I thought that Danny DeVito was brilliant. And Michelle Pfieffer? I love that pussy!
Batman and Robin, though – I move that if anyone comes into this thread and claims that they liked it, we should alert a mod so that that person can be banned. We don’t need “those” sorts of people around here.!
Well, I’ve already decided I’m going to watch the first three. Also Real Genius.
I promise not to watch Batman and Robin, though.
:eek: Isn’t this a bit explicit for a Batman thread? I mean, there’s a lot more I could have said over in the Top Secret thread about Val Kilmer, but I refrained, didn’t I?
Both of the Buron-directed movies are very very good, imho, and should definitely be seen. I’ll also give a shout out to the fantastic score by Danny Elfman.
I’d definitely put it right behind the first Batman movie (first of the four later ones) and probably tied with Batman Returns. Michelle Pfeiffer in skintight leather? Manna to my pubescent brain. I don’t even remember what it was about other than that.
My suggestion would be to watch it only if you have insomnia or are bulimic and have an aversion to sticking your fingers down your throat. While it’s true that Batman’s better than its three sequels, that’s faint praise and is tantamount to saying AIDS isn’t as bad as the Black Death or the Influenza Epidemic of the 1920s because it hasn’t killed as many people yet.
Let’s just say that if you’re a fan of physics, then you might be able to point out one or two places where suspension of disbelief is a Good Thing. And there are many many many many many many many plot holes.
When the Joker does his big giveaway, and when the mayor lights the Christmas tree, you would have expected them to have gathered, you know, a crowd or something. I find it hard to believe that the entire population of Gotham doesn’t exceed 42. Stuff like that.
It’ll help, however, if you don’t compare the movies to real life. Think of them as animated comic books, and they’re much more palatable.
Heh. That’s a better way to put it, tdn. Comparing it to AIDS is obviously a bit over the top but I couldn’t think of anything more appropiate at the time.
Anaamika: I’m not a movie critic so I couldn’t tell you precisely what it is about the movies that turned me off so much other than the absolutely horrible and cliched writing but I just couldn’t get into them at all. I tried rewatching the original at work a couple months ago because Gr8Kat has a copy on VHS but I wound up falling into a coma instead. They’re just horrible movies.
Of course, I liked *DareDevil *and Coyote Ugly is one of my favorite movies so what the hell do I know?
