Average Rating: 6.6/10
Reviews Counted: 53
Fresh: 38 | Rotten: 15
An eerie, haunting spectacle, Batman succeeds as dark entertainment, even if Jack Nicholson's Joker too often overshadows the title character.
Average Rating: 5.9/10
Critic Reviews: 7
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 3
An eerie, haunting spectacle, Batman succeeds as dark entertainment, even if Jack Nicholson's Joker too often overshadows the title character.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 823,712
Jack Nicholson is the Joker, who emerged from a horrible accident as a maniacal criminal. Michael Keaton is the Caped Crusader, who emerged from a childhood trauma to become a masked crimefighter. Kim Basinger is Vicki Vale, the talented photojournalist desired by both men. And Batman is the movie, the all-out spectacular directed by Tim Burton, set to songs by Prince and a music score by Danny Elfman, and an Academy AwardO winner* for Best Art Direction/Set Decoration (Anton Furst and Peter
Jun 23, 1989 Wide
Mar 25, 1997
Warner Bros. Pictures
All Critics (53) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (15) | DVD (20)
Director Tim Burton effectively echoes the visual style of the original Bob Kane comics while conjuring up a nightmarish world of his own.
Top CriticThe conceptual side of the movie--two rather sick two-sided antagonists having it out in a black and sordid context -- lingers.
The wit is all pictorial. The film meanders mindlessly from one image to the next, as does a comic book. It doesn't help that the title character remains such a wimp even when played by Michael Keaton.
There are a lot of things wrong with Batman, but it still makes for decent entertainment in the fine tradition of the typical low-intelligence summer movie.
Dark, haunting and poetic
An exhilarating mix of cartoon lore (though not nearly enough for rabid Batpurists), screen presence (this is pretty much the Jack and Mike Show), psychological murkiness (though it could have used even more) and demented Gothic goofiness.
Stylish, violent, and often dull Batman adventure.
A dark and refreshing interpretation of one of comic kingdom's most beloved characters, Batman successfully wiped away the memory of the camp 1960s television show and proved that comic book movies can be highly entertaining viewing.
The element of surprise appears in every frame of this motion picture, creating a rich sense of joy and mystery that seems to befuddle Burton and his primitive instincts.
...Batman hasn't gone totally stale.
...this one provided all the right ingredients its fans had always hoped for. (20th Anniversary Blu-ray Book)
Visually arresting but dramatically undernourished, the film suffers from bland characterization (particularly by Basinger's Vicki and the other "good" crime fighters) and is ultimately saved by Jack Nicholson's bravura turn as the diabolical Joker.
A hollow void of underdeveloped style and half-hearted execution.
Supposedly a superhero movie for grown-ups, this is actually a pretentious farrago.
It was, however, easily the biggest box-office hit of 1989, and one of the highest grossing films in history, a testament more to its massive marketing campaign than to its quality.
Wow. I can't believe how little I enjoyed about this movie after all of these years of NOT having seen it.
Burton brings back film noir elements to the new Batman, elevating it to a dark, demented opera.
In the end, one's reaction to Burton's blockbuster is little more than that of the Joker to Batman: 'Where did he get those wonderful toys?'
We can finally look back on these films and give them their due without undue feelings of frustration getting too much in the way...
The movie that gave birth to the summer blockbuster remains impressive.
We weren't yet spoiled by cinema's ... ability to create on film anything that can be imagined, accepting anything that looked a bit clunky as part of the package.
How much awesomeness can you fit into one film? Well, this one certainly pushes the boundaries. This highly stylised Tim Burton adaptation of one of the most iconic comic characters ever is an exciting and darkly atmospheric adventure story. Michael Keaton plays a very straight and seriousness Bruce Wayne, under acts
November 15, 2011
Super Reviewer
| 35% | The Hangover Part II |
| 25% | Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Par... |
| 81% | Kung Fu Panda 2 |
| 44% | Cowboys & Aliens |
| 83% | Rise of the Planet of the Apes |
| 25% | Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Par... |
| 88% | Lady and the Tramp |
| 69% | A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas |
| 21% | Fireflies in the Garden |
| 45% | The Rebound |
Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1
See the all-new action-packed trailer!
Five new Marvelous pictures
Unconventional Superheroes