Tim Burton, Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton team up to revive the caped crusader after two decades of "bam, pow, sock" oversaturation. It often feels like a great, big batch of irrelevant ideas tossed into the same pot, but more than a few of those notions are good ones. Its bonafides check out, at least, and the film's tone is daring enough to effectively shift the conversation away from that campy Adam West TV series. Burton cites The Killing Joke as an influence, while Keaton studied The Dark Knight Returns before filming, both strikingly fresh renditions of the character at the time, which still remain well-regarded thirty years later.
Nicholson's Joker is polished and refined, steeped in fine art and literature, but also gleefully chaotic and wildly unpredictable. Jack's enthusiasm for the part is clear, and appropriately so, as he gets almost all the memorable lines (there are quite a few) and is given plenty of liberty to make the role his own. Batman himself is almost a secondary character, amidst all the police corruption, overnight love connections and puzzling machinations by his nemesis.
The scenes which actually feel like Tim Burton are the most interesting, as the director's strange visual sensibilities serve as a wonderful partner for the Joker's increasing lunacy, but most of the time I had the sense that he was on a leash. Whether that was at the mandate of Warner Brothers or something more self-imposed is anyone's guess. It was his first major studio effort, after all, and there was a lot on the line. Indecisive at times, uncertain at others, it's a rather shallow story that rides high on its loud fashion choices, brooding nature and raw, energetic spirit, not to mention a few irresistible performances. Fascinating as a statement, perhaps less so as a complete motion picture. It’s very much a product of the times.
Review by drqshadowBlockedParent2020-01-29T15:44:30Z
Tim Burton, Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton team up to revive the caped crusader after two decades of "bam, pow, sock" oversaturation. It often feels like a great, big batch of irrelevant ideas tossed into the same pot, but more than a few of those notions are good ones. Its bonafides check out, at least, and the film's tone is daring enough to effectively shift the conversation away from that campy Adam West TV series. Burton cites The Killing Joke as an influence, while Keaton studied The Dark Knight Returns before filming, both strikingly fresh renditions of the character at the time, which still remain well-regarded thirty years later.
Nicholson's Joker is polished and refined, steeped in fine art and literature, but also gleefully chaotic and wildly unpredictable. Jack's enthusiasm for the part is clear, and appropriately so, as he gets almost all the memorable lines (there are quite a few) and is given plenty of liberty to make the role his own. Batman himself is almost a secondary character, amidst all the police corruption, overnight love connections and puzzling machinations by his nemesis.
The scenes which actually feel like Tim Burton are the most interesting, as the director's strange visual sensibilities serve as a wonderful partner for the Joker's increasing lunacy, but most of the time I had the sense that he was on a leash. Whether that was at the mandate of Warner Brothers or something more self-imposed is anyone's guess. It was his first major studio effort, after all, and there was a lot on the line. Indecisive at times, uncertain at others, it's a rather shallow story that rides high on its loud fashion choices, brooding nature and raw, energetic spirit, not to mention a few irresistible performances. Fascinating as a statement, perhaps less so as a complete motion picture. It’s very much a product of the times.