This might be hard to connect with if you can only look at Batman through the lens of the Bale, Affleck and Pattinson interpretations. It’s certainly more stylized and unapologetically comicbook-y, but to me that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Like, I don’t think it’s dated at all, it’s still pretty easy to get into if you have an appreciation for the pulpier side of Batman and Burton’s aesthetic. Sure, the action can be a little stiff occasionally, but there’s truly a timeless quality to the filmmaking and storytelling here. It perfectly captures the essence of the characters and the world, and because it isn’t afraid of the origins of the source material it does so in a way that still feels unique. For example, I love how this Joker is interpreted as a cartoonish version of a Scorsese mobster, and how exaggerated the world feels. Both Keaton and Nicholson deliver very entertaining performances (Nicholson has so many iconic moments in this), Burton is the perfect fit for this character (gothic worldbuilding; visual character development; the dark, atmospheric lighting hides the sillier attributes of the Batman costume) and Danny Elfman delivers an ear grabbing score. The Prince songs all suck, but they’re not really brought to the foreground at any point. I also don’t really care for the romance subplot, and the writing could’ve taken a little more risk, but overall this hasn’t lost much of its charm.
Review by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2023-06-14T21:16:14Z
This might be hard to connect with if you can only look at Batman through the lens of the Bale, Affleck and Pattinson interpretations. It’s certainly more stylized and unapologetically comicbook-y, but to me that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Like, I don’t think it’s dated at all, it’s still pretty easy to get into if you have an appreciation for the pulpier side of Batman and Burton’s aesthetic. Sure, the action can be a little stiff occasionally, but there’s truly a timeless quality to the filmmaking and storytelling here. It perfectly captures the essence of the characters and the world, and because it isn’t afraid of the origins of the source material it does so in a way that still feels unique. For example, I love how this Joker is interpreted as a cartoonish version of a Scorsese mobster, and how exaggerated the world feels. Both Keaton and Nicholson deliver very entertaining performances (Nicholson has so many iconic moments in this), Burton is the perfect fit for this character (gothic worldbuilding; visual character development; the dark, atmospheric lighting hides the sillier attributes of the Batman costume) and Danny Elfman delivers an ear grabbing score. The Prince songs all suck, but they’re not really brought to the foreground at any point. I also don’t really care for the romance subplot, and the writing could’ve taken a little more risk, but overall this hasn’t lost much of its charm.
7/10