The Burton Batman Duology Analyzed

welcome back to the superhero movie retrospective before we start I must say I thought the performance of the previous episode was shockingly low now that's not enough to deter me from doing the things I feel passionate about and this retrospective could get more popular by the end like the DCAU one did but still I was stunned by the low performance last time regardless again I must remind I don't intend to cover every superhero movie ever made then be here for an eternity so no I'm not talking about Batman 66 or live-action TV stuff like the 1950s George Reeves Superman which I could barely watch one episode of what I want to talk about is the journey of superhero movies and a jump right into today's topic Tim Burton's Batman duology I think a recap is in order last time we discussed Richard Donner Superman the movie of 1978 when the most important American made films of all time then discussed the popular Superman 2 through the lens of the Richard Donner cut the abysmal Superman 3 but most importantly in 1987 Superman for the quest for peace was released to scathing reception rightfully so the movie was just god-awful I still felt worse watching Superman 3 but that's neither here nor there when you have movies like Superman 3 or Superman 4 you just think to yourself was Superman 1 a fluke I mean Superman 2 even had corny stuff in it well the world was given the answer to that question just two years after Superman 4 crashed and burned as in 1989 the film industry was given Tim Burton's Batman also known as Batman 89 the darkest most edgy mainstream superhero movie released at the point but the movie was fighting an uphill battle I don't like to go too much into development history when making reviews anymore as not all videos need to follow a strict formula but it's worth mentioning that Batman 89 wasn't just expected by all be a masterpiece first there was the fact that Superman 3 in Superman 4 were so bad that it just set the stage that WB could not possibly be trusted to give us quality movies but there was also drama over Batman himself the good end of that we must first go over where Batman was a pop culture icon to late 80s in the eyes of the comic book fans this decade saw Batman getting a lot more serious with stories like The Killing Joke and The Dark Knight Returns which was the tone fans were expecting the movie to carry however to the general audience the perspective people had towards Batman was still that his character was this can't be action hero as see in the 1960s Adam West's Batman show which was so popular that it got its own movie Michael Keaton was cast as Batman which inspired losers I mean fans to send thousands of letters WB in protest back when you had to send letters over how you were concerned that movie was gonna be in the style of Adam West as kyun was a comedic actor for the most part all the naysayers were silenced when the movie came out made Bank and changed superhero movies yet again before we get into that let's just jump ahead several decades and discuss how we're gonna view this movie in 2020 the Superman movies just are what they are and have only been released a couple times over the decades well this being Batman is obviously more popular so I got my something clear from the offset I'm reviewing all these old Batman and Superman movies on this the Batman and Superman 9 film collection that contains Superman one two three four and returns from 2006 as well as Batman Batman Returns Batman Forever and Batman and Robin but the Batman movies I'm pretty sure these discs or just reprints of the individual blu-ray releases but still I point this out because in 2019 the 4k blu-ray editions of Batman through Batman and Robin were released I picked these up assuming that they would review them for the best quality footage but I was wrong I mean these are the most convenient for modern-day buyers and they do have nice special features so what's wrong with it well it's the same movies the end of the day with uniform packaging no less however they made a change I just can't wrap my mind around plain it simple it looks like they went into the movies files and changed the color balance to wear blueish green had more presence than red I just word that very poorly but you're seeing the footage on the screen you know what I mean it's no lie all four movies of this crap on the 4k discs I'd rather watch the DVD versions over this it's just straight up ugly as for the sound and decided to replace the old gun sound effects that while yes were cheesy but they fit with the grainy quality footage of the movie but the 4k versions the guns of these realistic modern sound effects that stick out like a sore thumb in these 80's and 90's movies now with that all out of the way let's get back to the actual movie Superman the movie proved you can make really compelling stories and popular movies with superhero characters they didn't need to be crappy popcorn movies for children Batman proves the same thing this movie had an even grander effect on superhero stuff that lined the pockets of executives for years to come the power of advertising seriously this cannot be understated Batman 89 was made in the world after the Star Wars trilogy had just showed how critical - movie success - have a powerful advertising campaign like Star Wars memorabilia was everywhere in the late 70s and early 80s it wasn't just the movies Superman was a great movie but the aim with Batman was to Greek a great movie everyone wanted to see but if that wasn't enough this was a movie you were going to see literally every day Batman action figures Batman posters Batman clothes Batman games for the NES the most popular console at the time Batman cereal and most importantly will make billions will sell ratchet action figures ratchet sports shoes ratchet deodorant ratchet breakfast cereal hair muffs in cologne soft drinks videogames yeah commercials for this thing were everywhere endlessly playing the iconic theme tune by Danny Elfman the movie had a song from prints one of the major musical superstars of the era which got its own music video but was also the main theme of one of the film's most iconic scenes the Joker tears up a museum so whether you're interested in this movie or not you were gonna see it everywhere whether you wanted to or not I've seen Batman 89 like over four times in the 7 years I've owned it last having watched it in 2015 I didn't do YouTube then Christ wrote the time go I have not been compelled to watch Batman Returns Batman Forever and Batman and Robin at all since 2013 so what will I think of them and by that I mean what what think of Batman Returns it blast to just suck you might be asking yourself why am i taking the original Batman film continuity is two videos with the Burton stuff today and the Schumacher stuff next time as opposed to one video like we did for Superman well as soon as this retrospective is less about the characters and specific continuities than it is about superhero movies as a whole the last two Superman movies were hot garbage but as far as the era of superhero movies are concerned I considered the first for Superman movies be part of the same status quo where Superman was the dominant hero played by Chris Reeve with the same John Williams horns blasting in the background the Tim Burton Batman movies changed that status quo but Batman Returns is audience response also changed things leading to the last two movies which also had a profound impact on the superhero movies that we can explore next time Batman was played by different actors in those the music is different the world looks completely different the Burton and Schumacher movies are in the same continuity but yet barely know if you actually watched the movies but enough for the overly long J reviews intros time to get into Batman the movie akin to John Williams Superman score Danny Elfman composed the soundtrack for Batman and this soundtrack is absolutely excellent I thought Superman's music was good but outside the main theme wasn't especially memorable starting with the main theme Batman's let a motif is quite memorable its distinguished from Superman's as his theme was adventurous bombastic optimistic and so on Batman's carries many of these same traits with a more gothic edge which is present throughout the whole soundtrack there is so much atmosphere in this music to where it's just memorable stuff I can't play any of it because I actually want to earn revenue in this video they're just going to take my word for it that when criminals start running and this happens you know ass about to get kicked I love another movie opens going into the first serious Batman movie who knows how it's gonna start Superman was the origin story so can we expect that well opens this husband and wife with their son walking in the street about to cut through the alley but these people can't be the Wayne's right they need a math but I'm trying to get a taxi well they get jumped but not killed this was indeed a fake out as this scene takes place in a world where Batman's already active and this Batman tries to act like a mythical creature intentionally pretending to get knocked down by the bullets only to rise like a ghoul I'd like you to do me a favor I want you to tell all your friends about me so what's the plot this time well Bruce Wayne is Batman taking the tragedy of his parents murder to fight crime with an assortment of skills and gadgets Jack Napier set up by his boss to be captured or killed to access chemicals for being with his woman on the side a fight with Batman results in Jack falling into a vat of acid transforming into the criminal mastermind the Joker meanwhile famous photographer Vicki Vale is in town to investigate this bat character that thrashes criminals as Knox is the only other reporter who thinks Batman is real Vicki Vale is no Lois Lane though the qualities I said about her character you know independence wit and all that is basically void here vicki bells most defining quality is thus but she's not a bad character just Lachey veil gets romantically involved with Bruce Wayne discovering how he's quite the complex mysterious character getting wrapped up in his double life and becoming a target of the Joker and that's basically it for what the whole movie is about Superman the movie was the definitive timeless telling of Superman's origin but Batman 89 when you look at it isn't really telling the story of Batman how he came to be and how the status quo was created instead Batman just already exists the only explanation the film does of Batman's origin is so Vicki Vale can learn it and so the film can tie the origin to the movie's actual main character the Joker well let me pump brakes on that Batman's played by Michael Keaton bring up Superman for the millionth time today Christopher Reeve was Superman I mean look at him it's Superman now this does a lot do with hindsight but I think Christian Bale is the definitive screen Batman and when going back to Keaton's performance in the role I don't quite get that same magic I got from Christopher Reeve as Superman that doesn't mean he's bad but first serious screen adaptation of Batman the visual design the Batsuit and really the whole trashy gothic aesthetic that the city has really good job complimenting the character his story and the incredible soundtrack anyway Michael Keaton does what any great Batman actor should Bruce Wayne and Batman put two different people like how in the animated universe Bruce was this dopey normal rich guy but could snap being serious business oriented Batman as soon as everyone was out of the room what I'm getting at is Keaton does a really good job in this movie but there are two problems one in my opinion the movie doesn't really focus on Batman enough to see what really makes him tick and moreover the kind of Batman he's playing he's just different than say the DCAU or the Dark Knight trilogy this version of Bruce Wayne is if I were to describe in any way an eccentric weirdo like at this party Vicki Vale asked him if he knows which one of these guys Bruce Wayne is and he says he doesn't know while we round that scene I shouldn't mention I really do like Michael go as Alfred he doesn't have much dimension in this one but I love this party scene as Bruce just leaves all his stuff all over the place now if it's always there to pick it up as for Bruce's Batman persona I already said I love the costume while it is impractical II designed and made of Robert I think it's cool when Batman got a new costume in the Dark Knight they're suppose for a real reason outside of looking cool the costume was designed for Batman 89 Batman Returns Batman Forever Batman and Robin and even Batman Begins all suffer from the inability of whichever actor was inside to turn his neck so whenever Batman looks around any of these movies his whole body turns and not just his head again completely impractical but I think it looks cool nonetheless especially in this movie and also for Begins I guess where Batman's early nothing is a career that he wants to portray himself as an otherworldly figure moving in a way that looks on natural demons adds to the effect what really makes this version of Batman divisive amongst fans though is the one major deviation as film as most other modern versions of Batman this Batman has absolutely zero problem murdering people like it doesn't go out of his way to do it but he doesn't feel bothered by it want me to explain my stance on this I would agree with the larger fan base that says Batman's no killing policy is a very fundamental aspect to his character my favorite version of Batman was the one from the DCAU you know Batman the Animated Series Superman TAS Justice League Batman Beyond etc this is my favorite version because he is a very complex character that goes through quite a wide variety of different situations but he sticks to his moral principles even his worst moments that can episodes of the new Batman adventures so if I was reading a Batman story which dear Lord let's hope that never happens I'd be a terrible story writer my Batman wouldn't run up to the Joker and say no nor would he send the Batmobile into a factory full of people drop a pellet out of the tire that makes the whole place go that's just not the kind of Batman I like to see hence why I prefer Bale's Batman over Kean's but that has far more to do with the writing and direction the actual acting however I'm not the kind of purist that thinks Batman can never kill in any incarnation now I'm not insulting you if you do think that way as it makes sense to me no killing as part of what makes Batman interesting finding other ways to get there situations like the climax of The Killing Joke story wouldn't work if Batman just decided to kill Joker if you assured Beatty is Batman shooting somebody in the face with a gun that isn't incredibly out of character move and if it took place well before that beyond opening then that's an instant fail for that storyline in my opinion when it's a different version it's down to the execution rather than the concept in this movie Batman killing people is pretty over-the-top but I really like the movie in its visual design atmosphere and music it just feels like a comic book movie maybe not the most direct translation of Batman himself but still I can't help but love the movie anyway even if I wouldn't have Batman blow people up now like I said in Superman what good is a hero without a villain Jack Nicholson is excellent as the Joker and he got big bucks to be in the movie like the kind of big bucks we're talking about is thus am i buying this 4k copy of Batman or Robin pay as Jack Nicholson maybe not literally but I mean he made money on all four of these movies three of which he had nothing to do with now that's not to say this was a cash-in project for him he nails the role like look at him it looks like the Joker left off the page of the comic books and onto the screen the voice the costume and makeup design it's all there Heath Ledger will go down in history as one of the best movie villains of all time but if we're just looking at how to do a comic-book Joker in a movie this is definitely the model it's just so fun seeing Jack Nicholson act like a complete idiot I love it that doesn't stop him from being menacing at the same time like murdering his old boss or this guy or this guy in the street I assumed the movies about the Joker because he is the character that goes through the most development and he's also the driver of the plot like Lex Luthor didn't even meet Superman till the movie was almost over but Jack Napier has dropped in the VAT of chemicals by Batman on accident turning you into the Joker he kills his old boss takes over his empire kills the competition causes the pharmaceutical crisis that takes the city by storm unleashing laughing gas upon everyone in the city and tries to get in with Vicky Vale capturing her by the end of the movie this movie is Batman 89 but from start to finish it's the story of the Joker as even the elements of the movie that are about Batman's origin like I said earlier also tie into the Joker as he was the one who killed the Wayne's in this timeline this is one of the area's movie I think is pretty weak as established with the no killing stuff I don't think being different is bad but I think linking Batman and the Joker through their origins is just too coincidental it also means that Batman was seeking to avenge his parents but being Batman he kills the Joker by the end so mission accomplished I guess that was basically the only part of the movie I actually didn't like it though the rest of it was great yeah I'm surprised to say I went into the things I would enjoy it but take big issue of Batman not being the center of the story and him killing and all that but I loved watching this movie I didn't mind any of those tiny reissues and I thought this movies did consistent route well I guess the comedy didn't land for me outside of the Joker of the Wicker people Superman the movie was excellent until the very end with a climax just a deus ex machina mess Batman never has problems like that ending with the status quo firmly set up for more sequels to come so the big question is which is better Superman 78 or Batman 89 I really have a tough time answering that question because Superman told an epic story until the end it was actually about Superman and I had mind-blowing effects in its day Batman tells a smaller scale story has cool practical effects of the Batmobile like this part where the card needs to be grappled onto a rail to turn a corner at high speed this movie just has a crap ton of style in it the focus on Joker doesn't really bother me since I thought his character was great and the climax and ending were also well well done having said that I think Superman the movie is the more monumental film but I'd actually rather watch Batman it's not as long it sticks the landing better and it's just a joyous blockbuster to watch even all these decades later now that doesn't answer the question of which is better but it does tell you which one I liked more at the end of the day like I said at the beginning Batman 89 showed off just how a strong movie could perform if you pump it full of advertising recognizable actors music and it was a plethora of merchandise the largest effect I think this movie had in superhero stuff was that for a while if you're going to do a superhero movie you gotta have a game and while that's not really the case anymore you do have to have action figures posters t-shirts and commercials it's a staple of superhero marketing and it dates back to this movie not a perfect film but I really impactful one that I still think holds up several decades later being such a hit it obviously led to the sequels first of which being 1992 s Batman Returns I mean when you have a hit like Batman was you have to make a sequel but the studio is trusted Burton enough to completely do this one without restriction this was a mistakes not because of the movies quality but because of WB's bottom line Batman Returns was not the hit that that many 9 was this movie is a lot darker than the first one a lot less optimistic a lot less energetic most importantly a lot more violent times really have changed because these days superhero movies doing this stuff is kind of no surprise at all but the parents the early 90s didn't want to take their kids on masks see the new Batman movie now enough people saw it for it to be a big hit but not the kind of success WB had in mind they spent quite a lot in the advertising this movie as well Batman was just set up for one of the big pop culture icons of the 1990s as to tie in the release of Batman Returns the small screen was gifted Batman the Animated Series a serious heart tune meant to really dive into the material and character a show that decades later is remembered more fondly than the movies that it spawned from but I think you all know my take on Beatty is no need to dwell now let's get into the movie first I know this is a nitpick not a surprise coming from me but I have to say I hate the title of this movie like don't actually hate with venom like sly 4 or something it's just that the title bugs me when I think about this movie the film is called Batman Returns but when you watch the movie you realize that Batman doesn't do any return a if a two-hour runtime it's pretty much just called Batman Returns because in a meta sense Batman is returning to theaters so buy a ticket buy your popcorn sit your ass in the theatre take your kids take your grandparents and don't forget to buy Batman Returns the video game on SNES or your console of choice or all of them we don't mind don't forget the post or in the action figures and go watch BTS from the school days over we're ignoring that marketing hoopla let's talk about the actual film this is probably the weirdest Batman movie ever made the big thing with this one was that was about the bat the cat and the penguin much like the Joker in Batman 89 penguin and Catwoman stories are the main driver as the plot I say stories because Batman Returns is a lot a lot of different stuff the penguin and Catwoman just so happened to become villains at the same time the Penguins backstory so the film opens and you're like what the hell is going on this rich man is in another room as they're so rich that they're giving birth to their son in their own home instead of a hospital but the baby is a disgusting monster literally born evil killing the family cat so instead of looking at each other and wondering how their genes mixing produces a bird-like monster baby they just go for a stroll in the park make sure no one's looking and dump them in the water Batman returned rich you know a there's so odd because they can afford to be a corporate Tycoon played by Christopher Walken named Max Schreck is trying to build up a new power plant and Gotham to bring home the bacon for decades to come it would be his legacy but and Heath could well like the mayor and Bruce Wayne on board Selina Kyle is a secretary and when she finds his secret file showing how bad his plans are I mean it's not like you can just kill me actually yeah that but cats then bring her back to life erasing her inhibitions creating Catwoman earlier Shrek was captured by the penguin and they team up as Shrek putting penguin in the position to run for mayor and gained goth of a city support would allow for Max's project to go through and I'm kind of having trouble describing the story here since there are numerous elements at play and subplots going around so let's just cut to the part where I tell you what I think in the movie actually this is a post-production update I'm recording while I was editing this video a serious problem with Batman Returns I think the movie's biggest problem is that this movie is overloaded with plot like there are a million subplots in this movie and the villain plot from the penguin especially like changes every 30 minutes like he wants to come to Mary tries to kill the ice princess he tries to take over the Batmobile and kill a bunch of people and like each r1 is like richness scheme as mayor scheme fail he tries to kill a bunch of babies Batman stops that and they shoots off rockets and stuff it's just a blow-up penguins it's just there's so much crap in this movie it's just it's barely the one story it's a crap ton of stories in one movie but back to what I was saying even though the villains are still the main driving force to the story Batman to my surprise got much more attention as far as the story was concerned going into this I wasn't really sure what I thought of this movie as I haven't seen it since I first bought the DVD in 2013 you know when you're at 12 years old and buy Batman Returns for five bucks at a bookstore is a big deal I thought it was good but too long in general I have a hard time watching movies because a lifetime of video games made it so it's sitting still and watching a movie for two uninterrupted hours and evidently boys the [ __ ] out of me because I want to be moving my hands to do something but that has not stopped me from saying negative things about this movie in the past this last paragraph alone is the reason this is a better movie than Batman 89 and Batman Returns combined I mean I haven't watch returns in full for like four years now but I have watched Batman 89 a few times those films are really entertaining from start to finish but the thing is this is a movie about something this movie has a character arc for Batman this story is his story first and foremost it's not a villain of the week formula that's not to say the first two Batman films don't have a story and don't have character arcs because they do but the novelty of Batman on screen feels like it was more important than the story yes I said all the pre begins live-action Batman movies were not really about anything greater while Batman Returns is an arthouse levels of flex day there is a story here well I thought Bruce Wayne gets more screen time here as a businessman denying Shrek's project it's really good the film owns up to the fact that Bruce Wayne and Vicki Vale just had nothing in common and the relationship didn't work out the classic elven of tragedy in the Batman Catwoman dynamic is here this is finally a woman that Bruce Wayne can understand and relate to and the same is true on the flip side for Selina Kyle but she's both unhinged in a criminal which creates a barrier that Batman can't look past as much as he wishes he could Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman is really great I like the idea of a traditional Catwoman i've seen @bt is more but this crazy cat one that made her costume at halt garbage bags is really played well the acting is great I say because she convinced Elyse witches from a nervous secretary to a fully liberated crazy woman on a diamond you really buy it that's a [ __ ] know so am i but this has nothing I'm the inspired casting of Danny DeVito as the penguin I mean who else could you think of to do the job and he plays this insane version of the character really well I loved his speeches to the masses he plays to the people's inherent need to feel good about themselves by pitying him but Batman exposes him in a highly epic fashion prompting penguin ask the question every speech giver should be asking the costume and makeup designs also fantastic on penguin he just looks so gross and I love it if you were curious just how micromanaging WB was the TN ba designs a penguin and cat one were what the DCAU creators always wanted to do with those characters but they were forced to make them resemble Batman Returns more as that was the new movie we're back to how nasty the penguin is my nose could be gushing blood I didn't just play that scene to make you cover your eyes and expectedly I played it because I think that was the scene from this movie that I think was emblematic of Batman Returns changing the course of superhero movie history because like I said this movie's violent threat to people making the action scene says with such stiff costumes they still made cool-looking effects in action back on target though while I'm against soccer-mom pandering as I thought Ninja Turtles too ruined all the great stuff from the original a film I think is perfect for kids mind you but in the case of Batman Returns when penguin bites somebody's nose causing blood to spew everywhere Catwoman scratching this guy's face apart Batman's dropping a bomb to this guy's chest wait what [Music] there's a Batman movie need to be so violent like does Batman really need to drop a lift that twist the battle bill arounds we can light somebody on fire I don't think so but yeah the violence aspect of this film was one of the bigger takeaways from at the time for the release which is what led the Burton Batman series being cut short my narrative perspective I thought returns did a lot of interesting things both narrative ly and visually as Arkham origins also showed a Christmas atmosphere just worked really well for Batman stuff however the reception this movie got inspired WB didn't want to take the Batman film franchise in a completely different direction the plan wasn't doing a new continuity per se but to start over with a tone and aesthetic it's a shame since revisiting this version of the character taught me that yeah it's not how I would rate Batman in his universe myself but I really liked the Burton and Keaton Batman duology a lot more than I thought I was going to I don't think that either are the genre busting classics that Superman one was I think these films are just as good to watch if not better I honestly like both of these movies more than Superman - also not something I was expecting to go back to where I started this doing Batman Forever at Batman and Robin in this video would make sense but given the fact that I think those two movies had a different effect on superhero movies in response to the feedback that Batman Returns had I think a separate video is justified having said that this is the end of today's video if you enjoyed leave a like and subscribe I think it's knowing to have to ask these questions but a lot of people myself included just innocently hover over a channel as we watch but don't subscribe to in YouTube's algorithm is a fickle Beast to say the least so every little thing helps to get the word out about the channel but anyway thank you all for watching and I will see you next time

Channel: J's Reviews

Views: 37,930

Rating: 4.8688183 out of 5

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Id: x5DHPGjsQGo

Length: 25min 26sec (1526 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 12 2020