Movie Review: Batman (1989)
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What Parents Should Know
Parents should know that kids watching this movie will see
the murder of parents before their own kids, disfigurement, a
quill pen jabbed in a man's throat and another electrocuted to
death, along with numerous shoot-outs, wild chases, and
vigilantism portrayed in a favorable light.
Families who see this film might discuss vigilantism. When Batman decides to punish or kill criminals himself, instead of handing them over to the police, is he doing the right thing? For younger kids, you might discuss whether Batman acts like a good guy when he dangles people over city streets or kills criminals. Older kids might be interested in discussing real life instances of vigilatism and contrasting that with what happens in the movie.
Common Sense Media Review
Tim Burton's first movie,
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
, proved he could make a live-action feature that was
charmingly cartoon-like. There's a world of difference,
however, between cartoons and comic books, especially superhero
comic books. Burton is skilled at depicting the whimsical, the
demented, even the nightmarish. If this movie is any
indication, however, he has little talent for creating "normal"
people or telling a logical story.
Millionaire Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) witnesses his parents' murder by a criminal as a child, and, as a result, grows up to track and apprehend criminals in the guise of Batman.
In this film, crime lord Grissom decides to dispose of a troublesome henchman, Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson), by sending him on a fool's errand to a chemical factory. There, Napier battles Batman and winds up falling into a vat of toxic chemicals.
Napier lives, but the fixed grin he has acquired as a result of the chemicals leads him to call himself the Joker. The Joker kills Grissom, and then sets his sights on courting Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger), a photographer currently dating Wayne.
The rest of the movie rotates around the Joker's plan to poison the city's cosmetics supply and his abduction of Vicki.
The movie does have its virtues: eye-catching production design, and Nicholson's joyfully hammy turn as The Joker. Nicholson holds viewers' attention during the movie's first quarter, before the Batman/Joker conflict kicks in. Older kids, for better or worse, will surely take delight in the Joker's evil antics.
Those kids who do choose to skip ahead to the Joker's scenes can hardly be blamed for doing so. Keaton sleep walks through his performance as the Caped Crusader. While the armor-covered Batman is nearly always in motion, Bruce Wayne barely puts out any emotional energy.
Though he improved a bit in the superior -- but darker -- sequel Batman Returns, Keaton's casting as the muscular Bruce Wayne remains one of the most wrongheaded decisions in movie history.
The talented supporting cast can't overcome the stiff dialogue, and so it's up to Nicholson to steal the show by quipping, shrieking with laughter, and boogying down to several catchy Prince tunes.
Keaton is far better in Burton's
Beetlejuice
. Younger viewers are urged to check out the imaginative
and exciting
Adventures
of Batman & Robin animated series.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
