Batman (1989) Revisited: Superhero Movie Review

The time has finally come. We’re putting the tights and spandex firmly back into the closet and getting fully suited up in some vulcanized rubber and a leather cape. Today on DC Films Revisited, we’re exploring the film that changed Superheroes forever: Tim Burton’s Batman.

If you were around in 1989, no movie was more anticipated than Batman. The first superhero movie to take the gritty and grounded approach, Burton’s Batman, was the comic book event of the decade and the film that made the Caped Crusader cool again after the camp approach of the old Adam West TV series. Yet, the road to the big screen was not a smooth one for this blockbuster, with fans up in arms about the casting of Michael Keaton in the lead (with him best known for comedy at the time), while Jack Nicholson’s Joker received top billing and initially seemed like the actual lead. Add to that the eleventh hour casting of Kim Basinger as Vicky Vale, a writer’s strike and you’re got a troubled production that, nonetheless, reinvented a genre and is a beloved classic to this day. Heck, it’s so well-regarded that thirty years after hanging up the cowl, Michael Keaton is back as Batman in not one, but two new DC movies.

This episode of DC Films Revisited is written, edited and narrated by Tyler Nichols, and produced by Adam Walton & Chris Bumbray. Berge Garabedian is the executive producer. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to check out previous instalments below!