Good start, but then it gets ruined

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

I remember all the fans crying, Michael Keaton! WHAT! And what did we get? A great Batman movie, that really highlighted a very dark Gotham and an angst ridden Batman. Simply a great movie, for me the only weak point is Kim Basinger. She's really just there to be threatened and chased. She's the McGuffin of this film. The rest of it is great.

This was the first superhero movie I have ever seen and it still holds up. Michael Keaton plays an excellent Batman and Jack Nicholson plays an excellent Joker. While almost 30 years old, the movies effects are extremelly good and Tim Burton's Gotham looked excellent. This was the first movie that proved that superhero movies can be serious stuff and I recommend it. It's quite fast-paced and fun.

Batman released with great hype in 1989 kicked off the superhero craze that lasts till this day. Sure the road was bumpy with flop films such as The Shadow and even Batman sequels declined in quality with Batman & Robin being a nadir.Tim Burton brought a particular dark version of Batman. The makeup and art direction had a 1930s skid row look with people's faces looking pallid.The film was shot in England and made use of CGI, elaborate sets and even animation. Burton teamed up again with Michael Keaton who plays the Dark Knight. Keaton's Batman is eons away from the campy Batman of Adam West. I was not sure he excelled as Bruce Wayne though coming across as rather bland but miles better than some of the actors that succeeded him.The film is stolen by Jack Nicholson as Jack Napier who transforms to the psychotic Joker after falling into a vat of acid. I still believe his portrayal was better than Heath Ledger's. Nicholson mixed jokes, campiness and evil. The Joker just wants to kill in his twisted ways. Poisoning random makeup products, throwing a party where he would give free money but then poison the crowd.Kim Basinger brought glamour as Vicki Vale and Robert Wuhl provided the laughs as the dogged reporter.It is surprisingly watching the movie again after all this years I still knew the lines from the Joker and the film still stands up well even though it is noticeable that the movie is rather set bound.

Tim Burton's Batman holds up surprisingly well after all this time. The action, sets, acting, score, and casting are all excellent. It was definitely a cultural phenomenon bringing an icon to life after the long-lived campy Adam West Batman series.If you're looking for modern action on par with things like the Bourne Ultimatum, the Dark Knight, or John Wick, you're not going to find it in Batman (1989), but you will find an enjoyable product of the time. Consider that Die Hard came out the year prior. Die Hard was awesome, but you have to admit that most fight choreography wasn't especially kinetic or intense. Batman is old, but, if you take it as it is, it's a really enjoyable super-hero romp that is both tense and dark and campy and fun.