Batman - which is best? I decide!
Batman - Tim Burton - 1989 - starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. The first time on film that Batman was shown dark and brooding and closer to his graphic novel side. Classic Burton in style with gothic imagery, the effects never did look that great. Nicholson took on the Joker and this remains one of the best performances of this role ever. Totally unhinged and out to cause chaos on the streets of Gotham, Batman eventually tips him over the edge...quite literally. Bruce Wayne struggles with his guilt at creating the Joker monster while seeking to bring an end to the man who murdered his parents and so created his own monster.
Batman Returns - Tim Burton - 1992 - starring Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and Michelle Pfeiffer. Again dark and brooding with Burton's gothic touch. Keaton's Batman meets his rival in terms of villains and love match in the beautifully deadly Catwoman. DeVito's Penguin, meanwhile, has lofty ambitions for Mayor and some deadly plans for Gotham. The film shows Batman in constant crisis. Eerily beautiful.
Batman Forever - Joel Schumacher - 1995 - Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee-Jones, Nicole Kidman, Chris O'Donnell and Jim Carrey. A new Batman but the film retains the Burtonesque gothic feel. Kilmer's Batman struggles with love as Kidman's Dr Chase Meridian initially appears to fall for the man in rubber before succumbing to Wayne's millions...I mean charm. O'Donnell's Robin is a welcome addition who rekindles Wayne's old memories of his parent's murder and is an effective of sometimes comical sidekick. Meanwhile Tommy Lee-Jones as Harvey "Twoface" Dent is unhinged at its best and Jim Carey is a surprisingly good edition as Edward Nigma aka. The Riddler. Using brain wave technology, he attempts to find out all sorts of information from the populace, but ultimately his undoing is turning it against Batman. Once he does his psychosis is complete. Chilling and beautifully done, this film deserves more praise than it got.
Batman and Robin - Joel Schumacher - 1997 - George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Clooney's Batman has officially teamed up with Robin full time to fight Poison Ivy and Mr Freeze. This film just doesn't pack the punches of the previous three and has more comical moments than anything Adam West did, but for all the wrong reasons. Oh...and who could forget those 'Bat Nipples'?
Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - Christopher Nolan - Christian Bale, Michael Cane, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Liam Neeson, Heath Ledger, Anne Hathaway, etc. Amazing cast and supporting cast over three films. We see Bruce Wayne pushed into becoming Batman by the evil Ducard while also coming up against Murphy's Scarecrow.
In the second he more than meets his mental match in Ledger's Joker. Allegedly a character so dark and mentally challenging it led to Ledger's depression, prescription drug addiction and ultimately (and sadly) untimely death. Meanwhile Harvey Dent is looking to be the saviour Gotham needs, but the Joker's taste for chaos soon makes Dent take an unfortunate turn against the city when he loses his fiancé and is horribly disfigured. This is a film truly about the human condition.
The third instalment nicely rounds off the story. A little slow to start, it begins eight years after the events of film two. Hathaway is brilliant, funny and electrifying as Catwoman, a cat burglar by trade, but only to survive in a harsh world. Tom Hardy is a brutal and brilliant Bane who wants to bring Gotham back to the people. This is Bale's best performance as Batman (although the voice is still annoying) and you feel his struggle. The twist at the end is brilliant too. This is very much an "Occupy Gotham" with a twist. British film with Hollywood money - classic!
Batman - Adam West and Burt Ward - 1966-1968 - before the dodgy soft porn was the delightful comedy with the likes of Cesar Romero as The Joker. Perhaps as popular for West's Family Guy turns as anything else this was definitely a bit of fun.
So my favourite Batman is hard to choose. Keaton was brilliant, but it all seems dated now. Kilmer did a better job than he was given credit for, but Bale has been consistently brilliant over the last seven years so he is my winner!
Batman has come up against many adversaries. The ultimate is the Joker! Romero was legendary and Nicholson was unhinged, but it has to go to Ledger as it saw the actor crawl inside the mind of his character and never really come out. This led to him embodying the role and his portrayal is more brutal than ever! He wins for me!
(P.S I know there have been other versions such as graphic novels/comics and other films, etc. but I thought I would stick with the mainstream as most people will have seen these.)
(P.P.S Of course another great Joker is Mark Hamill in the animated series...not just Luke Skywalker!)
Batman Returns - Tim Burton - 1992 - starring Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and Michelle Pfeiffer. Again dark and brooding with Burton's gothic touch. Keaton's Batman meets his rival in terms of villains and love match in the beautifully deadly Catwoman. DeVito's Penguin, meanwhile, has lofty ambitions for Mayor and some deadly plans for Gotham. The film shows Batman in constant crisis. Eerily beautiful.
Batman Forever - Joel Schumacher - 1995 - Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee-Jones, Nicole Kidman, Chris O'Donnell and Jim Carrey. A new Batman but the film retains the Burtonesque gothic feel. Kilmer's Batman struggles with love as Kidman's Dr Chase Meridian initially appears to fall for the man in rubber before succumbing to Wayne's millions...I mean charm. O'Donnell's Robin is a welcome addition who rekindles Wayne's old memories of his parent's murder and is an effective of sometimes comical sidekick. Meanwhile Tommy Lee-Jones as Harvey "Twoface" Dent is unhinged at its best and Jim Carey is a surprisingly good edition as Edward Nigma aka. The Riddler. Using brain wave technology, he attempts to find out all sorts of information from the populace, but ultimately his undoing is turning it against Batman. Once he does his psychosis is complete. Chilling and beautifully done, this film deserves more praise than it got.
Batman and Robin - Joel Schumacher - 1997 - George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Clooney's Batman has officially teamed up with Robin full time to fight Poison Ivy and Mr Freeze. This film just doesn't pack the punches of the previous three and has more comical moments than anything Adam West did, but for all the wrong reasons. Oh...and who could forget those 'Bat Nipples'?
Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - Christopher Nolan - Christian Bale, Michael Cane, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Liam Neeson, Heath Ledger, Anne Hathaway, etc. Amazing cast and supporting cast over three films. We see Bruce Wayne pushed into becoming Batman by the evil Ducard while also coming up against Murphy's Scarecrow.
In the second he more than meets his mental match in Ledger's Joker. Allegedly a character so dark and mentally challenging it led to Ledger's depression, prescription drug addiction and ultimately (and sadly) untimely death. Meanwhile Harvey Dent is looking to be the saviour Gotham needs, but the Joker's taste for chaos soon makes Dent take an unfortunate turn against the city when he loses his fiancé and is horribly disfigured. This is a film truly about the human condition.
The third instalment nicely rounds off the story. A little slow to start, it begins eight years after the events of film two. Hathaway is brilliant, funny and electrifying as Catwoman, a cat burglar by trade, but only to survive in a harsh world. Tom Hardy is a brutal and brilliant Bane who wants to bring Gotham back to the people. This is Bale's best performance as Batman (although the voice is still annoying) and you feel his struggle. The twist at the end is brilliant too. This is very much an "Occupy Gotham" with a twist. British film with Hollywood money - classic!
Batman - Adam West and Burt Ward - 1966-1968 - before the dodgy soft porn was the delightful comedy with the likes of Cesar Romero as The Joker. Perhaps as popular for West's Family Guy turns as anything else this was definitely a bit of fun.
So my favourite Batman is hard to choose. Keaton was brilliant, but it all seems dated now. Kilmer did a better job than he was given credit for, but Bale has been consistently brilliant over the last seven years so he is my winner!
Batman has come up against many adversaries. The ultimate is the Joker! Romero was legendary and Nicholson was unhinged, but it has to go to Ledger as it saw the actor crawl inside the mind of his character and never really come out. This led to him embodying the role and his portrayal is more brutal than ever! He wins for me!
(P.S I know there have been other versions such as graphic novels/comics and other films, etc. but I thought I would stick with the mainstream as most people will have seen these.)
(P.P.S Of course another great Joker is Mark Hamill in the animated series...not just Luke Skywalker!)
Comments
Post a Comment