Oh, this movie. It makes no sense, but it’s a lot of fun.
Why doesn’t Vicki Vale know what Bruce Wayne looks like? What’s the time frame for the film? It feels like it’s a few weeks at most, but then how does the Joker have time to pull off his cosmetics mass murder? Why can’t Batman turn his head? Why, after Alfred casually gives away Bruce Wayne’s secret identity, is the focus less on “holy crap you’re Batman” and more on “I thought we had a love connection”? Why is Batman, flying a plane with machine guns, missiles, and precision targeting systems, unable to hit a man standing still in the open, but that man can take out his plane with one shot from a comically long handgun? Why is Robert Wuhl?
But Michael Keaton is a strong Bruce Wayne, much harder than being good at brooding in a rubber suit. Jack Nicholson is best when he’s playing more dark and creepy, but he’s not bad at manically chewing the scenery, either. Gotham City is dark, industrial, and very tall & claustrophobic. The Batman cartoon refined the look and feel, but it all starts here.
Oh, and this Batman definitely kills people. Throws them over rails, drops bombs at their feet, and ties gargoyles to them so they fall from great heights, all without a word.
