Batman '89 The Michael Keaton Appreciation Thread

[AnneFan]

Absolutely. It's simply gold.

Agreed. Michael Keaton personified the Batman attitude.

Watched Clean and Sober. Keaton is great in it. He knows how to get angry.

 

[Cain]

Oh yeah definaley but remember even Knox comments on how excentrique Bruce is with his collection of armour and stuff at the party. And the bit when he flips out at the joker and smashes the vase, and not to mention swinging upside down on that bar after he's nailed Vicky!! But thats what I like about it, he's got this huge secret and is trying to go about as if everything is normal. Like in certain scenes it's as though his dual identities are merging, like after the mime bit when he gets clipped on the shoulder and doesn't even flinch as he walks up to the car the jokers in. I know it's fashionable now to bash Tim Burtons vision of Batman, but i've always felt it struck just the right note for the character. And Keaton was the perfect muse for that character.

This man gets it

 

[mikey1974]

as much as i love the Nolan/Bale films, Burton & Keaton together make my favorite Batman!

his was a Batman that was just f'ed up in the head...like weasel said,it seems when he's "Bruce Wayne". he's just PLAYING normal,or what he thinks normal should be, but the reality of his being Batman starts to creep past the Bruce Wayne persona he puts out there,to where he starts to become Batman all the time...once he starts his rivalry with the Joker,that's all that matters to him...hell,he doesn't even want to be bothered with Kim friggin Basinger til Alfred keeps bugging him about her,and even then it ends badly with the Joker intruding and Batman pushing past "Bruce Wayne" again...

this continues onto Batman Returns,where he's sullen,living by himself in the Manor,having pushed Vickie away for good due to not being able to seperate himself from Batman ,and even when he's out as "Bruce Wayne" ,it seems like he's still in Batman mode,confronting Shreck and trying to tie him to the Red Triangle Circus Gang....only when he meets Selina,literally his soulmate,does the REAL Bruce Wayne start to emerge again,as he grows to care for and love her,perhaps subconsciously at first,as here's someone as dark,hurt,and f'ed in the head as he is...

Keaton's Batman is a tortured,hurt soul , who's severe moment of pain changed his psyche forever to one where he needs to strike back at criminals in a supernatural form,a 6 foot black Bat....and he pulls it off completely and believably....

Kilmer was decent as a Batman starting to become Bruce Wayne,but he didn't have that menacing feeling at all.... Clooney was just a bachelor playing with toys.... Bale is good,great even,but he just feels like a man with a mission,a soldier who's tackling the criminals of Gotham....Keaton was MENACING,and scary,and could make you believe he'd have criminals crapping their pants,as he just looked and acted like someone not in their right mind...NO other Batman actor has gotten the psychological issues that reside in Wayne's head down right other than Keaton....

 

[Young Superman]

as much as i love the Nolan/Bale films, Burton & Keaton together make my favorite Batman!

his was a Batman that was just f'ed up in the head...like weasel said,it seems when he's "Bruce Wayne". he's just PLAYING normal,or what he thinks normal should be, but the reality of his being Batman starts to creep past the Bruce Wayne persona he puts out there,to where he starts to become Batman all the time...once he starts his rivalry with the Joker,that's all that matters to him...hell,he doesn't even want to be bothered with Kim friggin Basinger til Alfred keeps bugging him about her,and even then it ends badly with the Joker intruding and Batman pushing past "Bruce Wayne" again...

this continues onto Batman Returns,where he's sullen,living by himself in the Manor,having pushed Vickie away for good due to not being able to seperate himself from Batman ,and even when he's out as "Bruce Wayne" ,it seems like he's still in Batman mode,confronting Shreck and trying to tie him to the Red Triangle Circus Gang....only when he meets Selina,literally his soulmate,does the REAL Bruce Wayne start to emerge again,as he grows to care for and love her,perhaps subconsciously at first,as here's someone as dark,hurt,and f'ed in the head as he is...

Keaton's Batman is a tortured,hurt soul , who's severe moment of pain changed his psyche forever to one where he needs to strike back at criminals in a supernatural form,a 6 foot black Bat....and he pulls it off completely and believably....

Kilmer was decent as a Batman starting to become Bruce Wayne,but he didn't have that menacing feeling at all.... Clooney was just a bachelor playing with toys.... Bale is good,great even,but he just feels like a man with a mission,a soldier who's tackling the criminals of Gotham....Keaton was MENACING,and scary,and could make you believe he'd have criminals crapping their pants,as he just looked and acted like someone not in their right mind...NO other Batman actor has gotten the psychological issues that reside in Wayne's head down right other than Keaton....

Agreed Keaton was/is

 

[uniqueweasel]

as much as i love the Nolan/Bale films, Burton & Keaton together make my favorite Batman!

his was a Batman that was just f'ed up in the head...like weasel said,it seems when he's "Bruce Wayne". he's just PLAYING normal,or what he thinks normal should be, but the reality of his being Batman starts to creep past the Bruce Wayne persona he puts out there,to where he starts to become Batman all the time...once he starts his rivalry with the Joker,that's all that matters to him...hell,he doesn't even want to be bothered with Kim friggin Basinger til Alfred keeps bugging him about her,and even then it ends badly with the Joker intruding and Batman pushing past "Bruce Wayne" again...

this continues onto Batman Returns,where he's sullen,living by himself in the Manor,having pushed Vickie away for good due to not being able to seperate himself from Batman ,and even when he's out as "Bruce Wayne" ,it seems like he's still in Batman mode,confronting Shreck and trying to tie him to the Red Triangle Circus Gang....only when he meets Selina,literally his soulmate,does the REAL Bruce Wayne start to emerge again,as he grows to care for and love her,perhaps subconsciously at first,as here's someone as dark,hurt,and f'ed in the head as he is...

Keaton's Batman is a tortured,hurt soul , who's severe moment of pain changed his psyche forever to one where he needs to strike back at criminals in a supernatural form,a 6 foot black Bat....and he pulls it off completely and believably....

Kilmer was decent as a Batman starting to become Bruce Wayne,but he didn't have that menacing feeling at all.... Clooney was just a bachelor playing with toys.... Bale is good,great even,but he just feels like a man with a mission,a soldier who's tackling the criminals of Gotham....Keaton was MENACING,and scary,and could make you believe he'd have criminals crapping their pants,as he just looked and acted like someone not in their right mind...NO other Batman actor has gotten the psychological issues that reside in Wayne's head down right other than Keaton....

Exactly!

 

[uniqueweasel]

And not to mention the flack Burton/Keaton took back in the day when it was revealed Keaton would play Batman, the general opinion was it was going to be a terrible film because Keaton was Mr Mom, I don't think many people predicted how dark a character Keaton could bring.

 

[Marx]

Yeah, prior to Batman, Keaton was known as a purely comedic actor. No one took his casting seriously at the time.

 

[mikey1974]

And not to mention the flack Burton/Keaton took back in the day when it was revealed Keaton would play Batman, the general opinion was it was going to be a terrible film because Keaton was Mr Mom, I don't think many people predicted how dark a character Keaton could bring.

oh yeah! i remember the HUGE uproar about it! people were saying it was just going to be a remake of the 60's show! even when pics of him in the suit leaked out, people were complaining about him being all black! only when the first trailer premiered,and he looked menacing,and did the voice perfectly,did the Keaton fears start to subside...

 

[The Shape]

Keaton in Batman 1989 IS Batman. Burton really hit the nail on the head with Bruce Wayne's ****ed up psyche. He was a truly mysterious dude embarking on his haunting journey of twisted justice.

Sadly, Batman Returns failed to deliver in this regard because of the heavy (and often misguided) focus on the Penguin, Catwoman, and Schrek. Still a memorable film but Burton dropped the ball in terms of "Batman" that time.

 

[Marx]

The villains almost always tend to steal the spotlight from Batman. (Whether it is in the comics, on tv, or in movies.)

 

[circa1981]

Keaton in Batman 1989 IS Batman. Burton really hit the nail on the head with Bruce Wayne's ****ed up psyche. He was a truly mysterious dude embarking on his haunting journey of twisted justice.

Sadly, Batman Returns failed to deliver in this regard because of the heavy (and often misguided) focus on the Penguin, Catwoman, and Schrek. Still a memorable film but Burton dropped the ball in terms of "Batman" that time.

Oh I disagree. To me, Keaton steals the show in Returns from the villains.

 

[Ponyboy]

^ Guess it depends on your point of view. Though I've made it no secret that I adore Keaton as Batman (the best!)... For me I wouldn't think it terribly accurate to say that he steals the show from the film's villainous trio.

 

[El Payaso]

Spoiler

 

[uniqueweasel]

Spoiler

One of my fave scenes ever, that stare is the stare of Batman!

 

[El Payaso]

One of my fave scenes ever, that stare is the stare of Batman!

You can tell he made the bat mask after his own angry face.

 

[The Joker]

Sadly, Batman Returns failed to deliver in this regard because of the heavy (and often misguided) focus on the Penguin, Catwoman, and Schrek. Still a memorable film but Burton dropped the ball in terms of "Batman" that time.

I agree. Even though Batman Returns is my favorite of the two Burton movies, it is the Penguin and Catwoman's show from start to finish. Maybe that's why it appeals to me more. I found them more compelling villains than Joker, and that's coming from a die hard Joker fan.

 

[henzINNIT]

I think I prefer Burton's Batman to Nolan's, all because of Keaton in the title role. It's a damn shame there wasn't a third outing.

 

[Cassandra Cain]

When Keaton visits caves bats swarm around him

YESS!!! t: I've always said Bale is my favorite Bruce (although I find Keaton's Bruce much more charming-- even when he's brooding), but Keaton is most certainly my favorite Batman. Left alone in a dark alley, whose Batman would I be more scared of...Keaton's, hands down. Bale's growl don't do **** to me.

 

[mikey1974]

YESS!!! t: I've always said Bale is my favorite Bruce (although I find Keaton's Bruce much more charming-- even when he's brooding), but Keaton is most certainly my favorite Batman. Left alone in a dark alley, whose Batman would I be more scared of...Keaton's, hands down. Bale's growl don't do **** to me.

not only that,another aspect of it was that ,like Maroni said in TDK, Bale's Batman has rules,and they all know he won't kill them.

Keaton's Batman HAD no rules through most of the films,and HAD openly killed criminals. with Bale,yeah.you'll get the s#%t beat out of you,then wake up in jail. with Keaton,he might beat the s#%t out of you, or he might also blow you up. might shoot you with his plane or car. might drop you off a building.might set you on fire and let you burn to death. that HAD to affect the criminal populace,knowing the potential for death was there. and hands down makes Keaton scarier than Bale.

 

[uniqueweasel]

I think another key to the direction they took was the inspiration from the killing joke story, I think Burton was into that version

 

[Ponyboy]

Great (and recent) interview with Keaton:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id...n-mister-rogers-fly-fishing-roles-turned-more

 

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

I would have loved Keaton to have a third go at Batman... shame how everything turned out.

I'd have him back in any capacity...

 

[Elevator Man]

Have a happy 61st birthday Mr. Keaton.

[YT]_svQcvKsR7I[/YT]

 

[Ponyboy]

http://www.empiremovies.com/2012/09/04/michael-keaton-joins-robocop-remake/

 

[Elevator Man]

Yeah I heard about that last week. Though I'm not looking forward to this reboot/remake/re-imagining at all I wish him and the rest of cast the best of luck. They're going to need it b/c they're remaking a film I hold sacred.

Ironic that Keaton co-stars in the Robo reboot while Weller (the true Robocop) voices Batman in the TDKR animated movie. Is this the twilight zone? Never in a million years I'd of believed something like that would happen.