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Batman is a 1989 movie directed by Tim Burton and written by Sam Hamm. It stars Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Jack Nicholson as Jack Napier/the Joker, Michael Gough as Alfred Pennyworth and Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale. The movie was released by Warner Bros. on June 23, 1989 in the United States.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) It's the first dark comic book movie ever made and the one which set the trend of modern dark superhero movies.
 * 2) Very good expressionist sceneries that suits the rather dark nature of the comics.
 * 3) It features Danny Elfman's musical score which became the trademark "Batman music" used in many Batman related franchises like the Lego Batman video game series and Batman: The Animated Series.
 * 4) This movie prompted the creation of the extremely popular Batman: The Animated Series and influenced its design.
 * 5) Jack Nicholson's Joker is an excellent portrayal of the character due to his blend of spiritedness and insanity, this version of the character influenced the Joker of Batman: The Animated Series.
 * 6) Bob Kane was hired as creative consultant during the film's production meaning that the creator of Batman himself had an important role in the making of the movie. Kane approved the design of Gotham City, Batman's costume, Jack Nicholson's casting as the Joker and Sam Hamm's script.
 * 7) Two cinema veterans participated in this movie: Hammer Film Productions legend Michael Gough as Alfred Pennyworth and western legend Jack Palance as mob boss Carl Grissom.
 * 8) Catchy songs by Prince during the Joker's scenes that help creating the weird and unsettling feeling of the Joker being both funny and spirited while still being a dangerous criminal.
 * 9) The Joker provides some incredibly mean-spirited entertaining moments also thanks to intelligent use of harmless looking deadly gadgets, thus offering good grasp of the source material.
 * 10) Michael Keaton does a good job with his Batman due to his peculiar facial expressions that seem particularly suited for Batman's gloomy attitude. The actor also came up with the idea to perform his Batman voice at a lower register in order to differentiate him from Bruce Wayne, setting the trend for every actor who played the character after him, Christian Bale included.
 * 11) The movie doesn't shows only Batman as being one who fights and cares for justice: commissioner Gordon, district attorney Harvey Dent and the two reporters are two examples of this, the latter ones especially in the bicentennial festival scene.
 * 12) Awesome ending climax during the sequence at the cathedral.
 * 13) The movie spawned three good video games: one on the TurboGrafx-16, one on the NES and one on the Sega Genesis, each one different from one another.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The Joker steals the show from Batman.
 * 2) Tim Burton's idea of Jack Napier being the killer of Bruce Wayne's parents is a departure from the comics.

Trivia

 * Harvey Dent, who acts as a minor character in this movie, is played by black actor Billy Dee Williams. This casting choice (different from the comics, where Harvey Dent/Two-Face is white) was made with the intention to eventually present the villain Two-Face as a dichotomy of black and white in a sequel. Tommy Lee Jones was later cast as Two-Face in the sequel Batman Forever, much to the dismay of Williams.
 * According to some early alternative scripts, other characters like the Penguin, Robin and Rupert Thorne should have made an appearance in this movie but were later deleted during development.