Batman
When I was younger, I loved Tim Burton’s first Batman film, simply entitled Batman. Michael Keaton starred as the Batman, the reclusive, wealthy, smart, crime fighter who still carries a lot of emotional baggage from witnessing the violent murder of his parents when he was a child. This first Batman film had a cast that was as star-studded as any one after it, including Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Jack Palance, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, and of course Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent.
I thought the script and execution thereof on screen in this original Batman were great. This is the only Batman film where Batman faces a single foe, The Joker, and it’s arguably the most violent Batman film of them all, as the Joker mercilessly kills dozens upon dozens of Gotham citizens with his toxic gas and chemicals. The Joker is both funny and ruthless, and I thought he was well portrayed and Nicholson’s acting was excellent. Of course, there is the constant argument between Nicholson’s performance and that of Heath Ledger, but I think the only point to take away from that is that both actors did a stellar job in their specific Joker roles.
This original Batman film (excluding of course the 1960s one) has a tremendous amount of replay value, too. When I was younger I probably watched the movie at least once every two months, and while I hadn’t seen it in nearly a decade, seeing it again was a treat; it’s still a very enjoyable film, which I think is one of the best compliments you can give a movie.
Batman Returns
Soon after the success of Batman, Tim Burton got back on the director’s chair to direct the sequel, Batman Returns. While much better than the latter two films in this set, Batman Returns is a significant step back from the first Batman. In Returns, Michael Keaton again dons the mask and cape, this time to battle both The Penguin and Catwoman. Danny DeVito did a great job as the vile Penguin, while Michelle Pfeiffer turned in an excellent performance as the slinky Catwoman. Michael Gough also returns (as he does for all four films) as Alfred, the Wayne Manor butler who gives Batman assistance and advice, as he as done all of his life. Christopher Walken has a large role in Returns as well, playing the corporate shark Max Shreck, who is eager to build a new power facility under the guise that it will help Gotham City, while in reality it will steal power from it.
Batman Returns certainly isn’t a bad film, but it doesn’t captivate the audience like the first Batman film that was much darker and not nearly as campy. I think for a lot of viewers, especially adults, The Penguin’s penguin army was enough to push most of us over the edge (it was just that silly). So while Returns did a lot right, it doesn’t stack up to the original, but it’s certainly worth a watch (although just a time or two would be enough).
Batman Forever
Batman Forever marked the beginning of significant changes in the Batman movies. This time, Joel Schumacher took over as director and Val Kilmer, aka Ice Man (just kidding), was the Batman. Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris O’Donnell, and Michael Gough star in this one. Jones plays Two Face, although in a much less serious and far more campy kind of way than the Two Face in the Dark Knight. The Batmobile by this point looks completely ridiculous, something that only got worse in Batman & Robin. Jim Carrey is the Riddler, a disgruntled employee of Wayne Enterprises that goes rogue (and insane) after his mind control/reading project gets canned by Wayne. Nicole Kidman is a psychiatrist with an interest in criminal insanity and Batman, and between the two of them there is a bit of a romance story. Lastly, O’Donnell plays the punk acrobat Robin, who watched his family die at the hands of Jones and swears revenge. Alfred and Bruce Wayne take the kid in and by the end of the film he is Robin.
The third Batman is even more campy than the second, and it’s frankly a lot harder to watch. You’ll cringe and shake your head at some of the scenes in how silly they are, but for Batman fans, it’s worth a once-over.
Batman And Robin
The anthology ends with Schumacher’s second effort, Batman & Robin; this is a bad film. Batman And Robin brings in yet another powerful cast with George Clooney as Batman, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy, Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl, Chris O’Donnell as Robin, Michael Gough as Alfred, and even Vivica A. Fox and Elle MacPherson play a part. You know, some people thought Spider-Man 3 was trying to do too much in one film with the Sandman and Venom, but with Batman & Robin, you have Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Bane, and Batgirl all being introduced and completely played out in one single, bad film.
Batman And Robin is frankly a really hard film to watch because it’s so chock full of lame scenes, lines, and effects. The Batmobile looks completely insane by this point and not even this powerful cast of otherwise good actors can bear the load of what is really an overloaded script. There are simply too many storylines that are rushed or just done poorly to add up to a great film. It’s nice that this film is included for completeness, but it is truly the weakest of the set.
Bat On Blu
While the films in this Anthology box set may be a mixed offering, I thought the presentation quality was impressive throughout. From the oldest, 1989, to the newest, 1997, all four of these films looked and sounded great. There wasn’t a lot of grain or really any major technical issues at all, and seeing the original Batman twenty years after its creation in Hi-Def was quite cool. This aren’t necessarily demo material, at least not the first Batman, but all three look very good. The same can be said for the audio experience; I have no significant complaints with the audio quality, each film sounds very good or great.
For extras, this Anthology doesn’t have anything new or even in HD, but there is a lot of material here. A lot of it isn’t very interesting due to the fact that, in my opinion, there are only two good movies in this set, the first two (and the only one I ultimately care about is the first one). Let’s take a look, breaking it down by each individual film:
-Batman: Audio Commentary with Tim Burton
-Batman: Beyond Batman – A nice, nearly forty-five minute feature that looks at the making of the film.
-Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight: The History of Batman – A nearly twenty minute piece here that looks at the history of Batman. Quite interesting and an excellent way to a great primer on the history of the Dark Knight.
-Batman: Storyboard Sequence
-Batman: Music Videos – Painful music videos starring Prince.
-Batman: A fifth disc includes a digital copy of the Batman.
-Batman Returns: Audio Commentary with Tim Burton
-Batman Returns: The Bat, The Cat, And The Penguin – Around twenty minutes, this includes some old, at-the-time-of-release interviews with Keaton and Pfeiffer.
-Batman Returns: Beyond Batman – Another installment in this feature, running about forty-two minutes. More making of / behind the scenes goodness.
-Batman Returns: Music Video – Siouxie and the Banshee perform their “Face to Face” song. Useless material as far as I’m concerned.
-Batman Forever: Audio Commentary with Joel Schumacher
-Batman Forever: Beyond Batman – The third installment, running about another forty-five minutes.
-Batman Forever: Riddle Me This: Why Is Batman Forever? – Essentially an infomerical hosted by Chris O’Donnell about the film.
-Batman Forever: Deleted Scenes – Seven deleted scenes, including an alternate ending totaling about twenty minutes.
-Batman Forever: Music Video – Seal and his Kiss From A Rose song.
-Batman And Robin: Audio Commentary with Joel Schumacher
-Batman And Robin: Beyond Batman – Another forty-plus minute feature about the film.
-Batman And Robin: Deleted Scenes – A single deleted scene about Alfred’s lost love.
-Batman And Robin: Music Videos – Jewel, Smashing Pumpkins, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, and R. Kelly videos.
Then, across all four discs, there are these other features:
-Shadow of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight – Around 160 minutes, this multi-part extra includes tons of making of and behind the scenes footage as well as interviews of lots of cast and crew (older interviews, that is).
-The Heroes & The Villains – Super brief features about the heroes and villains in the films.
-Trailers – Each film has a trailer included.
Overall, this Batman Anthology is nice to see, but frankly there are only two films in this collection worth watching, and for me only one worth having. Furthermore, there is nothing new here that wasn’t in the DVD set of the same name that was released several years ago.