Movie · 1989 · Fantasy, Action, Crime · 2h 6m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 5.8/10 (1M ratings)
Justice is always darkest before the dawn.
Overview
Having witnessed his parents' brutal murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne fights crime in Gotham City disguised as Batman, a costumed hero who strikes fear into the hearts of villains. But when a deformed madman known as 'The Joker' seizes control of Gotham's criminal underworld, Batman must face his most ruthless nemesis ever while protecting both his identity and his love interest, reporter Vicki Vale.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.8/10
IMDb: 7.5/10
Letterboxd: 3.63/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 77%
Metacritic: 69
TMDB: 7.2/10
Director
Tim Burton
Production
Warner Bros. Pictures, Polygram Pictures, The Guber-Peters Company
Cast
Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, Jack Palance, Jerry Hall, Tracey Walter, Lee Wallace, William Hootkins, Richard Strange, Carl Chase, Mac McDonald, George Lane Cooper, Terence Plummer, Philip Tan, John Sterland, Edwin Craig
Where to watch
Max
Curator Review
Verdict
A stylish, influential comic-book blockbuster that blends gothic atmosphere, pop spectacle, and a gleefully unhinged villain performance. It’s more eerie and operatic than modern superhero films, with Tim Burton’s visual design and Danny Elfman’s score doing a lot of the heavy lifting.
Best for
Viewers who like dark, stylized superhero movies
Fans of gothic production design and expressionist visuals
People who enjoy larger-than-life villain performances
Audiences interested in late-80s blockbuster filmmaking
Skip if
You want fast, quippy, modern superhero pacing
You prefer grounded realism over heightened comic-book artifice
You dislike camp, theatricality, or uneven tonal shifts
Overview
Batman is a key piece of superhero movie history because it commits so fully to mood. Gotham feels like a shadowy nightmare city, all cathedral spires, neon, and menace, and the film treats its hero less like a wisecracking icon than a haunted urban myth. That seriousness gives the movie a strange gravity even when it leans into pulp excess.
Worth noting
Jack Nicholson’s Joker dominates the movie with a performance that is both funny and genuinely nasty, turning the villain into a showman of chaos. Michael Keaton plays Bruce Wayne as withdrawn, odd, and almost alien, which makes the dual identity feel less like a disguise than a psychological split. The romance and plot mechanics are secondary to the atmosphere, but the film’s confidence keeps them moving.
Bottom line
What makes it endure is the combination of artifice and spectacle: it’s comic-book cinema that still feels handmade, theatrical, and slightly dangerous. Some viewers will find it dated or too mannered, but for anyone who likes their blockbusters with gothic flair and a strong visual identity, it remains an easy recommendation.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Matt Singer (4★) · 5510 likes
My favorite part of my billionth viewing of Batman: When Joker’s goons shoot Batman, rather than lift up his mask to see who he is, they decide to check if the man disguised as a giant bat carries photo ID. Bob the Goon literally says “Check his wallet.” Check his wallet! This is probably why he’s Bob the Goon, not Bob the Theoretical Physicist.
Ruben (4★) · 4608 likes
Michael Keaton be like 👄
Matt Singer (4★) · 4176 likes
"Alfred, could you come here for a sec?"
"Yes, Master Bruce?"
"Did you let Vicki Vale in the Batcave?"
"..."
"Y'know I'm trying to maintain a secret identity here, right?"
"Yes, Master Bruce."
"Kinda hard to do that when YOU LET RANDOM WOMEN IN HERE."
"Yes, Master Bruce."
"And this was AFTER I told her we had to go out of town and YOU immediately told her we weren't going out of town! HOW DUMB DO YOU HAVE TO BE… more
James (Schaffrillas) (3★) · 2936 likes
Wasn't sure why Jack Nicholson got top billing in this movie until I watched it and realized Joker was the main character
˗ˏˋ suspirliam ˊˎ˗ (3★) · 2444 likes
batman be like get in alfred 🚙 we going shopping 👛😙🛍
2002 · Action, Science Fiction · 2h 1m · PG-13 · Curator 7.3/10 (3.3M ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, fuboTV, Netflix Standard with Ads
A landmark superhero origin story that captures the thrill of transformation and public myth.