Batman (1989) Uncut Reaction!
Added 2023-06-03 15:00:05 +0000 UTCWhat's up, homies! Today, it was revealed to us that Agustin has never seen Tim Burton's Batman. So, we are very excited to revisit this film in anticipation of the upcoming DC movie, The Flash! Next week, we'll be watching Batman Returns, followed by a review of The Flash on the CzechXicans podcast.
Comments
There are a lot of people who enjoy putting on rose-colored bat-goggles and rolling around in nostalgia...but here's a recount from someone who remembers the 1989 Batman hype very clearly. I was 24 and finishing grad school in mid-Summer '89, and there was indeed a significant brouhaha when Burton cast Keaton as Batman. This was in the formative days of the internet and well before social media, so there wasn't the unending firestorm that would've happened today - but it was almost an unprecedented amount of backlash for the time. Pre-release, Keaton didn't help matters much as he was a straight-up d!ck about the controversy during interviews and talk show appearances, making fun of comic-book fans and telling them to "grow up" and deal with it. Predictably, he softened his stance after the movie was a critical and commercial success. It's well-known that Burton chose Keaton as Batman after working with him on Beetlejuice, citing his "intense, crazy eyes" as the key to being Batman. Now, I absolutely love and respect Keaton as an actor, but I still dislike him as Batman to this day. When it comes to larger-than-life characters, physicality matters. A LOT. And a 5' 8", 145# twerp with noodle arms and Brillo pad hair is neither Bruce Wayne nor Batman. It was a casting decision made by someone who has never read a single comic book, as Burton proudly declared. Interestingly enough, do you know who else was in Beetlejuice and would have been the perfect choice? Alec Baldwin. However, even though Baldwin wanted the role and would have slayed as both suave ladykiller Bruce Wayne and cool, calculating Batman, Burton had already locked onto Keaton. Skeptical? Do yourself a favor and check out 1994's The Shadow with Baldwin as Lamont Cranston and then tell me Burton made the right choice. That's a resounding NOPE on my behalf, but please, see for yourself.
Zzzax_Loves_Hulk
2023-06-07 22:15:40 +0000 UTCI am SHOCKED Agustin has not seen this!
Myles Away
2023-06-04 03:50:49 +0000 UTCthis is a movie thats gotten better and better with repeat viewings :) loved the frankenweenie shout-out love that movie to pieces :)
Tyler Drake
2023-06-03 23:49:48 +0000 UTCOh, this Saturday is going to start off good. I do remember there being discourse about Michael Keaton cast as Batman, but being only 12 when it came out I don't remember exactly where I was hearing that from. I always felt that Jack was borrowing from Cesar Romero's Joker, but layered in deeper levels of crazy and menace. It has been quite some time since I have seen this and I am glad I got to rewatch it with you guys. I will admit that I was not a big fan of Batman Returns, not a fan of the direction they took with the Penguin, but I hope that with time I may enjoy it more now.
David Lonewolf Wright
2023-06-03 16:34:20 +0000 UTCOooh, I can't wait for this!
Whitney Wallace
2023-06-03 15:07:36 +0000 UTC“You wanna get nuts?! Let’s get nuts!”
Ethan Hamrick
2023-06-03 15:01:07 +0000 UTC
