Welcome to Batman Week! From today until July 18th, I'm celebrating all things Batman, in anticipation of The Dark Knight. The centerpiece of Batman Week will be my five part retrospective on the caped crusader in cinema. This is Chapter One. A new chapter will be posted every day until Thursday, along with other surprises. And on Friday, check in for my review of The Dark Knight.

Batman is my favorite superhero. The reason for this is that you can't really call the Dark Knight a superhero; he makes himself a hero through technology and perseverance, because he is deeply tormented by his past. Batman is possibly the deepest comic-book hero because of this, and this lends itself to a huge number of wildly different interpretations. Many comic book artists have interpreted the character in different ways, as have many animators and filmmakers. Almost every incarnation of Batman is different...and the results have been mixed.

Holy Franchise Batman! The Blockbuster Saga of the Dark Knight

Chapter One:
Holy Laughing Gas Batman!

When the 60's ended, Batman was no longer the dark, mysterious, and deep superhero he was originally created to be. The popular Adam West TV series had completely changed the face of the Dark Knight, turning him from haunted crusader into fun-loving hero. Few would argue that the series was primarily a farce, and to this day, is the butt of many jokes and parodies. The overtly campy approach extended into the long-running comic book series, and it wouldn't be until Frank Miller's 1986 graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns that the comics were returned to their dark roots. Thankfully, they've stayed that way ever since.

In the world of cinema, it would take much longer, and whenever filmmakers came close to making a true-to-form Batman film, there was always something there to drag the cinematic Batman under again.

Batman seems to have finally found a good home in Christopher Nolan's iteration of the series, which began in 2005 with Batman Begins, and will continue on July 18 th with The Dark Knight. Nolan is arguably the first filmmaker to truly understand Batman and his troubled psyche. The history of Batman in blockbuster cinema is a long, strange, and sometimes depressing story. Let's take a look at that story, from the aforementioned troubled history of the franchise to the quality of the individual films to the broken dreams of Billy Dee Williams. There were, of course, many cinematic interpretations of the Dark Knight before 1989, but we're going to focus on the series that led up to the Batman films being made today.

In 1989, Tim Burton's Batman hit theaters, was a huge blockbuster hit, and proved that audiences didn't need colorful bubbles with flashy onomatopoeias, or even Robin, to enjoy the adventures of the Dark Knight. The film was so big that it ushered in a new era of superhero films and three sequels, two of which were also smash hits.

A Batman film had been in the works since the late seventies; many different scripts were written and abandoned and various directors were attached. At one point, Tom Mankiewicz, co-writer of the first two Superman films, had even written a script, which was re-written eight times by eight different writers. Finally, in the mid-eighties, after the success of Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Tim Burton was brought onto the project. Burton brought on writer Sam Hamm to write a new script that reflected his own vision.

Jack Nicholson was hired to play Batman's most iconic nemesis, The Joker; Nicholson had been the ideal candidate for years, long before Burton was hired. While many major stars had been considered for Batman over the years, including Mel Gibson, Dennis Quaid, Kevin Costner, Harrison Ford, Charlie Sheen, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Selleck and even Bill Murray, Burton went in a different direction and hired Michael Keaton to play the caped crusader, whom he had worked with on Beetlejuice.

Batman was Tim Burton's first feature film that wasn't a comedy, and the same went for Michael Keaton. Because of this, audiences began to expect a Batman film more in line with the Adam West interpretation, a style few were keen to revisit. A trailer, showcasing Burton's dark visual style and Keaton's disturbed portrayal was rushed to theaters for the Christmas movies, and was so popular that a large number of people bought tickets to movies showing the trailer, and left when it was over.

The summer of 1989 became the summer of Batmania, where Batman merchandise actually ended up out grossing the film. The hype was so huge that even if the movie had sucked, it still would have been one of the biggest movies of the year. Luckily, the movie was prettydarn good.

Batman opens with a scene that is now iconic, involving two burglars mugging a family, and being stopped by the Bat. It's a great, haunting introduction and sets the tone for the film that is to follow. Batman has almost no lines of dialogue in this scene, and it actually isn't until much later (near the thirty minute mark) that we see Bruce Wayne. The time is spent setting up plotlines for not only the Joker, but also for photographer Vicki Vale and writer Alexander Knox. The next time we see Bruce Wayne, it's when he meets Vicki at a party at his mansion.

This seems like a strange way to approach a film entitled Batman. Bruce/Batman isn't seen nearly as often as the Joker, or even Vicki Vale. Every time we see Bruce or Batman, it's through the eyes of someone else. Burton's approach to Batman is to make Bruce Wayne not the main character, but the most important supporting cast member. He never tells us anything about himself or his mission. Instead, we learn from other characters. Indeed, Vicki's role in the film is all about discovering who Bruce Wayne is. Batman is a mysterious hero, and the film reflects that. It's not an origin story, and we only learn the origin of Batman through exposition. The film is a mystery in this regard; it's about discovering the character, and while this approach is radically different than say, Batman Begins, and while it's not how I, personally envision the Dark Knight, it certainly has its merits.

This unique portrayal of Batman needed a unique performance. Michael Keaton is simply perfect in the role; his performance is subtle, never giving away too much about the character. Despite this, you always get the feeling that Bruce Wayne has a dark secret; you know that he's tormented and that his mind is affected. One of the best examples of how great his performance is (and how Batman is portrayed in the film) is when Vicki Vale follows Bruce down an alley where he leaves roses in front of an old theater. Keaton says not a word of dialogue in this scene, but his facial expressions say it all.

Jack Napier, also known as the Joker, probably has the most screen time in the whole film, and Jack Nicholson uses every bit of it in a darkly humorous performance. From the beginning, before Napier even becomes the Joker, you can tell this guy is bad. When he's transformed, Nicholson gives it his all, and acts with as much insanity as he can muster (which is a lot). It's a fairly classic Joker portrayal; he's funny, but also deliciously evil. He's the villain you love to hate. While Keaton goes for understatement, Nicholson goes for balls to the wall crazy, and it's simply a great dichotomy.

Burton made a choice in storytelling that hasn't always been popular with Batman purists, but adds a great amount of weight to the story. In this version, we discover that Jack Napier killed Bruce's parents, thus creating Batman. Batman, in turn, creates the Joker by throwing him into a vat of toxic waste. It's fairly ingenious; as I explained, Batman is the most important supporting cast member in this version of the story, and the small bits of explanation as to his past we get along the way are from others, giving a unique style of characterization. By essentially making the Joker the main character, and changing the story so that it's Napier's own fault he becomes the Joker, we get a very strong view of Batman as a person that can't be gained by other characterization methods.

Burton's Batman was dark, returning the caped crusader to his roots. The darkness isn't just thematic; the film uses a very dark color scheme, to symbolize how grimy a city Gotham is. One thing that must be said about Tim Burton is that he's a highly visual director, and that's on full display here. His Gotham is otherworldly, with strange buildings and a seemingly eternal night; the amazing thing is that it always feels realistic. Today, the film does occasionally show its age. Wide shots of the city are obvious matte paintings, and some scenes simply scream 'sound stage.' But the visuals still holds up surprisingly well 19 years later.

The film boasts a great supporting cast, including Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale and Robert Wuhl as Knox. Michael Gough is simply perfect as Alfred, and Pat Hingle makes a fine Commissioner Gordon. Billy Dee Williams has a bit part as Harvey Dent, who was introduced in this film so he could later become villain Two Face. This never panned out.

Danny Elfman, who had scored Tim Burton's previous two films and went on to score all but two of Burton's films, composed the music to the film. He composed a truly iconic theme for Batman that is as epic as the "Superman" theme. There's really nothing subtle about the score; it's loud, bombastic, and gets the blood pumping. Personally, I think Elfman did some of his best work in the late eighties and early nineties, and Batman is a prime example.

There are some flaws with Burton's film, however; while he has a fairly good grasp on the Batman universe, the ending doesn't hit the mark. In the finale, the Joker is killed. In the comics, the Joker is a constantly recurring villain, and it would have been interesting to see the Joker further explored in later installments. The fact that Batman knowingly and without remorse kills the Joker also goes against what Batman stands for; yes, the Joker killed his parents, but the thing that separates Batman from the bad guys is his mercy. After two hours of deep exploration into Batman's psyche, this just doesn't fit.

And while the employed characterization method of making Bruce Wayne more or less a supporting character works fairly well, the film fails to sustain this premise for two full hours, and you often have to remind yourself of who to root for. The Joker gets so much screen time that it sometimes feels like he is the protagonist of the film. The movie also has occasional pacing problems, and while the film is certainly good, it can't be called the definitive Batman film. Of the original four movies, though, it's clearly the best, and I still enjoy watching it from time to time.

I'd give it a solid B+.

To Be Continued....

Check in Tomorrow For Chapter Two!