Batman (1989 film)

It isn’t easy to remember that most folk saw Batman in a campy light before this film took the world by storm (indeed, for anyone born in the mid-1980s or later, this was basically where Batman began). Wisely eschewing a proper origin story, “Batman” spends most of its time detailing the origin story of the Joker, and that this version manages to unsettle in spite of knowing so much about him is because of Nicholson’s considerable talents and Burton’s deft narrative skills. We’re more than twenty-five years removed from this film’s premiere, and Batman media is still stealing its tricks.

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