A film I love

[fpb]

I think I have seen a good part of all the animation and live action superhero films and TV series ever made, from the beautiful old Superman cartoons of forties to some Smallville and all of Buffy. And with due respect to all the others, I do not think that anyone will ever do anything better than Tim Burton's first Batman movie. Already by the

Comments

[affablestranger]

Yeah, Tim Burton's Batman really is excellent. I completely agree.

[thefish30]

thirded

[pomposa]

Ah, hello! I've just stumbled across your entry, and, along with the others, agree with your sentiments completely. I'm no film buff, and have certainly not seen as many action films as yourself, but I have watched this film repeatedly. I occasionally buy other Batman films in the supermarket, but am invariably disappointed. There's something very satisfying about the first one. You're the first person I've heard enthuse about it!

[fpb]

Thank you. I am more a superhero buff (indeed, I have created my own) than a film buff, and I guess that makes the difference. A lot of film critics will not necessarily get the whole superhero mythology. In particular, there has been far too much emphasis on the tormented nature of Michael Keaton's Batman - a superhero fan will recognize it as part of the self-doubts that have been a standard part of the superhero figure since at least Stan Lee. Conversely, what really does it for me is something that I suspect the average art-house movie lover will find positively toe-curling - the final crescendo from the DA reading Batman's letter to the assembled journalists, to the music swelling and rising as the camera rises up to the sky and takes in the hero looking up at the symbol. That, I repeat, makes no obvious rational sense, but it calls to our image of the hero in our collective memories, and is powerful and comforting