A look back at Batman

The new Batman movie Batman Begins is on at the movies now. Seems like there's a bit of Batman revival going on. It's no wonder that some and all things Batman are becoming cool again. This linked article not only review the movie, but also takes a look at the portrayal of the caped crusader over the years.

Since his first appearance in 1939, there's been many incarnations of Batman in the comic books, from silent vigilante, to master detective, wisecracking goofball, and dark brooding bastard. The Superfriends cartoons and the 1966 TV series handled the campy side of Batman just fine, but the movies just never seemed to get the serious Batman right. I had high hopes for Tim Burton's 1989 crack at the legend, but the horrible casting of Michael Keaton, the unbearably awful Prince soundtrack, and major fucking with the core origin left me disappointed. Jack Nicholson's show-stopping performance as The Joker at least made it worthwhile. Too bad the sequels got progressively worse to the point where they became the same campy bullshit the film series tried to get away from. By the time the fourth installment came out, there was just no way they could continue making the films without wiping the slate clean and starting all over again.

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