Tim Burton's Batman/Batman Returns...

[GhostOfTomJoad 9352]

Has not aged well. I hadn't seen either of them in probably 20 years. Showtime has been showing them b2b lately so I watched them over a few days. The best thing I can say is Keaton had a nice take on Bruce Wayne. That's it. I was shocked at how campy Burton went, and just how bad the action sequences were.

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

19 minutes ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

I was shocked at how campy Burton went

I mean, isn't that Burton's MO?

[GreenspointTexas 9670]

Tim burton fucking sucks. All his movies are trash. Hes ruined so many goddamn franchises

 

alice in wonderland

Willy wonka

planet of the apes

Batman

etc

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

Burton is a visual genius.  He's a third rate story teller though.

 

I'd disagree on Alice In Wonderland. I thought that was about his best work, mostly because somebody has already written a pretty damn good book for him to follow

Edited February 1, 2021 by Onboard 2.0

[Biff Tannen 45742]

[Red Five 40895]

Tim burton fucking sucks. All his movies are trash. Hes ruined so many goddamn franchises
 
alice in wonderland
Willy wonka
planet of the apes
Batman
etc

Beetlejuice

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

2 minutes ago, Red Five said:

Beetlejuice

I stand corrected, THAT is his best work, and it does stand up very well.

[SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3861]

they are peak milli vanilli, hypercolor pre-grunge era 90s.

[MoJames 8254]

I'd say my favorite of his films are Big Fish and Beetlejuice. Pee-wee is a childhood favorite. Only other things he has done live action I don't care for.

[DanRydell 799]

54 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Tim burton fucking sucks. All his movies are trash. Hes ruined so many goddamn franchises

 

alice in wonderland

Willy wonka

planet of the apes

Batman

etc

Beetlejuice, Big Fish, Ed Wood, and Edward Scissorhands are all great. Nightmare Before Christmas and Sweeney Todd are also pretty good.

[4th&Five 41590]

19 minutes ago, MoJames said:

I'd say my favorite of his films are Big Fish and Beetlejuice. Pee-wee is a childhood favorite. Only other things he has done live action I don't care for.

All 3 are fantastic.

[Gene Parmesan 4014]

Those movies unfortunately set the tone for the rest of the Batman movies that decade.  My 10 year old self thought they were awesome though.

[Surly Bevo 25153]

This town needs an enema.

[MoJames 8254]

Only movie I've ever walked out on was Batman Forever.

[Steamboat1874 4085]

His two Batman movies were supposed to be comic book like.

I would say mission accomplished.

[GhostOfTomJoad 9352]

1 hour ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Burton is a visual genius.  He's a third rate story teller though.

His visual stylings are a bit (okay, a big fucking bit) cartoonish. And  overrated IMO, but I give him credit for the pre-CGI ear he was working in. I think The Nightmare Before Christmas is his highest visual achievement.

Some things that really stick out to me about his two Batman movies:

• Gotham & Wayne Manor were transformed from fairly believable,  realistic environments in Batman, to ridiculous backlots, cutouts & cheesy models in BR. WTF? You had a blockbuster 3 years prior & went in the opposite visual direction?
• The bat suit was an abject failure. Burton screwed the fucking pooch on this detail. His desire to have long shadows & "dramatic" visuals of Batman emerging from shadows resulted in a suit that Keaton couldn't fucking move in. Seriously. He can barely walk in the fucking thing, and couldn't turn his head sideways at all. He looks like a cross between Frankenstein & the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. 
• Batman got his ass kicked by 105 lb Michelle Pfeiffer, wearing a vinyl suit and stilettos. Her performance as Catwoman is horrific. 
• The villains don't scare anybody. Nicholson was more intimidating and interesting as Jack Napier than he was as the Joker. The Penguin? Walken's Max Shreck? They're just cringeworthy

I guess Burton & WB gets credit (?) for proving that comic book characters had a market & were viable for adult audiences. And in fairness who knew that a director of Christopher Nolan's caliber would come along 15 years later & elevate the characters & stories to true art? But Burton's take comes across as someone who was having more fun playing with toys & building models than developing characters or telling a coherent story.

 

[Red Five 40895]

22 minutes ago, MoJames said:

Only movie I've ever walked out on was Batman Forever.

Teenage me would rank them 1) Batman 2) Batman Forever 3) Batman Returns 4) That which shall not be named.

Although I haven't seen any of them in a long time. I'd imagine the Nolan movies pretty much put them out of commission. 

[MoJames 8254]

I might be wrong but outside of Adam West has a Batman ever been able to move his head to the side?

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

3 minutes ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

But Burton's take comes across as someone who was having more fun playing with toys & building models than developing characters or telling a coherent story.

 

I'd agree, he cared more about the visuals more than story IMO.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

10 minutes ago, MoJames said:

I might be wrong but outside of Adam West has a Batman ever been able to move his head to the side?

There is no Batman other than Adam West, just ask him.....

Edited February 1, 2021 by Onboard 2.0

[Viper 12112]

2 minutes ago, MoJames said:

I might be wrong but outside of Adam West has a Batman ever been able to move his head to the side?

Check out The Dark Knight's bat suit. It was specially made so he could turn his head.

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

35 minutes ago, Surly Bevo said:

This town needs an enema.

[Elvis 3375]

I thought it was awesome at 10yo.  But I also had a Dick Tracy t-shirt.

For reference:

 

 

 

VS

 

 

 

 

[RPM 26355]

56 minutes ago, DanRydell said:

Nightmare Before Christmas and Sweeney Todd are also pretty good.

[Guest Lobo]

that last photo looks like Giuliani sweating at a press conference.  Appropriate since he too, was also a D.A. in a large city...Gotham/NYC...what's the diff?  

[Cheeseweasel 26438]

51 minutes ago, Lobo said:

that last photo looks like Giuliani sweating at a press conference.  

[atomheartbevo 89805]

2 hours ago, MoJames said:

Pee-wee is a childhood favorite.

We were so close to getting the ultimate movie.

 

[BonzoMontreaux 1098]

I will still watch Batman.  I remember when they cast Keaton as Batman, there was a bit of a rhubarb about it.  He was good enough for me for *that* movie.  That being said, BR and the rest from that time frame are not worth the time at all.  

[Serak The Preparer 3431]

5 hours ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Tim burton fucking sucks. All his movies are trash. Hes ruined so many goddamn franchises

 

alice in wonderland

Willy wonka

planet of the apes

Batman

etc

So much to unpack here. Alice in Wonderland is a franchise? Same for Willy Wonka. There is one fucking movie before Burton remade it. I agree it's not as good, but there were no franchises to ruin. 

Also Planet of the Apes and Batman? You do realize that there were many successful movies in both series after Burton made his, right? Do you know the meaning of either ruin or franchise?

[mr. sunshine 2833]

5 hours ago, MoJames said:

Only movie I've ever walked out on was Batman Forever.

This. If Burton’s trash Joel Schumacher says hold my beer 

[Herpa Derpa 6131]

4 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

There is no Batman other than Adam West, just ask him.....

Uh, who wants to tell him?

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

16 minutes ago, Herpa Derpa said:

Uh, who wants to tell him?

I doubt you could do it since Adam is dead.  

 

Subtle like a dump truck your post is.

[RomaVicta 30023]

5 hours ago, MoJames said:

Only movie I've ever walked out on was Batman Forever.

Ed Wood (when Lugosi dies), Mars Attacks, and Nightmare Before Christmas all lost me. I just about never leave a movie.

The one-two punch of Joel Schumacher and Tim Burton on Batman would have killed the franchise for me if not for some later brilliance. Dark Knight is an outstanding movie (that's the one with Heath Ledger, right?).

Batman was my fave as a boy.

Edited February 1, 2021 by RomaVicta

[RomaVicta 30023]

5 hours ago, GhostOfTomJoad said:

The Nightmare Before Christmas is his highest visual achievement.

It's not his movie.

His name is in the title as an homage and respect.

[MoJames 8254]

7 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

It's not his movie.

His name is in the title as an homage and respect.

Coraline is amazing.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

3 hours ago, RomaVicta said:

Ed Wood (when Lugosi dies), Mars Attacks, and Nightmare Before Christmas all lost me. I just about never leave a movie.

The one-two punch of Joel Schumacher and Tim Burton on Batman would have killed the franchise for me if not for some later brilliance. Dark Knight is an outstanding movie (that's the one with Heath Ledger, right?).

Batman was my fave as a boy.

Batman was my superhero as a boy. I had at least 2 birthdays with a Batman theme, heavy on batman present haul, and at least 1 Halloween in Batman costume.  I never missed an episode and remember when the Batman movie came out. That was porn to a 5- 6 year old kid.

Ed Wood bizzarre, but watchable.  Mars Attacks: campy, and funny, and so far still holds up well.  Nightmare before Christmas is a bit like Fantasia, very cool animation /stop motion, but the narratives could never hold me.  

If he and M. Knight Shyamalan ever team up the motion picture industry could possibly never recover from that self indulgent fiasco.

Edited February 2, 2021 by Onboard 2.0

[GhostOfTomJoad 9352]

It's not his movie.
His name is in the title as an homage and respect.

Mind blown. And it now makes sense. Kudos.

[Tom 2959]

Beetlejuice and Mars Attacks are my favorites of his.  I never cared for the first Batman movie, even as a little kid.  Batman Returns was the only one of the 4 that came before Nolan in the 80's/90's that I really cared for and would watch multiple times.

[Herpa Derpa 6131]

2 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

I doubt you could do it since Adam is dead.  

 

Subtle like a dump truck your post is.

Ok, Simon.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

9 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Burton is a visual genius.  He's a third rate story teller though.

 

I'd disagree on Alice In Wonderland. I thought that was some of his best work, mostly because somebody has already written a pretty damn good book for him to follow.

 

[Biff Tannen 45742]

7 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

We were so close to getting the ultimate movie.

 

Holy shit