If the first Batman movie was good?

Question

Why has every movie since then felt the need to change things so much. It's like Batman and Robin was LSD induced crap masked as a Hollywood movie and Batman Begins tried to make Batman dark and serious to the point where there's never any action and way to many close ups. Not only that but am I the only one who noticed it had almost the same plot as Batman and Batman Forever where a guy is either trying to gas the city or contol their minds. Or what about when Jim Carey forgot he wasn't playing the Joker.

Answer 1

I still like the ORIGINAL (1966) Batman movie! Yes, the shark is undoubtedly rubber and there are no special effects except for the "POW" "BAM" "ZOINK" bubbles during the fistfights. But it included all of the archvillains: the Riddler, Joker, Penguin and Catwoman.
As far as modern-day Batman movies, I have to agree with you that the first was the best.

Answer 2

Whoa, slow down there, organize your thoughts. Movies change, they up the ante. Nobody wants to see the same villain in 4 movies *cough* Superman series *cough*. I think the worst thing to happen to the Batman franchise (besides Schumacher), too many major characters. Here’s a rundown:
Batman – The Joker
Batman Returns – Catwoman and The Penguin
Batman Forever – Robin, The Riddler and Two Face (on the wrong side! AAARRGHHH!)
Batman & Robin – Robin, Batgirl, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Bane

Each of these movies tried to do too much, and suffered accordingly. Batman Begins was a breath of fresh air after said LSD. It portrayed Batman in a way that he actually could be considered scary, a Dark Knight at last. There were flaws though, as once again they tried to pack in too many characters. Let’s play I Spy: Ra’s al Ghul, Henry Ducard, Scarecrow, Carmine Falcone, Rachel Dawes, Gordon, and Lucius Fox. Thankfully, most of these characters weren’t given too much screen time to be confusing. Also, the camera work was REAL irritating, especially in the fight scenes.

As for the similarities in plots, that’s just what bad guys do. They take over the world, gas people, kick babies and shoot kittens. They’re Villains, with a capital V, which rhymes with E, and that stands for Evil. Also, the Riddler is basically Joker Lite. Same great insanity, twice the IQ.

Answer 3

The concept is fine but the actors keep changing.

Answer 4

i think tim burton's vision of batman was excellent but joel schumacher's vision are like a gayman's mardi gra.

Answer 5

BATMAN:
Tim Burton (Beetle Juice, Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissorhands) is definitely my favourite film director. If I had to pick his best film, this is definitely it. This live action story of the comic book hero, the caped crusader, is excellent. Gotham City is high on crime, and recently people have sited an unknown creature, or maybe a man, that calls itself Batman. Michael Keaton's Batman/Bruce Wayne is the main focus. He also has really good gadgets from the Bat Cave including the Batwing and of course, the Bat Mobile. The one who steals the show is the brilliantly cast Jack Nicholson who falls into acid and becomes the evil Joker. The Joker is causing psychopathic incidents, such as making news reporters laugh to death. He plans to turn the city into a laughing smiling city so he and his gang can take over. Also starring Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale, Michael Gough as Alfred, Pat Hingle as Comissioner Gordon and Jack Palance as Grissom. Batman was number 84 and Prince number 68 on The 100 Greatest Pop Culture Icons, and Batman was number 46 hero and The Joker number 45 villain on 100 Years, 100 Heroes and Villains. Outstanding!

BATMAN RETURNS:
Very rarely do movie sequels ever match the grandeur of the originals. BATMAN RETURNS however, does so with gusto. The sequel to 1989's BATMAN, BATMAN RETURNS neither milks the success of the first movie nor totally disregards it; it's a wonderful sequel and a spectacular movie in its own right. There's something for everyone in this movie - humor, high drama, plenty of action, and lots of cool things to look at. Of course, viewers have to get around Tim Burton's morbid and sometimes offensive sense of humor, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem in this era of SOUTH PARK and THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. While the movie has many great moments, it also has its flaws. The plot seems rushed, stitched together. Danny DeVito tries his best as the Penguin but doesn't quite pull it off. Christopher Walken appears as a secondary bad guy, but his performance is lackluster compared to the others. And many of the action sequences, though breathtaking, seemed forced and are occasionally absurd. All that aside, there's all kinds of surprises in this movie - smart humor and dialogue, characters you can't help but love, lots of satire (Homer's Iliad, CITIZEN KANE, and the American political scene are all lampooned), and many memorable scenes that only serve as a testament to Burton's colorful imagination. I hope to get this movie on DVD, where I can enjoy it on my big screen TV in all its glory. Not exactly the best Batman film ever, but still a fascinating movie to watch over and over again.

BATMAN FOREVER:
Some people talk about "the stick of straw that broke the camel's back", meaning when something reached the tipping point. So when did the Batman franchise go bad? Well, "Batman Forever" was getting silly, but it still had Jim Carrey to steal the show as The Riddler ("Batman and Robin" had about as many good qualities as a barrel of toxic waste). Personally, I don't know why they had to have Batman (Val Kilmer) going through therapy; remove that and he still would have been a cool superhero with neat gadgets. Tommy Lee Jones wasn't bad as Two-Face. Nicole Kidman and Chris O'Donnell, as Dr. Chase Meridian and Robin, respectively, didn't really add anything.

Overall, the point is that when Joel Schumacher took over directing, the franchise went downhill. Part of the problem was that while Tim Burton created an eerie Gotham City that looked like New York in the 1940s, Joel Schumacher created a Gotham City that looked like it was trying too hard to be "Blade Runner".

So, the franchise starting getting stale with this one, but Jim Carrey kept the movie from being unwatchable. As Edward Nygma, one of Bruce Wayne's employees, he had some great lines. In the movie, Nygma proposes a device that rests atop TV sets and reads peoples' minds, but Wayne rejects it, considering it too dangerous. Thus, Nygma becomes The Riddler, and he's the best character in the movie.

BATMAN AND ROBIN:
This is hands down the worst film ever made in the history of the existence of the universe. There have been some bad films made but this is a travesty. It is hard to believe that money was spent to make this. It could have been used on something else (charity I suppose). I was 12 when I went to see this and it broke my heart. Batman was my favorite comic book and character when I was a kid and this film broke my spirit. The excellence of the Tim Burton/Michael Keaton films are long gone. The dark emotional center and development of the hero and the villains is sidelined for action sequences, action sequences and some more action sequences, some of them incorporating the worst CGI and model work ever seen on film.

The casting itself had to the potential to make a good film. George Clooney could have made a great Batman (square jawed, popular with the ladies), the only thing going against him being that can be too laid back (maybe with a better script he could do the darker material). Uma Thurman is perfect for Poison Ivy. She is a good looking yet quirky actress, but you wouldn't know it by the emphasis on camp context and innuendo in this film. Arnie is maybe a little miscast as Mr Freeze, but he does well getting a chance to use some 'great' puns, but someone who can come across as more evil would have been better. Then there is Chris O'Donnell and Alicia Silverstone as Robin and Batgirl. Let's just say more charisma can come from a line of fridge freezers with nothing in them. The only decent performance comes from Michael Gough as Alfred, only one of two actors to have appeared in all four films. His performance is wonderful in this otherwise mess of a film.

The blame for this disaster can be laid at the hands of Joel Schumacher. His direction misplaced and his intentions misguided. He may have redeemed himself with Phone Booth, but he will always be the man who destroyed Batman in my eyes.

BATMAN BEGINS:
Finally, after the previous 2 outings of the caped crusader, the Batman franchise is back on track. Having been a big comic collector over the years and a long time fan of the Dark Knight, I was especially disappointed by 'Forever' and 'Batman and Robin'. To me, these film lost the essence of what drives Bruce Wayne to do what he does and turned Batman into more of a pop star than misunderstood hero.

Thankfully though, Nolan has gone back to the roots of the character, portraying a confused and angry Bruce Wayne, who ultimately rises to become Gotham's greatest champion. Don't expect to see loads of shots of Batman in this film though. It is the story of Wayne and focuses mainly on his years of training and preparation for becoming Batman. You are almost teased throughout the first half of the movie, waiting to see the excellent Christian Bale in the costume, as it keeps holding back to keep you in anticipation. When Batman does finally turn up on screen, it is well worth the wait. In my opinion, Bale was born for this role and for the first time when watching a Batman film, I enjoyed the scenes of Wayne being Wayne as much as Wayne being Batman.

One of the strongest features of the film, is the way that it manges to suck you in believe that a 'Batman' could be a reality one day. The technology is current, with no use of silly OTT weapons and gadgets, again making the film work by today's standards. Plus, we are not allowed to forget that Batman is still just a man under the costume and there are times when he gets a bit of a kicking and shows that he can be vulnerable too, something we sometimes forget when watching a superhero flick. Gone too, are the silly villains!!! Jack Nicholson was the perfect Joker but from there it went downhill. Thankfully, in this movie the bad guys are actually fairly 'normal' and manage to be menacing at the same time.

Which finally brings me to the cast. I always had high expectations for this film when the cast was announced. Let's face it, what a line up! Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katy Holmes, Ken Watanabe and Tom Wilkinson are not to be sniffed at. Even an old favourite of mine makes an appearance: Rutger Hauer! Awesome. Actors of this calibre would never have gotten involved in this project if they didn't have faith in Christoper Nolan's talents and thankfully they took the leap...

For the comic book fans out there, waiting to see this movie, let me assure you that you won't be upset. Imagine the darkness of the 'A Death In The Family' and the 'Year One' story lines. I have never met a fan of Batman who didn't love these books. Well, this is the kind of Batman you can expect from Bale: Dark, brooding and tortured by his past, yet the hero we have come to love. For those of you who are not comic fans, then just look forward to seeing how Batman should be. This film is a credit to Bob Kane's original vision and a testament to all the talented artists and writers who keep the legend of the Dark Knight alive in the comic books today....

Thank you Mr. Nolan and thank you Mr. Bale. In fact thanks to everyone who worked on this film. Batman finally Begins from here....