Analysis
Symbols and Tropes
Hero's Journey
Ever notice that every blockbuster movie has the same fundamental pieces? A hero, a journey, some conflicts to muck it all up, a reward, and the hero returning home and everybody applauding his or...
Setting
Gotham City—The City Never Sleeps, but It Could Use a NapGotham City is an Art Deco metropolis—no, not the Metropolis defended by that other caped crusader. It's also a city that never sleeps,...
Point of View
The Joker loves anarchy, but you could set your watch the plot structure of Tim Burton's Batman. Major plot events happen like clockwork. Napier is dropped into the vat of acid almost exactly thirt...
Genre
Neo-Noir Superhero FilmTim Burton's Batman is the superhero film that redefined superhero films. It was dark (for 1989), brooding, and serious, unlike the Batman TV series from the 60's or the popu...
What's Up With the Title?
What Is Batman?It's a movie about Batman, what else do you want?Okay, okay, we'll go into this six-letter title a little more. Batman was an attempt to rebrand the character of Batman for a new gen...
What's Up With the Ending?
The Last LaughHere are some famous last words for you: JOKER: Sometimes I just kill myself.And Joker does basically kill himself, although Batman helps. Joker kills himself because he puts anarchy...
Shock Rating
PG-13 The Batman of the 1960s bloodlessly BIFF'd Joker's henchman. What's a BIFF? It's when Batman punches someone and the word "BIFF" pops up on the screen, alongside BAM and KAPOW.Tim Burton's Ba...