I dug it out and watched it today. It's probably been about six months since the last time I watched the older Batman movies so I knew what I expected. Like I said before, back in 1989, this was the most awesomest thing, ever. Today, not so much. The first few minutes where Batman's first appearance was like a bad special effect (him on that rooftop) made me cringe. Him raising his cape to scare the two thieves on the rooftop ("Hey, look at me, I'm scary!) didn't come off very well, either.
Anyway, I enjoyed the movie after I quit looking for things to criticize. Keaton's performance was pretty satisfying (though he doesn't appear to be the "Pinnacle of human performance" and he can't fight). Nicholson was still pretty great but a bit overshadowed by Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight. The romance with Vikki Vale just didn't do anything for me.
Great movie (at one time, my favorite movie of all time) that just fell victim to the higher standards of today. And why the hell were Bruce Wayne's billionaire parents walking through an alley, anyway? Looking forward to watching Batman Returns tomorrow. I remember liking it a whole lot more for some reason.
