The Batman (1985) - Directed by Richard Donner.
Batman/Bruce Wayne: Mel Gibson.
The Joker: Tim Curry.
Rupert Thorne: Martin Sheen.
Commissioner Gordon: William Holden. (he lives ttl)
Silver St. Cloud: Melanie Griffith.
Alfred Pennyworth: Peter Cushing.
Robin/Dick Grayson: Josh Brolin.
Generally followes Mankiewicz's OTL script, with the exclusion of the Penguin, who was cut out in order to put more of a focus on the Joker. Gibson is seen as a good choice who can balance camp and drama. Some criticize Curry's Joker for his not very convincing american accent, but otherwise he gives a solid and even somewhat scary performance. The biggest praise the movie gets is for introducing the character of Dick Grayson three quarters of the way through the plot, and his partial transition into Robin by the finale.
Grosses about $300,000,000 domestically.
Batman: Knightfall (1988) - Directed by Ivan Reitman.
Batman/Bruce Wayne: Mel Gibson.
Robin/Dick Grayson: Josh Brolin.
Mister Freeze: Sam Neill.
The Penguin: Dustin Hoffman.
Mike Sekowski: LeVar Burton.
Silver St. Cloud: Melanie Griffith.
Commissioner Paxton: Jeff Bridges.
Alfred: Peter Cushing.
The Joker: Tim Curry.
This film is darker than the first, but not by much. Batman, now with the adolescent Dick Grayson at his side, has to square off against the menacing Mr. Freeze and the Penguin, who plan to turn Gotham into a frozen wasteland. He also has to deal with a rogue vigilante group called 'The Night League', led by the idealistic but cunning Mike Sekowski, who use violent tactics to fight crime.
Midway through the film, Sekowski's gang turns against Batman, seeing him as weak for not being willing to kill. This works to the villains' benefit, as Batman is distracted. They use this advantage to attempt to free Arkham's high security prisoners, but are foiled at the very last minute by the GCPD.
In the end, a conflict between Freeze and the Penguin over curing Freeze's wife leads to Freeze shooting the Penguin and getting captured by Batman. Sekowski and the Night League are arrested. The last scene implies that the Scarecrow will feature in the next movie.
William Holden's illness meant that Commissioner Gordon had to be 'retired' in between movies. His replacement, Commissioner David Paxton, is a cynical but mostly clean cop.
St. Cloud has a lesser role in this sequel. The original script had her dying at the Penguin's hands, but that was deemed far too dark for the finished product, and she was merely injured.
The Joker has a cameo as one of the major Arkham denizens who almost break out.
Batman/Bruce Wayne: Mel Gibson.
The Joker: Tim Curry.
Rupert Thorne: Martin Sheen.
Commissioner Gordon: William Holden. (he lives ttl)
Silver St. Cloud: Melanie Griffith.
Alfred Pennyworth: Peter Cushing.
Robin/Dick Grayson: Josh Brolin.
Generally followes Mankiewicz's OTL script, with the exclusion of the Penguin, who was cut out in order to put more of a focus on the Joker. Gibson is seen as a good choice who can balance camp and drama. Some criticize Curry's Joker for his not very convincing american accent, but otherwise he gives a solid and even somewhat scary performance. The biggest praise the movie gets is for introducing the character of Dick Grayson three quarters of the way through the plot, and his partial transition into Robin by the finale.
Grosses about $300,000,000 domestically.
Batman: Knightfall (1988) - Directed by Ivan Reitman.
Batman/Bruce Wayne: Mel Gibson.
Robin/Dick Grayson: Josh Brolin.
Mister Freeze: Sam Neill.
The Penguin: Dustin Hoffman.
Mike Sekowski: LeVar Burton.
Silver St. Cloud: Melanie Griffith.
Commissioner Paxton: Jeff Bridges.
Alfred: Peter Cushing.
The Joker: Tim Curry.
This film is darker than the first, but not by much. Batman, now with the adolescent Dick Grayson at his side, has to square off against the menacing Mr. Freeze and the Penguin, who plan to turn Gotham into a frozen wasteland. He also has to deal with a rogue vigilante group called 'The Night League', led by the idealistic but cunning Mike Sekowski, who use violent tactics to fight crime.
Midway through the film, Sekowski's gang turns against Batman, seeing him as weak for not being willing to kill. This works to the villains' benefit, as Batman is distracted. They use this advantage to attempt to free Arkham's high security prisoners, but are foiled at the very last minute by the GCPD.
In the end, a conflict between Freeze and the Penguin over curing Freeze's wife leads to Freeze shooting the Penguin and getting captured by Batman. Sekowski and the Night League are arrested. The last scene implies that the Scarecrow will feature in the next movie.
William Holden's illness meant that Commissioner Gordon had to be 'retired' in between movies. His replacement, Commissioner David Paxton, is a cynical but mostly clean cop.
St. Cloud has a lesser role in this sequel. The original script had her dying at the Penguin's hands, but that was deemed far too dark for the finished product, and she was merely injured.
The Joker has a cameo as one of the major Arkham denizens who almost break out.
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