Hot Toys DX09 - BATMAN - Batman (Michael Keaton) - Specs & Pics

[cr0w]

So in my excitement for this figure, I popped the Batman '89 Blu-Ray in yesterday for a little nostalgia.

Man, I made it about a half hour in before I turned it off. As much as I like the parts with Batman actually in the movie, the rest of the scenes just bore the hell out of me. It feels very lifeless, very much a product of it being shot on soundstages and whatnot. I still enjoy the noir feel it has to it, it's very much a throwback in that sense, but man...the pacing of it is so off. I tend to just watch the scenes with Keaton as Batman in them, which unfortunately isn't much of the movie.

 

[Voorhees27]

Well this is as far as he could move his head.

I always laughed at how short batman was in he movie.

Yeah he's 5' 9" Hehe he's like a little Stallone ................ camera tricks baby. Nicholson's 5' 10" so good casting on that side of things too.

 

[Voorhees27]

So in my excitement for this figure, I popped the Batman '89 Blu-Ray in yesterday for a little nostalgia.

Man, I made it about a half hour in before I turned it off. As much as I like the parts with Batman actually in the movie, the rest of the scenes just bore the hell out of me. It feels very lifeless, very much a product of it being shot on soundstages and whatnot. I still enjoy the noir feel it has to it, it's very much a throwback in that sense, but man...the pacing of it is so off. I tend to just watch the scenes with Keaton as Batman in them, which unfortunately isn't much of the movie.

Personally its the Prince music that ruins it for me. His music stands out like a sore thumb imo. The Elfman score is classic but every other bit kinda sucked and bored the movie. And this is a movie I saw 4 times in theatres ................. better for kids imo. BB's all the way.

Still theres no denying these figures will take me back to being a 12 yr old again. Nothing but thrilling memories for me.

 

[cr0w]

Oh yeah, same here. The pre-release hype and marketing and such is what I remember fondly. Buying as many packs of the cards as I could afford, my floor being littered with the yellow wrappers they came in, etc. I loved all the crap they flooded the stores with before the movie came out.

 

[Voorhees27]

Oh yeah, same here. The pre-release hype and marketing and such is what I remember fondly. Buying as many packs of the cards as I could afford, my floor being littered with the yellow wrappers they came in, etc. I loved all the crap they flooded the stores with before the movie came out.

Oh man I totally forgot about the movie cards and kick *** gum You see thats whats so awesome about Hot Toys, Sideshow, etc. They release products that truly take you back to your childhood whereas something released in 89' just wouldn't do it for me.

I tried collecting vintage stuff but its just not the same. Another great example is the Mattel Classics He-Man line. Again the vintage line is cool but lacks a grown ups perception of detail. So these companies know what they're doing and i'm very thankful for it.

 

[clparker04]

Get in just ordered my Batman from sideshow....

 

[thenammagazine]

Personally its the Prince music that ruins it for me. His music stands out like a sore thumb imo. The Elfman score is classic but every other bit kinda sucked and bored the movie. And this is a movie I saw 4 times in theatres ................. better for kids imo. BB's all the way.

Still theres no denying these figures will take me back to being a 12 yr old again. Nothing but thrilling memories for me.

 

[lambo944]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLlUgilKqms"]Austin Powers 1- Stoooooooooooooooop! - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Chubs&Doggers]

So in my excitement for this figure, I popped the Batman '89 Blu-Ray in yesterday for a little nostalgia.

Man, I made it about a half hour in before I turned it off. As much as I like the parts with Batman actually in the movie, the rest of the scenes just bore the hell out of me. It feels very lifeless, very much a product of it being shot on soundstages and whatnot. I still enjoy the noir feel it has to it, it's very much a throwback in that sense, but man...the pacing of it is so off. I tend to just watch the scenes with Keaton as Batman in them, which unfortunately isn't much of the movie.

Wow.. It's Burtons film, it's Burtons world. . Does it feel dated?

 

[cr0w]

Wow.. It's Burtons film, it's Burtons world. . Does it feel dated?

Really the only thing that feels dated is whenever a Prince song pops up. Everything else has a very 40s-50s noir feel to it, with Batman and his gadgets being really anachronistic to the rest of the movie. It's a lot like Dark City in that it's modern, but the costumes, sets and whatnot are very much a throwback to that era. It's actually pretty timeless in its design, and if it weren't for the Prince soundtrack, it wouldn't be dated at all.

My problems lie with the story, pacing and general lifeless feel of a lot of the movie. It also feels empty, for lack of a better word. I don't know...nothing about it feels "real", I guess, and while that might have been a stylistic choice, on the whole there's really no life in most of the scenes.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Batman was never a masterfully executed film. I doubt anyone would argue it was. I enjoyed flipping through the Movie Book more than sitting through the actual movie. BUT it had a great look and incredible design.

The Batsuit, the Batmobile, the Joker's oufits and that face, the gothic style and even the mattes of Gotham were all 100% awesome.

The rest -- Vivki Vale and her goof reporter friend, the mob bosses dressed in silly thrown-together costumes, the claustrophobic sets, the meandering storyline that seemed more like sketch acts than a true direction -- yes, all that and Prince too. The beginning of cross-promotion.

That said, I loved the year before the movie and thrived on all that crazy marketing. The Bat logo was everywhere. Even on my black cap.

 

[SnakeDoctor]

It does feel a little dated -- Prince particularly, and some of the special effects. The car looks a bit too flimsy (though not nearly as bad as the car in Forever).

I think a lot of the problem is the soundstages, though. Gotham feels awfully claustrophobic in Burton's movies. There's no scope ... no sense of grand scale.

SnakeDoc

 

[ZsaszSays]

 

[sithlord13]

My problems lie with the story, pacing and general lifeless feel of a lot of the movie. It also feels empty, for lack of a better word. I don't know...nothing about it feels "real", I guess, and while that might have been a stylistic choice, on the whole there's really no life in most of the scenes.

I re watched both batman and batman returns recently and feel the same. Even attge time I was never blown away by the story.
Begins and dark knight both had better stories and storylines.
Fursts designs led to a comic book related Gotham whilst nolans universe is reality grounded.
Still love them both thou

 

[DarkMagic]

It does feel a little dated -- Prince particularly, and some of the special effects. The car looks a bit too flimsy (though not nearly as bad as the car in Forever).

I think a lot of the problem is the soundstages, though. Gotham feels awfully claustrophobic in Burton's movies. There's no scope ... no sense of grand scale.

SnakeDoc

Yeah I agree about the dated looking effects. The Joker falling from the cathedral looks ridiculous today, but I can cut them some slack if that is the best they could do at the time. The one effect I can't forgive, even adjusting for 1989 special effects tech, is the first shot of Batman overlooking the city when he hears the mugging victim's scream. That cartoony figure and shadow is unacceptable. They couldn't just film a guy from above?

I'm a little surprised that you think the Batmobile looked flimsy. I know the prop was a fiberglass shell on a stretched chevy chassis, but if I had to describe that car's appearance in the movie, it would be a canon on wheels. Out of all the movie Batmobiles, even including the Tumbler, the 89 version most seems like it was carved out of a solid block of metal. If anything, it was a little stiff.

 

[Vortex]

Tim Burton is a great visionary but many of his movies lack great stories and emotion. I was bored silly when Batman came out and I thought Return's was terrible at the time. I have since grown to appreciate both. Without the visual's/ atmosphere and wacky character's though......they are average at best, and this can be said about almost all of his films.

 

[DarkMagic]

Also, I see what you are saying about the soundstages, and the small feeling size. It's kind of hard to convince the audience that it is a huge city, when the same central plaza keeps coming up in scenes, be it a lost family about to get mugged, a Batmobile chase scene with Joker goon cars and the cops, a mime on mob hit, a mayor's press conference, a parade and Batwing crash, etc...

I kinda had the same feeling of being closed-in watching Batman Begins' Gotham scenes too (except for the first Batmobile chase). I'm glad Nolan took to filming TDK and TDKR on real locations and off of studio set pieces a lot more.

 

[spindrift]

All part of the atmosphere and almost dream like feel (the sets in Batman) . It still is a knock out movie. REMEMBER the only previous screen Bats before this was 1966 Batman!!!!!!!!!

 

[cr0w]

That doesn't mean anything. They could have had 8 other movies before Burton's Batman and it wouldn't have changed the way the movie feels to me, the script, or the problems in general with it.

 

[Uncanny Web-Slinger]

Hot toys Batman and Joker are featured on AICN, here is a couple of Comments from the page...

"How does a toy company charging 240-260 per doll survive in this economy, I realize these are pieces of art, but I cannot imagine the market for these is sustainable in these bad times."

"Holy Crap! Why would anyone waste that kind of money on a doll?"

"Damn those Batman toys are amazing. A couple of years ago when I was still a teenager I went through a pretty serious phase of sculpting and painting my own miniatures, so when I see something like those Batman toys, it literally ____ing ASTOUNDS me that human hands could craft anything so detailed. Those things are photo-realistic. Really amazing. I could never justify the price on my budget, but hey...

I like this column, by the way. There will always be a segment of people who shout "lol dolls, ______!"(ironic on a geek community site, but I digress), but of all the things in my home, there is one thing that gets more comments and praise than anything else--from adults, chicks, kids, everyone--and its my 18" Leatherface statue. People just love it, and its a great conversation piece, as I think a lot of this stuff in the column would be."

"Hot ____ing you in the *** Toys. Between these asshats and Sideshow, you are going to need a mortgage loan to afford their ____. Anything over $150 for a statue or a figure is ____ing stupid."

"$240 hurts, But damn if those figures don't encapsulate everything I love about Batman '89."