10 Things From Michael Keaton’s Batman Movies That Have Aged Poorly

Michael Keaton’s Batman will always be iconic, but in truth, there are several things about his movie appearances that haven’t aged so well over time. Though he wasn’t the first Batman actor to wear the cape and cowl in live-action, Michael Keaton is often credited as the first of the “serious” Batmen, establishing the public perception of the dark crusader of vengeance he’s known as now. This is quite ironic considering Michael Keaton’s comedic repertoire at the time of his casting.

Some fans were apprehensive that Keaton could pull off a serious Batman, but he left an enduring legacy as a character worthy of discussion decades later. That being said, the effects of those decades can be felt in some elements of his time as The Dark Knight, and parts of his recent return in The Flash have already aged poorly in just a couple of years. Even if many of these elements may be no particular fault of Keaton himself, they’re worth discussing when it comes to his Batman persona.

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10

Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne Hair Doesn’t Exactly Scream Billionaire Playboy

A small detail, but a hard one to ignore

The wardrobe is one element of the original 1989 movie that’s quite audacious by today’s standards. It’s actually so distractingly 80s that it can be hard to take seriously at times, and that goes double for Micheal Keaton’s appearance as Bruce Wayne. In particular, Keaton’s hair leaves a lot to be desired for a supposed billionaire playboy.

Keaton has been cursed with a deeply receding hairline for about as long as he’s been a famous actor, and his hairstylist in Batman didn’t do him any favors. The poofy column of hair arising from his crown ending in a mullet-like fixture at the back of his neck doesn’t exactly scream Gotham City’s most eligible bachelor by today’s standards. Even as far as the 80s were concerned, Bruce Wayne’s look in the original films could have used some sprucing up.

9

Michael Keaton’s Batman Is Willing To Kill

And even takes some sick pleasure in it

One thing movies have infamously gotten wrong about Batman is his lassiez-faire attitude when it comes to killing his opponents. In the comics, Batman’s no-kill rule is an infamous tenet of his character, but it took a long time for a live-action film to represent this faithfully in a serious story. Between the loophole killings of Christian Bale and the flagrant massacres of Ben Affleck, it wasn’t until Robert Pattinson in The Batman that the Caped Crusader got to go a whole movie without objectively killing someone.

This precedent was sadly set by Michael Keaton in the first Batman, dispatching of criminals without much regard for their well-being or safety and cold-heartedly killing the Joker by grappling him to a gargoyle, causing him to plummet to his death. In Batman Returns, he’s downright gleeful about his murders, grimacing with pleasure after detonating bombs, knocking thugs down long falls through sewer shafts, and lighting them on fire with the Batmobile’s afterburner. Keaton’s Batman may as well have been The Punisher.

8

Michael Keaton’s Batman Doesn’t Have Much Of An Arc

He’s Batman, and that never really changes

The best part of any hero-focused story is the classic heroic journey, which sees the subject irrefutably changed by their ordeal. In the case of Micheal Keaton’s Batman, the most significant change for him happens far before the story starts with the classic origin story of Bruce Wayne’s parents being gunned down in front of him at such a young age. From there, Batman’s character doesn’t progress all that much.

It could be argued that his encounter and final revenge against his parents’ murder in Batman or his return to crime-fighting after many years of retirement in The Flash are solid arcs for Keaton’s Batman. But it’s hard not to feel like there isn’t something missing when watching his character move through his movie appearances, mostly just reacting to events as they happen and saving the day from the latest supervillain. More modern films have since put much more thought into Batman being a more dynamic character who does change.

7

Michael Keaton’s Chemistry With Vicki Vale

Chemistry is hard to come by in Keaton’s movies

Hair notwithstanding, Michael Keaton’s comedic chops admittedly did make him quite the suave and charming Bruce Wayne. However, this didn’t always translate to his love life, with many of his Batman romance options feeling half-baked at best. In particular, Vicki Vale in the first movie feels like a very shoehorned-in story element only there to check off some imaginary Hollywood box practically mandated by the studio.

Granted, Keaton does have much better chemistry with Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman, and watching the two flirt both in and out of costume can be quite scintillating. But even here, other Catwoman romances would go on to eclipse them, with both Christian Bale and Robert Pattinson having a far more believable relationship with Selina Kyle. Human relationships in general don’t seem to be a strong suit of Michael Keaton’s Batman, let alone romance.

6

Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne Sleeps With A Drunk Vicki Vale

A skin-crawling creepy moment in Batman’s movie history

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Speaking of Bruce Wayne’s relationship with Vicki Vale, their early courting period soon leads to one of the single most uncomfortable moments in Batman movie history. At one point, during a high-class party, Vicki Vale ends up getting quite drunk, sucking face with Bruce Wayne while clearly not in control of her own actions. The two end up sleeping together, leading to some awkward results when Bruce tries to distance Vicki from his personal life.

As scummy as ghosting someone the morning after is, it doesn’t even come close to comparing to sleeping with someone who is clearly drunk in the first place. It could be argued that Bruce himself was also a little tipsy in this scene, but considering Batman’s constant vigilance and inability to waste precious crime-fighting hours nursing a hangover, it’s unlikely that was the case. At the very least, Bruce and Vicki clearly weren’t on similar levels of intoxication, calling some uncomfortable truths to their first encounter into question.

5

The Stiff Bat-Suit

Clearly an early iteration of a serious Bat-Suit

With only the goofy eyebrowed look of Adam West’s Baman and the awkward floppy ears of the live-action Batmen before him, Tim Burton was truly flying by the seat of his pants when it came to the design of the first “serious” movie Bat-Suit. The look is still iconic today, from the sleek all-black color scheme with yellow accents to the intimidating sculpts of the fake muscles and mask. However, the costume also had an infamous limitation regarding the latter.

Michael Keaton wasn’t able to turn his head while wearing the Bat-Suit without damaging the costume due to the stiff rubber making up its construction. As a result, whenever he has to turn to look at something, he ends up having to shift his whole torso in one direciton, making for an awkward visual that’s hard not to constantly pick up on once it’s noticed. Keaton’s Bat-Suit may be incredible looking in still imagery, but in motion, it’s undeniably an early prototype of a functioning Bat-Suit.

4

Michael Keaton’s Batman Is Now The Least Physically Imposing By Far

Keaton doesn’t stack up well against more recent Batmen

Custom image by Richard Craig

Perhaps another reason comic fans were first apprehensive to hear about Keaton’s casting for Batman is the actor’s relatively short stature. In the comics, Batman is supposed to be an imposing figure of at least 6 feet tall, sometimes laughably more than that depending on the version. Yet at 5’9′, Keaton was and still is by far the shortest-statured World’s Greatest Detective to ever hit theaters.

Every subsequent Batman has been at least 5’11” or taller, a superficial stat that shouldn’t matter but ultimately does work in to their intimidation factor. Even Adam West’s Batman stood at a proud 6’2″ sans ears, perhaps making him a more menacing figure in real life than Keaton in full Batman regalia. It may be a petty point of contention, but like the stiff neck of his suit, it’s something that’s hard to get out of the mind after noticing once, with plenty of camera tricks used to hide Keaton’s height suddenly becoming more obvious.

3

The Cartoonish Villains

Batman never has a truly captivating foil

Warner Bros.

One problem that extends beyond the Michael Keaton Batman duology and throughout the entire initial quadrilogy of Batman films is the lack of a good, serious villain. Tim Burton’s gothic whimsical style is perhaps the most aggressively noticeable among the villains he concocts for the Dark Knight to go up against. From the squawking mutant version of The Penguin to the hilariously sexualized Catwoman, Keaton’s Batman never really has a worthy foe that can match his screen presence.

The closest anyone comes is obviously Jack Nicholson’s Joker, who is admittedly entertaining for a first take on the famous DC killer clown. He’s mysterious, alluring, and intimidating at first, but loses much of his stage presence in the first film after prancing around a museum tipping over expensive vases to the sound of a boombox blasting Prince. Later actors to play the Joker would sadly blow Nicholson’s version clean out of the water, leaving something to be desired in the protagonist department.

2

Michael Keaton’s Batman CGI In The Flash Is Distractingly Bad

The Flash aged poorly in a very short time span

Despite releasing so recently in 2023, the DCEU film The Flash has already aged exceptionally poorly. Essentially, the CGI effects of The Flash were laughably underbaked, looking like something from 20 years ago the moment the film hit theaters. This is especially egregious when it comes to putting Michael Keaton’s Batman back into the action.

It feels almost disrespectful of Keaton’s legacy to see an awkwardly-animated digital stunt double flipping around in fights, attaching bombs to Kryptonians in equally sterile CGI environments. In his introduction as an old man in Wayne Manor, Keaton is given far more stunt double work and practical effects, something that wouldn’t have gone remiss later on. As it stands, the poor special effects of The Flash leave an unfortunate fallout over Keaton’s time as Batman.

1

Michael Keaton Is One Of The Flash’s Many Cringeworthy Cameos

Perhaps he would have been better off staying retired

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The rubbery CGI action imitating Michael Keaton’s likeness in The Flash is far from the only issue with his inclusion in the film. That is to say, Keaton isn’t the only one who returns as an awkward digital homunculus as The Flash explores multiple alternate realities. In fact, many past or would-be Superman actors and even George Clooney’s Batman are all part of the carnival of cameos The Flash devolves into by its final act.

By making Keaton just one face out of many, it dilutes the staying power of his legacy, even if he is a far greater character than other famous casting nods. It’s hard to deny that bringing Keaton back as a haggard, but retired Bruce Wayne mentoring a younger Terry McGinnis in a live-action Batman Beyond movie would have been a far better send-off than The Flash. Sadly, this last gasp of a dying franchise will likely remain Keaton’s final Batman role forever.

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