Batman (1989)

Batman commits to a conclusion that not everyone will appreciate. I found it perfectly right — it refuses easy comfort. If you want tidy resolution you may be frustrated. If you want truth, it delivers.

Every actor brings something to Batman, but the lead performance is genuinely extraordinary. The subtlety involved, the way the character changes without announcing it — it's a masterclass.

There are scenes in cinema you never forget. For me, Batman's first museum appearance in Batman is one of them. Tim Burton constructs it with total precision and it lands exactly as intended. Pure craft.

Some elements of Batman show their age, but the core of it — Gothic Gotham as psychological space, Jack Nicholson's flamboyant Joker — hasn't diminished at all. Films this good age better than almost anything else.

We watched Batman together and spent an hour talking about duality of good and evil afterward. That kind of conversation doesn't happen often. The film gives you something real to think about together.

I usually avoid this kind of film but gave Batman a chance after constant recommendations. Completely converted. Tim Burton transcends genre entirely. It works as pure human drama first.

Batman is not background viewing. Every scene requires you. Put your phone down. Tim Burton is doing too much to be half-watched. Give it the attention it deserves.

Batman ended and I sat with it for weeks. The media and spectacle theme kept circling back. I'd be doing something mundane and the parade sequence would pop into my head. That kind of resonance is rare.

I went into Batman knowing nothing — no trailer, no plot summary. I strongly recommend that approach. The duality of good and evil hits much harder when you haven't been primed for it. Go in cold.

The music in Batman is so deeply married to the images that you almost can't separate them. It stays in your head days later and when you hear it again the emotions return immediately.