Not qualified. Haven't seen it yet. I've got it on my NetFlix queue for when it's released on DVD.

But—I've been a Batman fan since I was about eight years old. Preferred him to Superman, partly because Batman was not (contrary to popular belief) a Superhero. He was just a normal (!?) human being who spent his nights cruising the roof-tops and back alleys in a costume and mask, as a vigilante law enforcer, and as such, other than being a well-honed athlete, he had no super-powers or special advantages like Superman did. Until the "invention" of Kryptonite, Superman was just too invulnerable, which had become something of a problem (undercut the excitement from the possibility that Superman might actually lose!), and so it had to be introduced. Anyway, Batman was my costumed hero of choice.

I hated, loathed, and despised the 1960s Batman television show. They were mocking one of my boyhood heroes!

I had some real misgivings when the Tim Burton version came out and I learned that Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice, Mr. Mom) had been cast as Bruce Wayne/Batman, I thought Burton's propeller beanie must have screwed itself into his brain. What the hell was he thinking!??

But the visuals in the ads looked good, and I decided to see it. Barbara wasn't particularly interested, but Nora, a friend of ours who collects comic books and graphic novels wanted to see it with someone, so I went with her.

Nora and I had the same feeling about the casting of Keaton, but once the movie got under way, we both agreed that the casting—casting against type—was bloody brilliant! Keaton, we felt, really brought it off beautifully.

We both thought Nicholson was a snort, and his portrayal of the Joker was good, but he did camp it up a bit, and he wasn't quite the Joker that I remembered as a kid.

I saw the sequel, Batman Returns, with Keaton again as Batman, along with Danny DeVito as the Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. Once again, a pretty good job, I thought. Both the Penguin and Catwoman were a lot grittier than in the comic books, which was all to the good.

One role that shouldn't be forgotten in these two movies was that of Alfred Pennyworth, the Wayne family butler, played by veteran British actor Michael Gough. A sort of stalwart, steadying influence on the disturbed young man that he had raised after his parents had been killed. I especially like the touch in the first movie when Alfred, who thought Vicki Vale was just what Bruce Wayne needed to steady him and steer him into some kind of normal life, took it upon himself to usher her down into the bat cave while Bruce was sitting there at the computer—revealing Batman's true identity to her. And then, the subsequent conversation between the two of them ("Some people carry a briefcase to work. I wear a cape."). The indication here was that, unlike in the comic books, these characters might actually grow.

Maybe I got "Batmanned out," or something, but I couldn't summon enough interest to see the rest of the series, especially when Keaton was replace first with Val Kilmer and then George Clooney. From what I hear, I haven't missed much.

I saw Batman Begins on DVD, and franky, it was such a hodge-podge of speculative and highly detailed back-story and armchair psychoanalysis that I can't actually remember it very well. It certainly wasn't the Batman I grew up with. A friend loaned me the DVD, and I'm going to see if I can borrow it again. For the life of me, I can't remember much about it.

I'm really dubious of the current spate of back-stories on both Batman and Superman (the television series "Smallville," each episode of which a friend of mine insists on recounting to me in minute detail!). I sometimes wonder if this is yet another symptom of creative atrophy in the movie and television industry and an apparent inability to come up with original stories about new characters. Another symptom is the plague of re-makes of classic movies of yesteryear.

If I hear that someone plans to remake Casablanca, I shall go to Hollywood or wherever and, singing joyous hymns and anthems as I do so, I shall strangle the bugger with my bare hands!

Don Firth