Michael Keaton's opinion on 1989's Batman's influence is true

35 years later 1989’s Batman remains one of the greatest comic book movies ever. It doesn’t matter that it lacks the CGI of today, it didn’t need it. Tim Burton’s vision showed the world that superhero movies could be different from the comics and make fans happy. He also proved that an actor unlike the character could be one of the best. That actor was Michael Keaton. The Batman and Batman Returns star said so as Tim Burton was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (which you can see below).

Michael Keaton said, “What that [movie] spawned…there are a lot of people making a lot of money out there with their superhero movies because of his choice and his vision of what those movies could be, because he changed everything," You may not like it, but he's right.

Comic book fans lost their minds when Michael Keaton was cast as Batman. He wasn’t an action star and just came off being a goofy creep in Beetlejuice. Nevertheless, Tim Burton had faith and it paid off. Because of Burton’s vision, stars like Chris Evans (Captain America), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), and Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) were cast in high-grossing superhero movies. Like Keaton, fans were skeptical about those three performers.

Batman itself was a triumph. It came when action movies may have been at their peak, but superhero movies weren’t. Tim Burton’s movie wasn’t just an action movie. It broke the standards of the time. There wasn’t an incredibly buff hero fighting a villain with a group of former military or experienced. Michael Keaton looked like a regular guy and Joker’s crew were crazy guys off the street without many skills.

Batman wasn’t a story from the source material. Incorporating comic book stories into movies is difficult. There’s too much material to put in a two-hour film. It may be easier to take pieces of the comics and make something new. Tim Burton did this. The problem comes when too much liberty is taken and the characters aren’t like their counterparts.

This is a gift and a curse. I could talk about how some superhero movies aren’t good because they aren’t like the comics, but why? Deadpool and The Dark Knight Trilogy aren’t like the source material and no one seemed to care. There are exceptions to the rule. But, for the most part, superhero movies that do well don't cross the line between taking liberty and ignoring what made a hero or villain popular.

Other superhero movies like Christopher Reeve's Superman and Adam West's Batman did it first, but Tim Burton's Batman did it the best.