Random Ways Tim Burton's Batman Is Better Than Dark Knight (14 items)

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  (#1) One Word: Prince

  Not only did The Purple One give the world "Batdance," but he also wrote an entire album based on the film. Not only that, but Batman fans would be happy to know that in the liner notes of the album, Prince attributes each song to a character from the film. Not only did Nolan's films lack synergistic soundtrack albums, but the pure power of Prince here, in top form, cannot be matched.
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  (#2) Gotham Is Actually Gothic

  There is little debate that Christopher Nolan's take on Caped Crusader was intended to be a more realistic and grounded take than previous outings. When it comes to the setting, however, there is something lost in translation. Burton's Gotham is a character all on its own and practically drips with the influences of German Expressionism.

  Production designer Anton Furst said, "It’s like Hell had burst through the pavement and kept on growing." No wonder he won an Academy Award for his work creating the city. 
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  (#3) The Man Behind the Mask

  Arguably (and people do like to argue about this), there hasn't been a Bruce Wayne as compelling and as the one Michael Keaton played over the course of two films. Even though others may have looked the part, none have matched the complexity of the character and the deranged determination in those eyes like Keaton did. Christian Bale's performance definitely depicts elements of the character that had never been realized before onscreen, but come on, was he ever having fun with the role at all?

  While Nolan's films build a complex psychological profile to explain why Bruce Wayne would ever dress up as a bat, Burton's somehow conveys it in one moment, when Wayne confronts the Joker, shouting, "You wanna get nuts?! Come on, let's get nuts!"
  
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  (#4) Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman Is Insane

  Nolan's take on the feline thief is a little bland. Does anyone remember anything in particular about Anne Hathaway's performance? For as over the top and disconnected from the comics as Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman is, she is completely arresting and it's impossible to pull your attention away from her when she's onscreen. Her performance is charismatic and boldly sexual, especially in a film that could just be a vessel for selling action figures.
  
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  (#5) Chicks Dig the Car

  Perhaps one of the most memorable onscreen vehicles of all time: Anton Furst's Batmobile. Never before or since have audiences got a car that as sleek and impossibly cool as this version of the car. Other versions were either garish or too militarized to be this cool. The Tumbler would obviously be more fun to drive, but its design lacks a striking silhouette and battiness of this vehicle.
  
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  (#6) The Heady Days of Hype

  For better or worse, there was certainly a lot of hype surrounding Nolan's The Dark Knight. However, it didn't match the fever pitch going into Batman. Fans were shaving the Batman logo into their freakin' hair! Since these were pre-Internet days, there was more excitement undiluted by online tribalism and criticism. The 1989 film is also notable for being the first time that fandom of this level leaked into the mainstream and impacted pop culture to this degree. 
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  (#7) Where Does He Get Those Toys?

  It's no secret that the Toy Biz figures released in promotion of the Batman film kind of sucked in comparison (remember, this was a time when He-Man, G.I. Joe, and TMNT ruled the toy shelves). However, they are light-years ahead of the utter garbage that was released for Nolan's films. Sure, the Movie Masters figures have their charm but it stops there. 
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  (#8) New and Improved Joker Products!

  Look, Heath Ledger's Joker is basically untouchable. So much so, in fact, that it's easy to forget the long shadow cast by Jack Nicholson for his portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime. Thought irreplaceable for decades, Nicholson's Joker felt like it was pulled straight from a Brian Bolland comic. This version, a criminal enforcer turned homicidal performance artist, still has an exuberant edge that only Nicholson can provide.
  
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  (#9) Danny Elfman's Score

  Think about Batman for a minute. Did the theme from Batman just play in your head? Danny Elfman composed the Batman song for the ages, one that Hans Zimmer's wall-of-sound scores in the Dark Knight Trilogy just can't match. Even at its most delirious highs, Zimmer and James Newton Howard's music pales in comparison to the charging, anthemic Batman score that articulates something essential about the character.
  
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  (#10) It Led to Batman: The Animated Series

  After the massive success of 1989's Batman and leading into Batman Returns, Warner Bros. wanted a Saturday morning cartoon that fit into the world established by the movies. Enter the now legendary Batman: The Animated Series. The show deserves a list of it's own for all its contributions to the Batman lore but odds are that if you are reading this list, the show's merits require no repetition.
  
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  (#11) Batplane

  Sure, the Bat from Dark Knight Rises is cool, but when compared to the Batplane from Batman, there is a clear winner. Once again, the design is simply more striking. Also, that scene where Batman flies it above the clouds and hangs over the moon for just one perfect moment? Soooooo good. 
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  (#12) Goons, Goons, Goons

  Yes, there was that awesome heist at the beginning of The Dark Knight, but those goons can't hold a candle to the thugs of Batman. There was sword guy, big bald guy, karate sunglasses guy, and Bob! Oh, Bob, you may be gone, but you'll never be forgotten.
  
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  (#13) Bob Kane's Involvment

  Regardless of the amount Bob Kane contributed to the character, he was kind of like the Stan Lee of Batman. In fact, he even drew that picture of Batman at the beginning of the flick. Kane's absence from the later installments of the franchise severed some of that feeling of connection to the Golden Age of comics. 
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  (#14) Spoooookiness

  To be fair, Batman is the last of the spooky Batman films. Returns was just a horror show at times, the Schumacher films are jokes, and Nolan's films are serious yet grounded. No, it is Tim Burton's Batman that brings the eerie, creepy and dark aspects of the character to the forefront. 
  

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