I was disappointed. The Batman is the only hero DC has who doesn't completely suck, but when he finally gets a full-on, big budget film, it sucks!

Wrong director to start with.. Batman simply isn't weird enough for Burton, and Burton is not an action director, he's an arty one who excels at black comedy. Batman, for all his grim background, is basically an action hero with gadgets -James Bond in a cowl.

Which means you need an action star to play him, not a llght comedian. Keaton stomps around the sets like a Golem or a Karloff-style monster. His suit was so built-up and heavy that he couldn't do any convincing fighting. Even Burtons' other go-to leading man, Johhny Depp, would have been an improvement. To cap it all, Keaton plays Bruce Wayne in the manner of a man whos' just been caught a glancing blow on the base of the skull with three feet of lead pipe! Bruce Wayne is psychotic, not autistic!

Nicholson gives, as always, a bravura performance, but is still badly miscast. The Joker is tall and gaunt and should have been played by Jeff Goldblum.

Whole thing was a missed opprtunity and the franchise duly made its over-long journey down the plughole. We had to wait years for Nolan and Bale to get it right.

Then we had to wait for Iron Man before they got another superhero right!