It’s been 30 years since Tim Burton’s Batman hit theaters and showed a world a wholly different vision of the Caped Crusader than the one made famous by Adam West. The 1989 Batman’s legacy is hard to overstate. The film’s release and the ensuing “Batmania” served as a taste of things to come for our superhero movie-obsessed culture. The tone, aesthetic and music directly paved the way for Batman: The Animated Series. But there’s one thing a lot of moviegoers seem to forget. As much as Jack Nicholson’s Joker tended to dominate the conversation then and now, Michael Keaton is the true unsung hero of Batman. 30 years later, his is still the best live-action Batman of them all.
It’s understandable why Nicholson’s Joker has always hogged the spotlight. He was the A-List talent Warner Bros. needed to sell moviegoers dubious about a cinematic reboot handled by the director and star of Beetlejuice. In fact, the studio was so desperate to land Nicholson they wound up agreeing to one of the most ridiculously lucrative contracts of all time. And by his very nature, the flamboyant, scenery-chewing Joker is always going to steal the show from a grumpy, soft-spoken man in a black costume.
Source: IGN.com 30 Years Later, Michael Keaton's Batman Is Still the Best