Batman: Year One

Batman: Year One is a 1989 superhero film, based on the four-issue story arc of the same name printed in 1987. It is the first installment of Warner Bros.' initial Batman film series. The film stars Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker, alongside Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Corley, Billy Dee Williams, Jerry Hall, Michael Gough and Jack Palance. The film takes place early in the title character's war on crime, and depicts a battle with his nemesis the Joker.

Plot
As Gotham City approaches its bicentennial, Mayor Borg orders district attorney Harvey Dent and police commissioner Gillian B. Loeb to make the city safer. Meanwhile, reporter Alexander Knox and photojournalist Vicki Vale begin to investigate rumors of a vigilante nicknamed "Batman" who is targeting the city's criminals.

Batman's alter-ego is Bruce Wayne. In flashbacks, Bruce and his parents were walking home from a show. He was the map holder, which his dad found embarrassing because they looked like tourists. Bruce was almost hit on by a prostitute, but Martha pushed her out of the way and Thomas pulled him away. Bruce and his family ended up taking a shortcut through an alleyway, where they were mugged by a young Jack Napier and a young Carl Grissom. Unlike what Grissom expected, Napier gunned down Bruce's parents causing the infant boy to collapse in pain. When Grissom flees, he tells Napier to come with him and Napier decides to spare Bruce and leaves saying: "see you around kid." Batman confronts two muggers named Nick and Eddie and is able to subdue them. He disappears into the night not before ordering Nick to tell everyone who he is after holding Nick over the edge of the building's roof.

At a fundraiser for the bicentennial in Wayne Manor, Bruce meets and falls for Vale, and the two begin a romantic relationship. However, the evening is cut short as Bruce is alerted to Lieutenant Bullock's sudden departure due to police business and leaves to investigate as Batman. Bullock has been informed by Charlie that Napier was cleaning Ace Chemicals. Excited by this, Bullock believed that if Napier was captured alive, then Dent would offer him a deal and Napier would testify against Grissom, thus sending the crime lord to prison. However, Bullock was shocked that Eckhardt, who works at his precinct, was in charge of the police and left with Charlie not before ordering him to forget to tell Loeb about this since Bullock didn't trust him.

Years later, Carl Grissom has become a power crime lord and Jack Napier has become his right-hand man. Napier conspires to murder Grissom and takeover his criminal organization. However, corrupt Detective Max Eckhardt discovers Napier has been involved with his mistress Alicia and informs Grissom of it with evidence to support him. Grissom and Eckhardt work together to engineer Napier's in a raid at Ace Chemicals. Grissom manipulates Napier into going there to steal documents, however, Napier discovers he has been set up upon discovering that the safe is empty and due to police presence. Grissom's plan is foiled with the sudden arrival of Lieutenant Bullock. Bullock has deduced Napier was being set up by Grissom upon seeing Eckhardt and orders Napier to be captured alive. Batman arrives and, in a struggle, Napier is knocked into a vat of chemicals. Batman escapes and Napier is presumed dead.

Napier emerges from the vat, but is left disfigured with chalk white skin, emerald green hair, and a rictus grin. He kills Grissom and usurps authority over his criminal empire while renaming himself as the Joker. When the Joker gathered together all of Carl Grissom's crime lords together for a meeting after Grissom's murder, Rupert Thorne, one of the crime lords demanded why he hadn't heard from Grissom, which caused Mario Falcone to question Joker as well. After Joker killed Falcone with a powerful Joy Buzzer, and, as Joker's Goons, who were led by Bob, marched in, Thorne accused the Joker of being insane and wanted to leave. That request was granted, as Bob escorted the crime lords out the room. Later, Thorne sought to challenge Joker's plan, and went to Gotham City Hall to file an affidavit that stated that Grissom had instead given Thorne all of his businesses. Thorne, his lawyer, and his over-muscled bodyguards then exit City Hall. In answer to reporters' questions, Thorne stated that Grissom had asked him, as a personal favor, to take over his operations until he returned. Thorne's confirmed that, and told the press that Grissom's signature was perfectly legitimate. The Joker and his mimes suddenly pushed their way to Thorne. Joker explained that he had watched Grissom's dead hand sign the statement with his own blood with a certain quill pen. Joker then pulled out a ridiculously large quill pen that must have been four feet long, then ripped off his hat, and showed a horrified Thorne his hair and face underneath. Joker presented himself as Ruppie's "Uncle Bingo", then hurled the steel-tipped pen directly at Thorne. Thorne then fell, and held at the unlikely weapon that had sliced through his throat. Thorne's lawyer and his men then fled with the screaming crowd, as the Joker's mimes opened fire with machine guns that were taken out of their satchels. Bruce then leaves surprised by the fact that Napier is still alive and Vicki becomes concerned about Bruce's behavior after seeing it at City Hall.

The Joker terrorizes Gotham City by lacing hygiene products with "Smilex", a deadly chemical which causes victims to die laughing with the same maniacal grin as the Joker. Bullock and Charlie witness Batman save an old woman from a runaway truck. Charlie holds Batman at gunpoint while Bullock is momentarily dazed, but Batman disarms her and flees to an abandoned building. Claiming the building has been scheduled for demolition, Loeb orders a bomb to be dropped on it, forcing Batman into the fortified basement, where he abandons his belt as it catches fire. A SWAT team led by trigger-happy Sergeant Flass is sent in and attempts to trap Batman in the basement. After tranquilizing Flass, Batman dodges bullets as Flass' team opens fire on him, barely managing to survive after two bullet wounds. Enraged as the team’s carelessly fired bullets injure several people outside, Batman beats the team into submission and, after using a device to attract the bats of his cave to him, he flees amid the chaos. Later, when Dent and Bullock are meeting to discuss about the situation with the Joker, Batman arrives to give them information from from his research on Smilex that will allow the city's residents to avoid exposure to the toxin. He even reveals to them that Jack Napier is the Joker and Bullock begins to blame Batman for everything that has happened in Gotham City believing that if he hadn't dropped Napier into the vat of chemicals, then he would never have become the Joker and this anarchy would never have happened.

Bruce visits Vicki at her apartment, prepared to tell her about his alter-ego. The Joker interrupts their meeting, asking Bruce, "Have you Ever danced with the devil by the pale moonlight?" before shooting him. Bruce uses a bended serving tray as body armor and plays dead. He remembers that the mugger who killed his parents asked the same question, and realizes that Napier was his parents' killer. Vicki is brought to the Batcave by Bruce's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, who has been coaxing their relationship because Vicki brings out Bruce's human side. After telling her that he cannot focus on their relationship with the Joker terrorizing Gotham,

Joker is enraged that Batman was still alive and took it out on Alicia, who was trying to seduce him. Joker then shot Alicia despite Alicia pleading for him not to claiming she was pregnant with their child. However, Joker refused to listen to her and still pulled the trigger. After Alicia was killed, Joker ordered Bob to dump her body in the same vat of acid that Bob used to dispose Grissom's body at Ace Chemicals.

Bruce departs as Batman to destroy the Ace plant. Meanwhile, the Joker lures the citizens of Gotham to a parade with the promise of free money, but while throwing cash at the crowd as promised, also attacks them with Smilex gas released from his giant parade balloons. Batman arrives and tows the balloons above the clouds with the Batwing. The Joker shoots the Batwing using a long-barreled gun, causing it to crash, and takes Vicki to the top of a cathedral.

Batman, who survived the crash, fends off the Joker's remaining men despite his injuries, and confronts the Joker. Batman reveals himself to be Bruce Wayne and reveals his mentally unstable side to the Joker, who becomes disturbed by Bruce's behavior. Bruce produces produces a bomb of his own, and threatens to blow them both up. Terrified, the Joker flees and falls to his death from the the cathedral and the bomb turns to be just a toy.

Dent announces that the police have arrested the Joker's men and unveils the Bat-Signal. Harvey Dent reads a note from Batman, promising that he will defend Gotham whenever crime strikes again which displeases Bullock. Vicki is taken to Wayne Manor by Alfred, who tells her that Bruce will be a little late. She responds that she is not surprised, as Batman looks at the signal's projection, standing watch over the city.

Cast

 * Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne / Batman
 * Jack Nicholson as Jack Napier / The Joker
 * Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale
 * Robert Wuhl as Alexander Knox
 * Pat Corley as Lieutenant Eddie Gordon
 * Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent
 * Michael Gough as Alfred Pennyworth
 * Jack Palance as Carl Grissom
 * Jerry Hall as Alicia Hunt
 * Tracey Walter as Bob the Goon
 * Lee Wallace as Mayor Borg
 * William Hootkins as Det. Max Eckhardt
 * John Dair as Rupert Thorne
 * Christopher Fairbank as Nick
 * George Roth as Eddie
 * Hugo E. Blick as Young Jack Napier
 * Adrian Meyers as Young Bruce Wayne
 * David Baxt as Thomas Wayne
 * Sharon Holm as Martha Wayne
 * Joe Morton as Charlie