While I consider this one of the lesser Tim Burton joints, it's still a very good movie and better than everything he's done post Sleepy Hollow. Okay, Big Fish is good too and Sweeney Todd and Frankenweenie are solid.
Burton tried his best to make this movie his own, and almost succeeded. Studio imposed elements are evident. Not many people know this was a fairly troubled production. There were many rewrites and the third act was written on the set.
Joker being the killer of Bruce's parents was a last minute addition. Plot point the so-called purists love to bring up when they deride the movie, but are completely OK with Ra's al Ghul being Bruce's mentor. If you want to argue that Ra's had no effect on Bruce becoming Batman, good luck with those mental gymnastics.
The most jarring studio imposed element is the soundtrack by Prince. I highly doubt that Burton is a Prince fan (he isn't).
Burton's familiar aura of cynicism is present, but unfortunately subdued.
Now onto the good stuff. Film is first and foremost a visual medium, the old "Show, don't tell". A film language other directors should use more often but almost never do. Psychological aspects of Batman and his arch enemy Joker are there, you just have to look. Two sides of the same coin.
Jack Nicholson's Joker is a jovial psychopath and most importantly he's unpredictable. He will do things at a whim, without much care of the consequences. Why did he shoot Bob? Because he felt like it. Michael Keaton is playing sort of a "straight man" role. I say sort of because he's just as or even more insane than the villains he's chasing, he just hides it better (explored even more in Batman Returns).
The movie avoids the overused and clichéd Hero's Journey narrative structure to its benefit, and as a result it feels fresh.
Let's not turn this into an essay.
The Art Deco Gotham City looks amazing and the sense of timelessness, while effective isn't quite there yet (it's better achieved in Returns).
