Michael Keaton can make a man seem perfectly ordinary until the patter speeds up or the temper shifts. We rate his abrasive comedy and his quieter character work; the films reviving his old parts need better scripts.
Fi1m perspective
In Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024), Michael Keaton delivers the patter too quickly for anyone to object. The mould and striped suit are back, but the pleasure is in the speed: he can make a conversation feel as though it has been taken over. Tim Burton uses him sparingly, and a script juggling five plots means the fun arrives in bursts. Keaton is good company whenever he appears, though O’Hara’s Delia gets the sharper lines and is the stronger reason to watch.
His comedy breakthrough came with Night Shift (1982) and Mr. Mom (1983). Burton’s Beetlejuice (1988) and Batman (1989) made him a star, but Clean and Sober (1988) shows how early the move towards drama began. The resurgence through Birdman (2014) and Spotlight (2015) was therefore no sudden change of occupation. In the former, he finds the hurt beneath a faded action star’s ambition; in the latter, he works through smaller, naturalistic details.
Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown (1997) gives him a smaller place, as Ray Nicolette, one of the men with badges putting pressure on Pam Grier’s flight attendant. Our enthusiasm for that film rests chiefly with Grier and Robert Forster, who get its quietest scenes. Keaton fits into the ensemble without needing to be its chief attraction; we recommend it ahead of either of his costume revivals.
In The Flash (2023), his grumpy Bruce Wayne is one of the reasons the first hour works. In Paul D. Austerberry’s darkened Wayne Manor, his Bruce Wayne seems quite content with the curtains closed. We felt the old affection when he put the suit back on, because Alexandra Byrne’s heavy armour makes him move like someone remembering its weight. Wallfisch’s quotation of the old Batman theme helps, though the callbacks and computer effects eventually crowd out the story. Give him a new character next time, and a script that deserves him.
Biography
Michael Keaton is an American actor. Born Michael John Douglas on 5 September 1951 in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, he studied speech at Kent State University before beginning his career in stand-up comedy and television.
He gained recognition in the 1980s for comedic roles in Night Shift (1982), Mr. Mom (1983) and Beetlejuice (1988). He achieved wider fame as Batman in Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). Other credits include Clean and Sober (1988), Jackie Brown (1997) and voice work in Cars (2006) and Toy Story 3 (2010).
Keaton experienced a resurgence with his performance in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014). He has since appeared in Spotlight (2015), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) as Adrian Toomes, The Flash (2023) as Bruce Wayne / Batman and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) reprising the title role.
