8 Michael Keaton Movies That Remind You He IS Batman

By Ian Boucher /

5. Pacific Heights

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€œRough night with that Bat contraption?€ This entry on the list is another great moment of filmography foreshadowing. Or is it retrospective? Not only did future superhero alumni Neil Spisak and Mako participate in this movie, not only did Hans Zimmer do the score (with at least one cue similar to what would one day become Bane€™s theme€”it€™s there if you listen hard for it, at least near the end!), and not only does Tracey Walter provide a great cameo, but the leading man of this movie is Matthew Modine. Yes, Matthew Modine! This combination is unbelievable. What were the chances of this happening? Really. I was shocked when I first found out about it. The movie is mostly (but not completely) your average domestic thriller, and it also does some very uncanny things related to Batman. Pacific Heights was released in 1990, a year after Keaton€™s first appearance as Batman, and I can€™t help but wonder€”even without all of its collaborators who couldn€™t have possibly known where their careers would lead€”was it capitalizing on the massive hit that was Batman? Keaton€™s overall timing and mannerisms are mostly very different than they are in Batman and his other work, but there are many shots that position Keaton in darkness. He broods, watches, and listens, and his supreme loneliness is emphasized.

€œIs it time to visit the Monarch Theatre again already?€ Most of all, when Michael Keaton first comes face-to-face with the future Deputy Police Commissioner of Gotham City, he acts like a harmless, amicable, and very rich worldly businessman, and his car is black€”with power windows that, as he activates with his car security while walking away (not looking back), make you feel like he is putting up the shields on his Batmobile. Sure, it emphasizes its own point in the movie, but still. Also, they go into the house through the garage. Just saying. And is it just me, but does another actor appearing at the end of the movie resemble and sound a good amount like Christian Bale? This movie definitely represents some fourth-dimensional puzzle plot from the Twilight Zone. Who says time travel hasn€™t already been invented? Someone clearly slipped a script from the future into the readers€™ mailboxes at the time and infiltrated the production.