Michael Keaton was never supposed to be a superhero. It’s easy to forget, nearly 40 years removed from his casting as Batman, that he made his bones as the meat-and-potatoes front man for yuk-yuk comedies like Mr. Mom. But it was his turn as Betelgeuse, the ghost with the most (ironically his funniest role), that helped Hollywood see him for the weird and woolly deviant he was.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the new, long-awaited sequel to the Tim Burton-directed phenomenon, is only the latest of the wildly different screen experiences he’s brought to life. The following is a totally biased ranking of the actor’s 10 best movies he’s made so far in his career.
10. Cars (2006)
Cars sounds incredibly stupid in theory, just like about half of Pixar’s output during the first ten years of its existence. “What if ____ could talk?” is just another blatant attempt to cash in on the box office success of the studio’s first picture, Toy Story. (Insert “insects,” “vehicles,” or “toys” again.)
When it comes down to it, though, John Lasseter’s 2006 animated feature is a masterwork of midcentury modern design. It is a kids’ film that functions (pardon the pun) like a machine and serves as a showcase for a bygone era of remarkably successful voice acting, exemplified by Keaton’s portrayal of racing car heel Chick Hicks. (Obligatory “KA-CHIGGA!”)
9. The Other Guys (2010)
The Other Guys, the capstone of an incredible six-year run by writer/director Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, and this movie), is based on a straightforward idea: imagine if those tough-talking, death-defying policemen at the heart of countless buddy-cop movies had to deal with the consequences of their own foolishness or “heroism” in real life.
After Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg’s desk jockeys leap cinematically off a roof to their realistic, gory deaths, Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson take over the case. After spending five years working on “more important” stories, Keaton triumphantly returns to the broad comedies that first made his name as their suffering captain.
8. Toy Story 3 (2010)
Prior to Ryan Gosling donning beachwear in Barbie, Michael Keaton provided the voice of Kenneth Sean Carson, also known as Ken, in the highly anticipated Toy Story sequel. (Two more, entirely unjustified, were waiting in the wings.)
The franchise’s enduring appeal stemmed from its ability to metatextually address the passing of time and its own impending obsolescence, which fortunately had not yet materialized by 2010. Given that Keaton’s traditional roles are squat, harried everymen, this qualifies as a delightful bit of casting against type.
7. The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
At the height of the pandemic, director Aaron Sorkin’s second feature was abruptly and unceremoniously released on Netflix. Amidst an absurdly strong ensemble cast (Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Mark Ryalnce, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Frank Langella), it is an underappreciated political docudrama with a thrilling performance by Michael Keaton as LBJ’s attorney general Ramsey Clark, whose surprising empathy for a group of Vietnam protestors played a crucial role in their eventual acquittal on appeal.
6. Beetlejuice (1988)
It speaks volumes about Keaton’s extraordinary talent as a comic performer that his most famous role was what amounted to a 17-minute cameo in a film that was, until this year, a stand-alone production. (Really – that’s all the screen time he had in the original film!)
Though the film is primarily an exercise in style over substance, his distinctive physicality and belching line delivery as the self-described “bio-exorcist” hired by a pair of ghosts to rid their home of pesky mortals nevertheless make it worthwhile.
5. Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Birdman is an exercise in maximalism, cacophonous with conspicuous effort from its composer (Antonio Sánchez), co-stars (Edward Norton and Emma Stone), and director (Alejandro González Iñárritu).
With a lot of the acting done in busy, demonstrative close-up to a score of rat-a-tat jazz drums, the film appears to have been shot in one continuous take. It tells the story of a former cinematic superhero actor (wink, wink) taking on a self-serious Broadway play. Amid all of this chaos, Keaton is a singular presence in his quiet, a once-serious artist battling an unwavering god complex.
4. Batman (1989)
There are too many iconic Batman movies to mention here. However, Keaton’s strange and devious turn in the suit had such a profound effect that George Clooney and Val Kilmer, his two immediate successors, were forced to imitate his movements. (It was not until 2005 that fans could replicate the new model created by Christian Bale’s stiff-necked, guttural Dark Knight.)
Keaton’s Bruce Wayne, who exists in a transitional realm between noir and cartoon, is a perfect match for Tim Burton’s style and a great foil for Jack Nicholson’s Joker (who is essentially just Nicholson).
3. Batman Returns (1992)
Keaton does best when he plays opposite a female co-star who’s equally petal to the metal (as with Winona Ryder or Pam Grier). Among the few weaknesses of the first Batman, the most noticeable one is his lack of chemistry with Vicki Vale, the self-consciously voluptuous character played by Kim Basinger.
In the 1992 Burton sequel, Keaton gets to play not just with Danny DeVito’s flawless Penguin (who is basically just Danny DeVito with fins), but also with Michelle Pfeiffer’s sinuous, kabuki-inflected Catwoman. Pfeiffer is flawless because you can never tell if she is being serious—that is basically Keaton as Batman.
2. Spotlight (2015)
From 2015 to 2021, Keaton starred in a number of high-profile historical dramas; Spotlight is by far the best of them all. Keaton is always virtuous and authentic in his role as editor overseeing the Boston Globe’s investigation into sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, just like the movie. The film’s director, Tom McCarthy, moves with an agility that pays homage to William Friedkin as he skillfully navigates crowded newsrooms and foggy New England streets, but his austerity does not extend to its crisp visual flourishes.
In fact, Keaton here is the obvious counterpart to Jason Robards’ Ben Bradlee in his institutionally minded restraint combined with a burning desire to get the job done. There is also the obvious allusion to All the President’s Men. (That John Slattery plays Bradlee’s son in the film only drives the comparison home.)
1. Jackie Brown (1997)
The follow-up to Quentin Tarantino’s blockbuster hit Pulp Fiction is a multifaceted film that pays homage to Blaxploitation, adapts Elmore Leonard, and remains a completely coherent part of Tarantino’s shoot-’em-up catalog. In the lawless, immoral world of Jackie Brown, Keaton plays ATF agent Ray Nicolette, or what amounts to the law.
The movie is deep and satisfying, and Keaton, as he does in so many of his productions, is the epitome of humility by serving as its support system. As versatile as any celebrity of the last forty years, he can play both a leading role and a character.
by DigitalTrends
