But Keaton holds his own, playing Wayne/Batman perfectly as the opposite end of the good-evil spectrum. Bruce Wayne's a psychotic also, after all — he just holds it in most of the time. And Keaton plays him, and his alter-ego, in a perfectly controlled manner, very low-key. I must admit that Keaton wouldn't have been on my list of possible "Batman" casting contenders, but he's surprisingly good. (Along with last year's "Clean and Sober" this should firmly etch Keaton in the minds of moviegoers as an actor, rather than only a comic.)

Others in the cast who deserve mention are Kim Basinger, as Vicki Vale, the sexy object of both Wayne and the Joker's desire, and Michael Gough, who is wonderful as Wayne's butler and only friend.

The much-publicized Prince songs are terrible and rather intrusive, but Danny Elfman's score is as flamboyant and huge as the movie, perfectly complementing the action. And the sets and technical credits are fascinating from beginning to end.

As mentioned earlier, "Batman" doesn't avoid campiness — it's just another brand of camp than was proffered by the old TV series. Here, instead of brightly colored deadpan humor, we have a very dark but equally hokey approach that is just as superficial, though it leans more toward thrills than laughs.

What perhaps will be most surprising to followers of director Tim Burton is that he seems to have been so overwhelmed by the proceedings that much of the off-center charm he brought to "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" and "Beetlejuice" is absent. There are moments of offbeat humor (such as the gags with the TV anchors) that are decidedly his, but too often a reverence takes hold that seems oddly aloof and detracts from character development.

The script is very weak, scratching the surface of the implications brought into play but never really exploring the characters, which would have made it 10 times better. (One element that seems a very strange omission is when Vicki Vale learns Batman and Bruce Wayne are one and the same, which happens between scenes — off-camera!)

On the whole, however, there's enough excitement, thrills and laughs to please fans of the genre — and Nicholson just gives it all an added boost.

"Batman" is rated PG-13 for violence, along with a few profanities, a couple of vulgar jokes and implied sex.