Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Getting started with talking about Batman...
Hello? Okay. So, there's a recent development going on within my group of friends that concern our favorite caped crusader crusader/world's greatest detective/dark knight: Which Batman is better? So now, we're taking jabs at different strengths and flaws of the Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan Batmans. So far, it's going weirdly...
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DO you feel that people only like the Nolan Films because of Heath Ledger's performance of The Joker? Did you feel that Batman Begins was half as entertaining as Burton's first Batman film?
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try to not take sides here; First, I'd like to say Tim Burton did a good job with his take on Batman and he definitely deserves credit for doing justice for him by providing the proper grim and dark atmosphere, and how he made Gotham really bleak and crime-ridden. Nolan did a great job bringing a better background story for Batman that followed canon (Joker DID NOT KILL Batman's parents), explaining his training, where his gadgets come from, etc. So, to sum it up, both directors did great with both their first films. However, I can't make a comment on Heath Ledger's take on the Joker, because I'll have to take a side. Now...why so serious?
DeleteI personally like Christopher Nolan's batman best, but i am heavily biased because i haven't seen the Tim Burton version. i can't wait to hear what you think about both.
ReplyDeleteEverybody has different tastes, Mr. Lynn. Before you pass an ultimatum, check out Tim Burton's take on the Batman films and see whether those films float your boat better...
DeleteJab #1: I really like Christopher Nolan's Batman films, and I can't wait for the third one coming in the summer. However, my first jab would have to be at one flaw: Batman's voice. Honestly, does he need some cough drops? The Nolan films would be perfect had it not been for Bale's unnecessarily gravelly voice. It was tolerable in Batman Begins, but by the Dark Knight, it was a bit...annoying. Can someone give Kevin Conroy a call?
ReplyDeleteJab #2: Now then, a weakness of Tim Burton's version of Batman. One thing that kind of bothered me after I did research on the actual comic was the killer of Bruce Wayne's parents. In the actual comic, it was a common thug named Joe Chill. However, in the Burton adaption, the killer turned out to be Joker (i.e. Jack Napier). This, according to certain Batman sources, caused some backlash from fans, and as a result, I can agree as to why...
ReplyDeleteCommendation #1: Let's take a break from jabs for tonight. So, for one commendation I would like to state is Tim Burton's success with making a "true" Batman film. Imagining the "versus Nolan" isn't there at the moment, earlier Batman films before Burton's were (lack of a better word) cheesy. One principal example of this would be Adam West's portrayal of Batman. Ugh. The only positive that I saw from those films were the onomatopoeia signs of "BAM!", "WHACK!", "SLAM!", etc. that interrupted the badly choreographed fight scenes. As for Burton, he was the first director that I know of that brought the true way our dark knight should have been seen: dark, grim, and serious (emphasis on being serious). So I have to clap my hands for Mr. Burton for that...
ReplyDeleteCommendation #2: Another thing that I would like to commend (which is a small one) is Christopher Nolan showing where all of Batman's gadgets come from exactly with the introduction of Lucius Fox. This was a welcome addition, as this was a complete mystery in the original Tim Burton Batman films (WHOA! Where did he get that Line Launcher from!?)
ReplyDeleteJab #3: Another weakness that bothered me a lot about Batman Begins, which was Mr. Nolan's first Batman film was the odd camera work during fight scenes. When I first saw the movies, the camera seemed to claustrophobic and often obstructed the view when the actors would be fighting. Luckily, this was fixed for The Dark Knight...
ReplyDeleteJab #4: A weakness that somewhat bothered me in one of the Tim Burton Batman's (Batman Returns to be exact) was how Penguin and his Red Triangle thugs got Batmoblie schematics. Now, when I was younger, I liked the scene with the malfunctioning Batmobile. However, now that I can understand films better, the schematics scene turned out to be a mystery. What, did Penguin beat the crap out of Lucius to get those? Wait a second. Was Lucius even in the Tim Burton Batman films?
ReplyDeleteCommendation #3: I'm not sure if any Batman fan in the class is going to agree with me on this, but another commendation I'd like to point out is Danny DeVito's portrayal of the Penguin. To me, I thought it was a great performance on Mr. DeVito's part. It also had a more interesting back-story. In essence, I'd like to view Danny DeVito's performance as the Penguin as the Tim Burton equivalent to Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker. And that's saying a lot...
ReplyDeleteCommendation #4: Another commendation that I forgot to mention alongside the origin of Batman's gadgets was where Batman learned how to fight, which was another thing that was never revealed in the Tim Burton films. In the Nolan-verse, Bruce Wayne/Batman learns all of his skills from the League of Shadows, led by Ra's Al Ghul (or, if you played Arkham City, they could be called the League of Assassins). Nolan clarifies that although Bruce learned to fight, his style was rather rough, then later refined through years of tutelage under Henri Ducard. This was an excellent rendition of the origin's of Batman.
ReplyDelete(Is anyone even bothering to read these anymore?)
ReplyDeleteJab #5: I forgot to realize this beforehand. Now, Lando Calrissian (stick with me for this) was cool in The Empire Strikes Back. He was a suave businessman and gambler, and he fit well in that role and in that franchise. However, I do not think he is fit to play HARVEY DENT. I have no bias against Mr. Dee (or Lando), but playing HARVEY DENT?!?!?!?! No, that doesn't work. Oh well. It's a step up from Tommy Lee Jones' portrayal...(I blame Joel Schumacher)
ReplyDeleteIf anyone feels like it, how about anyone in the class write or type down the Ups and Downs of the Batman films. We can discuss the things you loved and hated about the Burton Batman, the Nolan Batman, etc. (We are NOT going to discuss Joel Schumacher because we all know he butchered his Batman films)
ReplyDeleteJab #6: Another Two-Face related flaw that is associated with the Nolan films is the short presence of Two-Face in The Dark Knight. SPOILER WARNING! Harvey became Two-Face for only the last twenty minutes of the film. Sure, he does awesome stuff like wipe out a figurehead in the organized crime of Gotham and raise Hell...then he dies. In my opinion, he should have lasted longer (unless his face catches an infection).
ReplyDeleteCommendation #5: One thing I would like to commend for Christopher Nolan (and I should have mentioned this when I mentioned Joel Schumacher) was the willingness to even think about doing a Batman movie. After the atrocity known as Batman & Robin, I didn't think anyone would want to think of another Batman movie. However, eight years after Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin, someone took the mantle of directing a Batman film, who happened to be Christopher Nolan. Without much difficulty, he turned the comic book hero, the World's Greatest Detective, AKA the Dark Knight, not only into a successful film (which was/is so much better than that campy garbage Joel Schumacher gave us!!!!!), but into a cinematographic masterpiece. Batman Begins was awesome; Nolan went in and detailed Bruce Wayne's origins from top to bottom, explaining the many reasons why Batman is Batman. Not only that, but it was dark and serious, in addition to being realistic. Not only that, but when The Dark Knight was released, there were Oscar nomination/wins. Now when I think about it, the fact that a film based on a comic book hero winning or even being nominated for an Oscar seems very rare, and Christopher Nolan pulled it off. Now this is a very important commendation. (And it shows that Christopher Nolan is so much better than Joel Schumacher. The batsuit does not need nipples!!!!!!!!!)
ReplyDeleteComment: I'm not sure if I would call this a commendation, so I'll just label it a comment. I also really liked how Tim Burton's Batman films also became the primary inspiration for the Batman Animated Series. The animated series had a lot of elements from the Tim Burton films, and even had the Danny Elfman composed main theme (and modified iterations of it) in the opening credits.
ReplyDeleteJab #7: I'm running out of things to say now. Another negative I would like to point out is why Alfred let Vicki Vale into the Batcave in the Tim Burton Batman movie. Surely, Alfred is much smarter than that, right? Apparently not, because he lets Vicki Vale into the freaking Batcave and lets her know that Bruce Wayne is Batman, which is extremely dumb. Bruce would've fired him if he was realistic. Oh well...
ReplyDeleteJab #8: One thing that surprised me most was when we re-watched some of the Batman films, and I saw the design of the Batsuit in the first Burton Batman. I thought Joel Schumacher was the one who added the nipples to the Batsuit. And I was proven wrong. Sadly, it was Tim Burton who allowed it first. Thankfully, this was fixed for the next Burton Batman film, and the suit was given a more armor-like appearance. I'm still kind of bothered by the Bat-nipples. (Why are they there!?!? WHY!?!?!?!?)
ReplyDeleteComment: This is just another normal critique of a Batman film. There was one area that I liked in particular when Nolan first rebooted the Batman films with Batman Begins. This place in particular was known as the Narrows. To me, it wasn't just a normal slum. In the Nolan-verse, it separated Arkham Asylum from the rest of Gotham, and it was a dangerous place altogether. Modeled after the Walled City in China, the claustrophobic alleys and barely open area is the perfect place to see "someone get mugged every day of the week." Later, as illustrated in Gotham Knight, the slums island itself gets taken over by the Arkham inmates, making it a death trap. To me, the Narrows illustrated the dark and grim feel of the Batman universe, and imagining being on that island makes you feel apprehensive of what shadows lurk in those small alleys...
ReplyDeleteComment: This is going to be my last entry. In the end, it would be hard for me to pick between either universe of Batman. The Burton-verse was pretty cool, but there were things that were not executed properly (too much Prince in the first Batman), and the Nolan-verse was epic and awesome, but there was also mistakes in them (can someone dub over Bale's terrible voice). To sum it up, it would be hard to pick between the two, because I like both Batman universes equally.
ReplyDeleteOh, I forgot. Nolan is also the first Batman director to actually make a trilogy from top to bottom, a feat neither Burton nor the cursed Schumacher ever accomplished. The final entry in the Nolan-verse Batman, "The Dark Knight Rises" is coming to theaters July 20th. Batman fans should NOT miss this because it's going to be the end to the Dark Knight legend in the Nolan-verse. And things do not appear to be well for the World's Greatest Detective.
ReplyDelete