'...I'm Batman.'
POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Tuesday, November 30, 2010 21:48
VIEWED: 14249
PAGE 3 of 11
Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Okay, now I just watched Batman (Keaton), and I watched Batman Begins the other week. Man, I am SO split on which I like better...
Batman has:
A peerless Joker performance (no, this is NOT a debatable point, TDK's Joker just copied Brandon Lee's Crow, but in colour).
A cool Batmobile.
A hot love interest.
Great fight scenes.
A visually interesting & goth Gotham, and fascinating production design in general.
Funny jokes.
An excellent Elfman score.
A twisted mentality.
Drawbacks:
Some cheesy FX, rushed & thin storyline (writer's strike).
Batman Begins has:
Lush photography.
An excellent Zimmer score.
A cool Batmobile chase.
Insane fight scenes.
A super-serious tone.
Gary Oldman.
Morgan Freeman.
Michael Caine.
Drawbacks:
CGI sometimes makes me sleepy, Bale's Wayne performance can be rather unsympathetic compared to Keaton's (or Clooney's).
Seriously, I like both these movies so much, if I had to choose only ONE, I'd be lost.
Got Opinion?
The flyingmouse Chrisisall
All mighty valid points, but I have to give the trophy to this interpretation of the Dark Knight:
PROS
- Danny Elfman score
- Kevin Conroy doing a Batman/Bruce Wayne dichotomy that really works
- Mark Hamill as the Joker, baby!
- Rogues Gallery villains that weren't Thalidomide babies, cat-resurrected corpses, or apparent survivors of toxic waste dips
- Respectful to the mythos without going overboard with the Gothic horror, camp or playing it for real parts of the spectrum
CONS
- Animation style's a tad dated these days
- Batman was already Batman at the first episode
To me, the Bruce Timm-produced series from the early 90s narrowly beats out the Nolan and Burton films for Best Batman projects...and the Schumachers are dead last! Even the 60s TV series and movie were less campy!
"The revenge of the beaten comes in refusing to fall." -- Mal, in "The Losing Side - Chapter 45" by jetflair
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Hey Big 'C'.
Well I've been mulling this one over myself for a while now as I recenty re-watched the Adam West Batman and have to say it has a place in my heart. It's sheer escapism and pure fun. It has The Joker, The Penguin, The Riddler and Catwoman. An absolutely HILARIOUS Batman repelling a shark on the end of his leg with Anti-Bat 'Shark Repellant' a riotous scene with Batman trying to dispose of a Bomb (which is shaped like a cartoon Bomb) on a seafront pier and being thwarted mutliple times by people getting in his way, and at one point a family of Ducks who are swimming in the sea - causing Adam West to utter: "Some days you just can't get rid of a Bomb!" In short it has plenty of content and is still funny! And yes the Car is the BEST!
Back in the 80's when Tim Burton's Batman came out. It was awesome! Great sets, GREAT score and an edgey Batman that I wanted. It was Dark brooding and deeply menacing and it was perfect... Of it's time and wonderful. It came with AMAZING hype and build-up and because of that it was more than just a film. It was an icon of 80's cinema. The Batman LOGO became something more than just a badge on a guy wearing a costume. It grew beyond the medium it sprang from. Even now I get goose bumps seeing folk wear that T-shirt because it takes me back to 1989. It was the very image (for me) of summer in 1989... So it became and remains an epic film. Flawed of course - but still Epic!!!
Now Batman Begins... Whilst arguably a better written script and perhaps a more conscise story lacked cinematic punch. Bale was, sorry Phoenix Rose, just not cutting the mustard, for me. He was a fine Batman (excepet for that ridiculous raspy voice) but I couldn't agree less about his Bruce Wayne. Keaton is way better. Bale's Wayne is just a type of obvious charade, where as Keaton is oozing angst and brooding physchosis and clearly deeply scarred. As for the supporting cast well Katie Holmes is woeful and ruins the impact. The Liam Nielson twist is rather anti-climactic and Morgan Freeman is just being Morgan Freeman. I tend to get flack for this last remark as for some reason people always think that whatever Morgan Freeman does is brilliant and he cannot be questioned - but I don't like him in the Batman films. That said it was a an enjoyable film, but just didn't have the weight, the sheer freight-train-thunderous THUMP! The Burton one had. I actually think Dark Knight was far far better, but that I imagine is for another time and thread...
So to sum up....
Batman (1989)
Batman the Movie (1966)
Batman Begins (2005)
However. The one I watch the most is BATMAN RETURNS. (....Just appeals to my sensibilities)
P.S. Sorry for spelling mistakes - I'm writing this on the fly....
Cartoons - http://cirqusartsandmusic.blogspot.com
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I must agree that the animated Batman is the best.
The laughing Chrisisall
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Quote:THANK YOU!!!
Originally posted by TheSomnambulist:
that ridiculous raspy voice
It's not just me...
The laughing Chrisisall
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Quote:
Originally posted by TheSomnambulist:
... Keaton is oozing angst and brooding physchosis and clearly deeply scarred.
Yeah, his Wayne is exactly like his Batman. Kind of eliminates the whole need for 'secret identity.' Alternately, other actors have played their Batman exactly like their Bruce Wayne, which has also been kind of lame. Yes, Bruce Wayne is deeply scarred, but I would posit that those scars come out in the form of Batman. Batman is Wayne's psychosis, very nearly to the point of a split personality. Wayne is also pretty brilliant, and part of that comes out in knowing that he has to distance himself from Batman to avoid suspicion. The line is blurry, but they're different characters that need to be played differently. I know there's something to be said for nostalgia, but I grew up with Batman, grew up with those movies. I always thought there was something missing from all the portrayals I saw, and then Bale delivered it. His Wayne might play like a charade to you because it very simply is one; obfuscating spoiled rich boy. Now, part of that is down to the writing, this movie having scenes in it that were clearly designed to cast Bruce Wayne in that very role, but some credit goes for the casting. I know Bale has caught a lot of heat in recent times and it's kind of cool to hate on him, but that does not change my mind even a little bit about his talents.
Just because something can't be explained doesn't mean it becomes yours.
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Exactly, Batman/Bruce is actually a mirror image of Clark/Superman. In Gotham, Batman is the real person, while "Bruce Wayne" is nothing more than another mask Batman wears to serve a specific purpose (functionally no different from "Matches Malone" or any of his other aliases). In Metropolis, Clark Kent is the real person, while "Superman" is just a costume he wears.
There've been storylines where Bruce Wayne just disappeared for weeks or even months at a time --Batman was too busy with a case to bother putting up the charade. (Conversely, "Superman" recently took a year off, while Clark continued working every day at the Planet.)
Bruce Wayne died that night in Crime Alley, his body just hasn't caught up yet.
-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.
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No hate for Bale from me. I actually have always liked the guy. I just don't like his Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins. Not every negative comment comes with a hate tag. Similarly because I pointed out that I don't enjoy Morgan Freeman's character in Begins, it doesn't translate to disliking Morgan Freeman. Quite the contrary.
I will conceed that as with all of these things it boils down to personal opinion and nothing more. There's no secret formula and I won't try and relay anything as such to you. Merely pointing out why I enjoyed Keaton's Wayne over Bale's Wayne.
Cartoons - http://cirqusartsandmusic.blogspot.com
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Quote:While I liked Clooney's Wayne very much, it was too one dimensional (kind of like the movie itself, I'll admit)- Keaton's Wayne seemed damaged, and I liked that. Of course, his Batman was near perfection, at least to me.
Originally posted by TheSomnambulist:
I enjoyed Keaton's Wayne over Bale's Wayne.
Kilmer seemed to be sleepwalking through both roles, and Bale's Wayne seemed too needy & whining.
Again, to ME.
The laughing Chrisisall
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I guess it all boils down to my favourite Batman live action moment- in the 1989 flick where he intentionally drops Jack into his chemical fate. The look in Keaton's eyes was priceless, and painful. I still get goosebumps to this day watching it.
The laughing Chrisisall
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PhoenixRose, I'm really sorry to be going here, but it's necessary for my reality-check.
Batman is deadly serious in comics.
However, that's a medium that allows for insane extremes where 'drama' is concerned.
To treat Batman as someone that can exist in the real world is nonsense IMO.
Give me Keaton. Hell, give me Clooney. 12 Hells, give me Adam West!!
But Bale & Nolan delivered realism couched in fantasy.
Please Nolan, PICK ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are we real or are we fantasy????
The demanding Chrisisall
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