The Batman (2022)

 

Just noting that I have seen The Batman and I really liked it.

I won’t say that I love the film. I have issues with the narrative  which is a bit bumpy. For example I don’t think the Riddler really is fully formed as a character, the move to the epic with the destruction of the sea wall feels like it’s a narrative reach and the fact that Riddler hid his intention under an old rug tacked in place under old wood is a bit much. I also wish there was a bit more interaction between Bruce and Alfred, while we can infer the bond, and touching moments in the second half there is a bit too much unsaid.

On the other hand the action set pieces kick ass, the movie moves like the wind and it looks right.

Robert Pattinson may also be the best Batman ever put on screen. He is not just a bad ass crime fighter but one with the city. When Selina talks about Bruce not being able to leave because he is attached to the city we know it’s true.  This the first live action film where Batman is part of the city and among the people. Yes we see him with the cops, but we also see him helping real people. He is not aloof (ala Adam West-who is the only one who dealt with citizens) but a  regular guy.

The reality is that this is the first film that, to me, feels like it’s the 80 year old character and not just a mythic figure  fighting far off crime, The moment when he leaps on the live wire that is going to electrocute everyone, cuts it and falls is the moment he becomes not a crime a crime fighter or vigilante  and becomes true hero. Rising from the water and striking the flare becomes the man leading Gotham out of darkness. For this life long Batman fan  it was the moment where the onscreen character become the figure that lives in my soul.

I got misty.

Over all The Batman is a winner and worth a look,

Justice League (2017)

Justice League is a surprisingly good film. While I liked Suicide Squad and Batman vs Superman I was kind of iffy on the prospects of Justice League. I mean BVS and Suicide were enjoyable messes they still were messes. I was afraid that the JL was going to go horribly wrong since it was setting up three heroes as well as continuing with three others. I shouldn’t have worried since they pulled it all together.

Picking up where Batman vs Superman left off the world finds it’s on the verge of being invaded by aliens. Not only are they buzzing about various locations they are appearing in mass in order to find three magical mother boxes which can reshape matter. With Superman dead Batman and Wonder Woman know they are out gunned so they look for other potential heroes in order to help. To that end they recruit Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg.

Playing like one of the better first issues of a superhero comic, Justice League just moves like the wind. Running under 2 hours its full of sound and fury signifying a new franchise. Characters a built (Cyborg is finally a great character), rebuilt (Superman is not a dick and is finally a cool guy), fights happen and pithy lines are spoken. It’s pure motion on both physical and character levels that drive everything forward. It’s a popcorn film for the head and the heart.

While the film isn’t perfect, the film feels like it should have been longer and there is some evidence that the film changed directorial hands, the film still manages to be wholly satisfying as it moves the characters away from the maudlin darkness of the last two team up films. It’s a film that makes me want to see what comes next because the potential for something special is there.

I really like the film a great deal (and I thought the 3D was well done).

I do want to add that I’d like to see what the original cut was supposed to be. Scenes in the trailer and talk of partially completed sequences (allegedly a post credit sequence was filmed but not finished with two Green Lanterns) make me think that the film was headed toward being interestingly different.

Definitely worth a look.

Batman v Superman (2016)

I'm puzzled by the reviews I read before hand about BATMAN V SUPERMAN. What film did they see? Where was the confusion and random threads? Where was the story that made no sense? Where was this over riding set up for JUSTICE LEAGUE?

I was never lost, never confused. I think it's all on the screen. It all made sense to me. And the JUSTICE LEAGUE stuff was fleeting and if the two minutes were chopped it we'd never know.

Sue me I love BATMAN V SUPERMAN. I thought it was great. I thought it was the Batman movie I always wanted. Ben Affleck now is Batman for me, He nailed it. He's a younger version of Frank Miller's DARK KNIGHT

Okay I think I get what some of the reason that people hate the film- its a film that exists in the comic book world. Yes the film is a direct sequel to MAN OF STEEL but the film really exists in the world of comics. Whole plot lines are referenced in found objects- look no further than Jason Todd's Robin suit with the spray paint of the joker on it. Knowing what that is says volumes about Affleck's Batman. If you don't know then all of that story of pain and anguish is gone.

I know saying that the fact that the film spews out 75 years of comic history is asking the audience too much get. I complete understand that not knowing the references are going to make many people feel adrift. I read a review written by a friend who hated the film and I now know why she called it a noisy mess, simply because she doesn't read comics and she didn't know the references.

Say what you may this is not the Batman that has gone before- neither in the serials, the radio show, the TV shows, not either the Nolan series nor the one's started by Tim Burton. This is a story that springs from the comics.

Yes I know one of my pet peeves is a film must be all inclusive and explain everything. You get leeway if the film is part of a series. This film gets some leeway because of the series, and a bit more because Batman and Supeman are nigh 80 years old so they are part our culture. I freely admit if you hate the film because you don't get it all feel free, but I'm sure if I went back into my Batman archive and gave you a stack of stories you'd click with what is on the screen here.

I also get the sense that this film is going to play better in a couple of years.Once we get more stories with these characters I think this film will play wonderfully in retrospect since details will be filled in- like Wonder Woman's back story.

Yes Wonder Woman isn't given a great deal to do (hell we never know what exactly she is doing)- but god damn and sweet jesus she kicks ass. I adore the look of glee when after she gets her ass handed to her by Doomsday she stands up and dives right back in. And yes the audience really did cheer when she showed up in Wonder Woman regalia.

You want a female role model- this woman is it. Smart, charming and kick ass. She can play with the big boys and even out do them.

Yes the plot is warmed over- but what did you expect, we knew that Lex was behind it and we knew he let loose Doomsday-everything else was a foregone conclusion. Well not everything, there is a twist or two I didn't expect them to do- but it fits.

As much as I despise Jesse Eisenberg as an actor, I think he makes a very good Lex Luthor. To be certain he is not perfect, there is an occasional softness but the intelligence is there as is the sadism, He takes delight in being an evil god.

I thought the fights were excellent and easy to follow.  And some of the images if the final battle were truly iconic.

Actually there are many shots that were cribbed from the comics. I loved the desert Batman look. I also loved him standing on the crane. Even the shots of Superman just hovering had me mumbling WOW.

And again, yes, I am fully aware that what I like in the film are the comic steals.

I know some people are upset that Batman is trying to outright kill Superman and Batman never kills. I am aware of it, but if you read the comic  there were times when he considered it, though he never crossed the line (at east the Bruce Wayne version). Then again he doesn't do it here.

I know I'm going to be arguing about this film for weeks to come- Hubert is already penciling in our upcoming meetings as follow ups to the film. I don't mind. As long as you can argue your point I'm game to argue the film.

Ultimately though I know I will not be shaken in my love for the film because what I love about it isn't anything intellectual, its visceral. Watching the film I felt part of me was on the screen. This was some great lost comic story that was long a part of me and was now being brought to the surface. The subconscious was made conscious.

Yes my love for the film is emotional, Its some primal part of me that loves Batman being tickled to death. Its the part that made the two year old me press his nose against the TV screen and go "MATMAN MATMAN" when the Adam West show was in its first run.

What can I say I'm a hopeless Batman fan

Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)

Visually arresting slowly building tale constructed from six inter-related stories-tales which could stand alone, but work better together.

The stories are written by David Goyer, Greg Rucka, Brian Azzerello and some other names you may know. The some of the voices are from the animated TV series. The directors are mostly first timers with two exceptions Jongisk Nam worked on The Masters of the Universe while Hiroshi Morioka directed the Tsubasa Chronicles and assisted directed on Two of the .hack series and Madlax.(All of the directors have worked on some of the best anime around so they maybe directing for the first time but they all know what they are doing). What the mix produces is a killer group of stories that result in a thought provoking tale and character study of both Batman and Bruce Wayne.

The first story is Have I Got a Story for you and it concerns some skateboarders trying to determine what Batman is. Yes its like the Dark Knight Episode of the TV show-but its in a style that looks like Tekkonkinkreet. It has its moments.

Crossfire has two cops, one of which doesn't trust Batman, getting caught in the cross fire of a mob war. The images will blow you away.

Field Test is about Bruce testing a device which will deflect bullets. Possibly the weakest of the stories as a stand alone.

In Darkness Dwells- It appears that Killer Croc and the scarecrow have kidnapped a cardinal and taken him into the underground. It looks like Mike Mignola meets anime. With some of the best visual and emotional moments in any Batman movie. The image of the Scarecrow is truly scary.

Working Through the Pain- As a severely wounded Batman staggers through the sewers he remembers back to his days being trained- particularly to the woman who taught him to work through the pain.

Deadshot-The assassin Deadshot is hired to take out Gordon. Okay story alone is a nice cap on the six tales.

At first I thought the film was going to be all visuals and little story, however once things got going the film actually began to turn into something much more. I'm finding its bouncing around in my head the way good movies do. Its actually good enough that I'd really like to see another one down the road since the stories are nice additions to the Batman canon of tales.

Highly recommended.

On Further Review: Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight films: Am I the only one who has problems with them?

I’m one of the few people who don’t like Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight films. When I say Dark Knight films I refer to The Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises. To me Nolan's Batman Begins is one of the best superhero films ever made. On the other hand his Dark Knight films are a lesson in diminishing returns. Yes they have made a mint and then some. Yes they are well loved, but they are a mess. They are a corruption of the characters to the point that I kind of wish that they didn’t take the characters from the comics since they really don’t carry over. They are huge epics that just lose the narrative thrust in favor of Nolan’s desire to make a point.

At this point I need to make three statements.

First I am a huge Batman fan. I have been since I was a baby when I used to stand in front of the TV and watch the Adam West show. I get into moods when all I do is live and breathe Batman and his world.

Secondly I have to state up front that this piece started life as two monstrously long stand-alone posts. They were long and rambling pieces, however in the interest of clarity and so you wouldn’t have to go through this nonsense more than once I’ve cut them down and combined them.

Lastly what follows is really more some random comments about things that bother the piss out of me concerning the films than detailed deconstructions. Its been ages since I've seen Dark Knight so my memory is weak on many of the problems. As for Rises, I've only seen it once and there simply was too many problems to write them all down. I want to keep this under 900 pages.

Dark Knight

Suffering from a huge sense of bigger is better Dark Knight as a film suffers from being all action and little in the way of plotting. When you think of the film it’s not so much that you remember the plot, which has The Joker running all over Gotham causing havoc on a level never seen before. I have no idea what the Joker was doing or why. What was the point? I don't know.

I do know that  with Dark Knight I remember the tumbler chase, the ferry sequence, and Joker blowing up the hospital, but I remember little else. There was something about Harvey Dent becoming Two Face, and Joker making it impossible for Batman to save the one woman he loved… but in the end I don’t really understand what the point was other than to make him more of a hunted “criminal”. 

If you ask me there is no real characters only place holders that get moved around.

Regarding the Joker, he’s not that scary…certainly not in the way that the character in the comic book is. There is nothing wrong with Heath Ledger’s Oscar winning performance, rather the trouble comes in with what he does. The Joker as written by Nolan is way too logical. Certainly he’s homicidal, but at the same time he is clearly after something. Take for example the opening bank robbery, he robs the bank and kills his compatriots, which makes perfect sense if you want to keep all of the money and want no one to roll over on you.

His efforts to steer the injured Harvey Dent are for his own ends. The Joker is playing toward some apocalyptic end game that is much too well thought out in a logical and reasonable manner. Yes he blows up the hospital to cause fear and panic but is clearly after more than just showing the baseness of humanity that he seems claims in the speech to Batman. Whatever the ultimate goal of the Joker, what it is we are never told, there is a genuine rhyme and reason to it. To my eye at least Joker is playing everyone with a notion of mental illness rather than the real thing. (I think that’s the reason why the story of his face changes, it is what is going to scare the natives at that moment.)

In the comic’s best stories the Joker really is bat shit nuts. There is some sort of logic going on and while it will mimic rational thought, it frequently will go left for no reason. I just feel like shooting you. And when he does something evil, it will be so horrible that it will upset even the people he’s working for, for example the story line where Joker is sent to the UN as ambassador. Ledger’s Joker is never ever demonic enough...and therefore the film is a disappointment.


Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Despite my protests and tantrums that I would never do so, I did manage to see the Dark Knight Rises.

While I have all sorts of issues about what they did to the characters, I find that the least of my problems is the comic bastardization. Rather I have issues with the film being a complete mess dramatically. Granted it’s a “comic book” film, but at the same time comic books aren’t this careless with their story and plotting. Its mess and it ruins the film because a film that is so desperately trying to be realistic-Bruce sees a doctor who tells him how badly he’s broken up- and yet it has some of the most fantastical turns.

How is that people are raving about how great this film is? It boggles the mind.

Lets face it DKR is a mess.

Is it the comic? No.

While I said the least of the films worries are the comic characters I would like to use the differences in the characters to explain what’s wrong with the film.

Talia. Ras al Ghul’s daughter. In the comic, She has a hot and heavy romance with Bruce/Batman that produces a son who she hides away from everyone to protect him. When the two meet in the comics sparks fly. In the film Bruce is completely unaware of her existence until near the end of the film until she puts a knife in his back. Her plot to destroy Gotham makes no sense on any level. (and keep the plot in mind, I’ll get back to it). Why would someone trying to carry on Ghul's plan aim for vengeance- especially when you get no sense of Ghul's relationship with her other than he threw her in a pit?

Bane. Why did you uset him? Why? You could have had a gorilla. In the comic Bane is a super genius the equal to Bruce. He uses the mask- which originally connected him to a drug called Venom to pump up him physically. Yes Bane broke Bat man in the comic. However in the comic Bane knew he couldn’t beat Bruce on his own and so only confronts him after setting all of the super villains out after Batman first. Bruce/Batman had to beat everyone first. Bane only could take out a physically exhausted and broken Batman. In the comic Bane was rational and reasonable. He amped up everything toward his goal- breaking Batman, because that was the only way to stop the only one who could beat him, not get revenge for his master. Here he’s a big imposing guy in a mask with a silly voice living in a sewer (?) who does some incredibly stupid things.

Batman. When did he get so stupid and impulsive? The character is way too inconsistent doing smart things one minute, stupid the next. Actually the vast majority of what he does makes no sense, the simple act of becoming a recluse after the previous film makes no sense especially in the light of the DK ending with the implication that Batman would be come a true outlaw. In this film he disappeared after Harvey died. Really? In the previous he said he would fight on truly outside the law.

As for his dying, no. no no. Its based solely on a single shot of Batman in whats supposed to be the Bat. It seems to be a random shot. I would accept that Alfred seeing Bruce and Selina in Paris was a dream if it didn’t come at the instant he sat down. To me any notion of seeing Bruce would have come if he had been reflecting a moment or two not sitting down. For my money Bruce survived-he always does.

The plot of the film makes no sense. A weird carry over from the the first film, here its this weird plot to wreck Gotham and get revenge on Bruce. The plot, which never made sense in the first film, is carried over in this one. I still don't understand what the purpose of it is. A better world by taking out one city?

Worse are the twisted plot holes in the story beginning with those involving take over Gotham plot, such as why the hell the military doesn't step in once Bane's men take the city....

...which then spirals out all sorts of illogical plot lines like how long did they hold the city- weeks since Bruce is away that long, and the river freezes, This  raises questions that the film has no answers for like how did all the cops survive in the tunnels for so long? None of this bothered anyone? Even the length of time it takes for Bruce to heal would have been really long.

On the other hand logic and reason isn't something Nolan was going for since there is the infamous chase that goes from day to night in one cut. Nolan was going for effect, though I have yet to deduce what that might be...

There's more, a great deal more. I started watching the film and had to put my notebook away since I was essentially annotating the entire film with questions. You can only ask WHY? so many times before you have to throw up your hands.

Do me a favor. Now that DKR is out on DVD watch it again and don't look at the spectacle, watch the plot progression...no wait watch it after seeing DK and think about how the plot is progressing.... this makes zero sense even on its own terms.