deganawida Posted July 19, 2004 Posted July 19, 2004 Well, it's a little early, but seeing the "Superman" thread earlier, I thought that we might as well get a discussion going about the new Batman film. Christian Bale is a pretty good actor; I wouldn't have thought of casting a Brit as Bruce/Bats, but as he's played an American in at least two other films (American Psycho and Shaft), I imagine he can pull it off convincingly. Anyway, for those who don't know, this is basically a Year One story, focusing on the beginnings of the Dark Knight's career. Some cool (to me, anyway) things in the movie: 1. The new Batmobile resembles the Battank from "The Dark Knight Returns", one of the best comic stories ever. I'm stoked about that. 2. The BBEG is Ra's Al Ghul, perhaps the greatest villain in comic book history. I won't say any more for those who have no experience with Ra's, but as a fan, I couldn't be happier. Hopefully, they will portray him correctly, and you may at times find yourself agreeing with Ra's more than Bats. With this villain, I am cautiously optimistic that this film will be more like the comics and not possess the campy feel of the TV series or the movies. Batman is a very serious character, and I hate seeing directors take this deep character and use him as a foil for the excesses of whomever they've cast as whatever villain. Comments?
Product of the Cosmos Posted July 19, 2004 Posted July 19, 2004 wow I was oblivious to this. Can't help but wonder if it will be good. Batman4? lol.. The last one wasn't good IMO. Hopefully this will be better..
Phosphor Posted July 19, 2004 Posted July 19, 2004 Yep. I am so looking forward to this film. Brilliant casting and the images released so far look wonderful. There's definately a Dark Knight Returns feeling to this film in terms of grittiness and severity. It's not Batman 4, but a new beginning (hence the title) and has nothing to do with any of the previous films.
deganawida Posted July 19, 2004 Author Posted July 19, 2004 There's definately a Dark Knight Returns feeling to this film in terms of grittiness and severity. Yeah, Phosphor, that's another thing that has gotten me excited about the film. We may never see a film version of The Dark Knight Returns (as it asks too many questions about society to be successful as a "super"-hero flick), but any influence it can bestow on Batman movies is A Good Thing in my opinion.
Whitemithrandir Posted July 19, 2004 Posted July 19, 2004 I have faith in Christian Bale. Equilibrium was nothing short of a thrilling cerebral masterpiece (in my opinion, of course). I've been looking forward to this for a while. Word economics To express my vast wisdom I speak in haiku's.
Phosphor Posted July 19, 2004 Posted July 19, 2004 We may never see a film version of The Dark Knight Returns (as it asks too many questions about society to be successful as a "super"-hero flick), but any influence it can bestow on Batman movies is A Good Thing in my opinion. Definately. Everything I've seen and read about Batman Begins points to a darker, more serious and visceral Batman.
Diogo Ribeiro Posted July 19, 2004 Posted July 19, 2004 1. The new Batmobile resembles the Battank from "The Dark Knight Returns", one of the best comic stories ever. I'm stoked about that. 2. The BBEG is Ra's Al Ghul, perhaps the greatest villain in comic book history. I won't say any more for those who have no experience with Ra's, but as a fan, I couldn't be happier. Hopefully, they will portray him correctly, and you may at times find yourself agreeing with Ra's more than Bats. 1. Yeah, i noticed that too. Can't say i'm either supportive of, or against the idea. I very much like the design of the vehicule, and its not quite Batman cannon, although it doesn't pose any other problems to being used... except they will have to widen the Gotham City streets if he's going to zigzag trough them. 2. Yea, Ra's is a fine villain. Lets just see how he is represented.
deganawida Posted July 19, 2004 Author Posted July 19, 2004 2. Yea, Ra's is a fine villain. Lets just see how he is represented. Well, given that they went with a relative no-name (to Westerners, at least) for Ra's, I have hope that they will be reasonably faithful to the comics. Heck, they can't get worse than Batman & Robin's treatment of Bane.
Diogo Ribeiro Posted July 19, 2004 Posted July 19, 2004 True dat. Batman and Robin were terrible. Then again I only appreciated the Tim Burton versions. All else was quite subpar as far as i'm concerned.
merry andrew Posted July 29, 2004 Posted July 29, 2004 Wow that trailer shows a movie that might actually be really good. Totally not Batman!
deganawida Posted July 29, 2004 Author Posted July 29, 2004 nice I thought so, too. A few things that I noticed: 1. The "rabbit hole" made it in. I like this bit of the Batman mythos, and I'm glad to see it made it into the movie. 2. It seems that the movie will finally accurately portray the relationship between Alfred and Bruce. In the comics, Alfred is as much Bruce's confidant as he is his butler, and has proven time and again to be a kind of mentor to Bruce. Note the scene, presumably at the funeral, where Alfred is comforting Bruce. Very promising. 3. Finally, for the first time on film, it appears that audiences will learn that Bruce studied to become the Batman. For far too long Bruce's dedication to his chosen path in life has either been glossed over (very rarely) or completely ignored (the rest of the time). Batman is a very dedicated individual, and in the comics he devoted his entire youth and young adulthood learning those skills that he would need to wage his war on crime. Too often it's just assumed that he was a wealthy playboy with a hobby, rather than an individual for whom "Bruce Wayne" is the mask, and the Batman the true persona (there was a run in JLA a few years ago which illustrated this perfectly; some alien entity split the JLA's alter-egos into different individuals, and Bruce turned dark and violent; good story). Anyone else notice anything of note?
JohnDoe Posted July 29, 2004 Posted July 29, 2004 The trailer looks good. I hope the movie remains a dark story...
Raven Posted July 29, 2004 Posted July 29, 2004 i hope this is good, even though no Batman could ever stand up to the legend Adam West.
EnderAndrew Posted July 29, 2004 Posted July 29, 2004 The supporting cast looks wonderful. Those who know the plot have suggested this will have the best ending of any superhero film to date. I'm rather excited. While I enjoyed the first Batman when it came out, I rewatched it the other night for the first time in ages and it doesn't hold up well. It's rather slow actually, and poorly editted. The imagery was great (like any Tim Burton movie), but the direction wasn't perfect. The sequels got progressively worse with each one. I loved when they got directors who had never read a comic book in their life, and never intended to. It's good to see guys like Singer and Raimi directing comic franchises. I am a bit sad that Singer left X-Men to do Superman. X3 has a lot more potential than Superman.
Gromnir Posted July 29, 2004 Posted July 29, 2004 the only thing that bothers us 'bout the new batman movie is that christian bale is a scrawny little fella. http://www.empiremovies.com/gallery/batman...ns_images.shtml we know that these guys has to be skinny little twerps so they can fit in the suit, but it still bothers us just a little that batman looks like somebody our sister could dip. HA! Good Fun! "If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927) "Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)
EnderAndrew Posted July 29, 2004 Posted July 29, 2004 I think acting talent is far more important than physical build. I'm glad that they didn't go with Guy Pearce. Nolan may think the world of Pearce, but I sure don't.
Gromnir Posted July 29, 2004 Posted July 29, 2004 so, there is no larger guys who can act? sure, acting talent is paramount, but we bet you would be less than happy if judi dench were cast as batman. why? batman is big. christian bale is small. is not major, but is still irritating. HA! Good Fun! "If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927) "Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)
EnderAndrew Posted July 29, 2004 Posted July 29, 2004 Watch Raging Bull sometime. He didn't really have the build of a heavyweight. Did it matter? I always though the huge, square-jaw muscleman look fit Superman better than Batman. I thought Batman was all about being driven.
Gromnir Posted July 29, 2004 Posted July 29, 2004 have watched ragging bull 'bout 25 times... 'nuff times to know that jake lamotta were a middleweight (160lbs.) HA! Good Fun! "If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."Justice Louis Brandeis, Concurring, Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927) "Im indifferent to almost any murder as long as it doesn't affect me or mine."--Gfted1 (September 30, 2019)
JohnDoe Posted July 29, 2004 Posted July 29, 2004 Batman is an excellent hand to hand fighter, but that doesn't necesarily mean he has to be a big guy. His speed, cunning, and intelligence I think are more important to the character than his strength.
Leferd Posted July 29, 2004 Posted July 29, 2004 For those who have read Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, Bale (from the photo linked above) does resemble David Mazzucchelli's rendition of Bruce Wayne. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch. I think they did a good job with the casting of the other roles too. I'm cautious but very optimistic about this film. "Things are funny...are comedic, because they mix the real with the absurd." - Buzz Aldrin."P-O-T-A-T-O-E" - Dan Quayle
JohnDoe Posted July 29, 2004 Posted July 29, 2004 You think so? Looking at my Year One book I don't think he looks like him at all. Still, hes a pretty good actor so I'm not too worried about his looks. Batman has so many different looks from so many artists.
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