Like most people in America, I will be watching the latest Batman film, entitled "The Dark Knight". Unfortunately, I did not have the foresight to buy a ticket in advance for a weekend showing in the city where it was filmed. Hence, I will probably watch it in IMAX at Navy Pier early next week. Although it stinks, I'm not one of those who absolutely needs to be the first person to see it so whatever.
Regardless, the hype has been through the roof here in the stand-in Gotham of downtown Chicago. I have no doubt it will kick all sorts of ass, and that I will be well-satisfied. You see, I'm more than just a casual fan. One of the first movies I ever taped and watched religiously thereafter was the original Adam West Batman movie. Batman was the only comic I actually used to buy when I was a kid in the 80s and early 90s. Batman: The Animated Series, in fact, was one of my favorite cartoons growing up. It was unusually dark and sophisticated for a kids serial, even my dad watched it. Of course, I've watched all the movies from the old Adam West one up to the craptastic Joel Schumacher ones and including the modern Nolan incarnations. The question is how does each measure up after all these years and with a more sophisticated, analytical mind?
1. The Adam West Batman film
Like I said before, this was one of the first movies I had my dad set up the VCR to tape for me. Although most people hate the Adam West's Batman, I stand alone as a fan of this movie. Sure, it's incredibly campy, but even today it brings a smile to my face and entertains me. In essence, that's all I require from a movie. Seriously, if you can keep a straight face during that scene when Batman has to dispose of that bomb, then you have no soul.
2. Batman by Tim Burton
To me, this is the quintessential Batman movie. Almost 20 years later, it remains my favorite superhero film. There are some heavweight actors in this film such as Kim Basinger, Michael Keaton, and of course Jack Nicholson. What can you say about Jack's performance, he perfectly captures the manic nature of the Joker. He would almost steal the show if it weren't for Michael Keaton's masterful portrayal of Batman. What I love about his performance is that he is as good as Bruce Wayne as he is Batman. In public, Bruce Wayne acts aloof and goofy, while in private he's a brooding man. As Batman, he's the understated badass we all know and love. It's a subtle, brilliant performance considering that he's playing a guy who dresses up as a bat to fight crime.
3. Batman Returns
For the second modern batman movie, Tim Burton was given full reign over the film. As a result, this movie is even more bizzarre and dark than the first one. Now, I don't hate this movie, but I felt like there are too many Burtonisms in this movie. The man is a visual genius, but he went a bit too far in the visual scope of this film. I sincerely believe it distracts from the plot and the Batman character at times. In addition, the decision to have Catwoman and the Penguin further distracts from Batman himself. Nevertheless, it was still a good movie, but unfortunately the aforementioned "burtonisms" alienated some of the mainstream audiences ( most importantly the kiddies) and spelled the end of the Burton era, which really was unfortunate.
One thing I have to add: the scenes where Penguin bites the guy's nose off or the one where the penguins act as pallbearers after he dies: unintentionally hilarious. Also, this movie spawned one of my favorite brawler video games for the SNES so I can't hate on it too much.
4. Batman Forever
So this is where things started to go downhill for the modern Batman franchise. Gone are Michael Keaton and Tim Burton and in come Val Kilmer and Joel Schumacher respectively. In an attempt to make it more mainstream, they brought in Jim Carrey to play the Riddler who at the time was the biggest comedic actors in Hollywood. Everything is changed in this film. Gone is the subtle, gothic nature of the first film. Gotham itself is like this cyberpunk, garish version of itself full of neon lights.
This movie is strictly mediocre fare. I really disliked the complete focus on Riddler at the expense of Batman, but then again that may be a good thing because Val Kilmer's portrayal is extremely stiff. Even Two-Face, a guy who is half monster and half-human, is overshadowed by Riddler and has almost no development or backstory. They also introduce Robin in this movie, which is a bit of a disappointment given how whiny he is. Then again, this movie is still ok in my book. It doesn't dazzle, but it doesn't really offend either. One thing I must say, this movie has one of the best soundtracks ever. The Offspring, the only U2 song I actually like, Smashing Pumpkins, and Seal are all on this LP. I would definitely download it.
5. Batman and Robin
Oh boy, this one is a real stinker. When I think of this movie one phrase comes to mind, CHEESY AS HELL! The Adam West movie is at least campy in a funny way, this one is just campy in a shitty way. The movie is a spectacular mess because it tries to pack in a million subplots. Mr. Freeze and his wife, Poison Ivy's origin, Robin's jealous nature, Batgirl's origin...it's just too much for one movie. Also, some of the sequences make me cringe with embarassment. For example, Batman and Robin play hockey with a diamond while wearing batskates or how about the one where Batman and Robin publicly bid money to date Poison Ivy. Who the hell wrote this plot? Mr. Freeze also has a million one-liners and puns, and every one of them is painful to listen to.
I think it really says something when this movie essentially destroyed the careers of three actors: Chris O'Donnell, Alicia Silverstone, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Uma Thurman, in fact, had a downturn in her career too until the Kill Bill franchise. Trust me, it's THAT bad.
6. Batman Begins
Almost a decade later, Christopher Nolan rejiggered the franchise with this offering. It's certainly a return to the Burton movies stylistically, but he makes it totally unique. Although I don't like it as much as the original 1989 movie, this movie is fantastic in its own right. Christian Bale may be the best Batman ever, though I liked Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne better. Sans Katie Holmes, there are some great actors in here including Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine. One thing this movie does better than the original is fleshing out the origin of Batman. In fact, most of the movie is focused on how he becomes Batman after suffering the loss of both of his parents.
It's a new batman for a new millenium and it wouldn't have worked without Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan. These guys are young and talented, so I look forward to atleast two more films after Dark Knight. Thanks goes to them for rescuscitating a broken franchise.
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