The Batman

Earlier this morning, I had finished watching “The Batman,” which came out two months ago, on HBO Max while exercising. Now that I have seen this, I will let all of you know what I thought of this latest installment of the Caped Crusader.

Comic books have become a main adaptation tool for franchise filmmaking. Allen Adams said in his review, “There is a staggering amount of IP out there, ripe for exploration on the big screen.” Still, there are so many characters who we always return to. Characters upon who filmmakers can’t resist making films about.

Few characters have the type of blend that we’ve gotten from Batman for a long time – a blend that continues with the release of this latest film.

Since Tim Burton’s “Batman” was released in 1989, putting the foundation for the superhero success that would later excel, we’ve seen so many people embrace the character in their own way. Adams noted, “Early on, we got Burton’s neo-Gothic vibes and Joel Schumacher’s candy-colored neon fever dreams. After that, Christopher Nolan’s trilogy redefined the possibilities of what the character – and comic book movies in general – could be. Next, we got Zach Snyder’s stylized grimdark take as the character was moved into a wider expanded cinematic universe.”

Now, Matt Reeves has joined the club.

Adams said, ““The Batman” promises a more grounded take on the character, moving away from the more extreme interpretations and focusing on a younger Batman, one still learning the logistical challenges and harsh realities that come with costumed vigilantism.” With Robert Pattinson wearing the cloak, the film looks to go into the early years of the hero and his origin.

Adams said, “The film seeks to embrace verisimilitude – at least, to the extent that a movie based on a superhero comic can – and focuses more on the idea of Batman as detective, an aspect of the character that has largely been underplayed or outright ignored by previous adaptations.” Even though the film looks uneven, it still makes room for change and improve in ways we haven’t seen in theaters.

We meet this Batman, played by Pattinson, just two years into him being Batman. Currently, he stays a street vigilante, one saying he’ll clean up the crime-filled streets of Gotham. Adams said, “it’s a mission reflective of that put forth by his now-deceased philanthropist father, though his methods are far removed from those exercised by Thomas Wayne.” He has a complicated but evidently mutually respectful relationship with Gotham PD lieutenant James Gordon, played by Jeffrey Wright, but the majority of Gotham’s greatest look at Batman as a pain at best and a danger at worst.

However, without the mask he’s just Bruce Wayne, offspring to a huge fortune that has been gradually declining in recent years. His main person is Alfred Pennyworth, played by Andy Serkis, the man who has been with him ever since the tragic death of his parents so many years before.

The already crime-filled city threatens to explode when a mysterious masked person called the Riddler, played by Paul Dano, begins to kill off important people of the community, wealthy and powerful citizens that the mysterious villain sees as evil people responsible for Gotham’s slow suicide.

Meanwhile, a young woman named Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz) is on her own mission, trying to determine what happened to a friend of hers (Hana Hrzic) who has disappeared. Selina works at an infamous club famous for giving a place for criminals from every side to socialize. This club is run by a thug called the Penguin (Colin Ferrell), but the real boss is the crime lord Carmine Falcone (John Turturro).

Selina – the famous cat burglar – decides to use her certain set of skills to try and solve the mystery about her friend, leading her to meet up with the Batman. This encounter leads to both combining their plans, with the duo finding out just how deep and high the city’s crime goes. Their efforts put them in the radar of some very huge magnates who have a large interest in the status quo, even as a crazed serial killer target those very same magnates. In the end, it all comes down to who can be trusted, and who cannot.

There’s a great ambition with “The Batman.” Most superhero movies are about a mission scale, but this one uses that scale in a different way. Those films are about huge, world-threatening issues and scale that accordingly. This film’s stakes are much smaller, more down-to-earth. However, that’s not to say they’re less important or impactful – if anything, the less narrative swagger only increases out ability to directly connect.

Matt Reeves (who directed the film and co-wrote the script with Peter Craig) proves to be the right choice to make this version of Batman. Adams said, “He’s shown himself to be a deft hand with genre fare and IP franchise work – he wrote and directed the found-footage breakout “Cloverfield” and helmed the final two films of the excellent “Planet of the Apes” trilogy from the mid-2010s – and executed a clear and distinct vision in this film.”

A lot of that vision is seen in the film’s visuals. The artistic Reeves and company have created is filled with stylized structures and scary shadows, all of it drenched in a near universal rain. A lot of the film is shot in darkness that even the moments filled with light carry that dark hint.

The stylistic influences on the film are mass and extremely present. Adams noted, “There’s a ‘40s noir feeling throughout, a hard-boiled vibe that informs the underlying detective story foundation of the film. But there’s also a New Hollywood feel to a lot of the film, stemming from the efforts at crafting a griminess to the setting – the unseemly urban sordidness of Gotham is plucked straight from that tradition. Not to mention the fact that Reeves is unapologetically Hitchcockian in his approach throughout. Elements of paranoid thrillers and clean-up-the-streets exploitation are apparent as well. That said, this isn’t pastiche – Reeves simply incorporates these elements to help fill out a world that ultimately proves to be very much his own creation.”

The music is awesome. The score, the needle drops, everything is great.

Now, you can’t have a Batman movie – even one more interested in Batman as detective – without some action scenes, and “The Batman” has some good ones. Adams said, “There are a handful of hand-to-hand combat moments that are beautifully executed – there’s one lit almost exclusively by muzzle flash that is striking to watch – and a couple of top-notch chase scenes, as well as an explosive and complicated third act sequence that I won’t spoil.”

About the performances, they are exceptional basically all around. Pattinson makes an outstanding Batman in this version, menacing and emotionally detached and clearly struggling to find the border line between Bruce Wayne and Batman. There’s a part of psychological disconnect to the character that Pattinson embodies nicely, even as he holds his own with the physical demands. Meanwhile, Kravitz somehow gives an even better performance, giving Selina/Catwoman with a power and agility reflected both in her physical presence and her dramatic connection. Adams credited, “She oozes movie star charisma and wields it wonderfully throughout. Oh, and the chemistry between she and Pattinson is legit – the screen practically crackles when they share it.”

Now we get to the supporting cast. Dano is fantastic as the Riddler, somehow marking his menace even through a full-face mask and a digitally altered voice, using his eyes to give us a look into the character’s damaged soul. Ferrell – who is completely unrecognizable – gives his performance with a shine-in-the-eye glow. He is a great look at the Penguin as hopeful mid-level criminal. Turturro is mainly doing the same thing, but it fits the character well, so it works nicely. Gordon is almost always a thankless part, but Wright finds ways to bring something new to a character that often feels like an afterthought. Sadly, Serkis kind of is an afterthought. Alfred kind of gets pushed aside here, but what we do get is typically solid. We also get some amazing work from Peter Sarsgaard in a couple of scenes.

Adams said, “As for the elephant in the room – the nearly three-hour runtime – all I can say is that it is remarkable how fast the time passes. I certainly didn’t feel like I had been in the theater for three hours; the overall quality of every aspect kept me more than engaged enough to lose awareness of the film’s length.” Could it have been shortened? Sure, but there was little included that felt actively superfluous. Maybe we didn’t need everything we got, but nothing we saw actively steered away from the experience.

Adams admitted, “Personally, I don’t think “The Batman” quite reaches the apex achieved by a few of its predecessors – specifically, Nolan’s first two films – but it settles quite comfortably into the tier just below. And yes, there’s an argument that perhaps we didn’t need to reboot/revisit the character quite so soon, but hey – if we were going to get a new take anyway, then I’m really glad that this is the one we got.”

Stylish and plain, filled with well-shot action and high-quality performances, “The Batman” is a welcome addition to the franchise of Batman. Here’s hoping we get to see more of what Reeves, Pattinson and the rest have in store.

For a new take on Batman, I think this is a great new addition. If you want to see this, see it either in theaters, or if you want to play it safe, see it on HBO Max. I really liked the film, and if you’re a Batman fan, you will too. This was darker and edgier, and it really brought Batman back to what we love about him. I will even say that this is the best on-screen adaptation of Batman that we got. Another one of my favorite comic book films.

Thank you for joining in on my review. Stay tuned this Friday for the continuation of “Science Fiction Month.”

Zack Snyder's Justice League

Today, I finished watching Zack Snyder’s extended “Justice League” cut, which was released on HBO Max back in March. Seeing how this film is four hours long, I watched it in pieces while I was exercising, since that’s what people have been doing during the pandemic. Now, I will let all of you know if I thought this is better than the theatrical version.

Four years ago, when the “Justice League” film was released, it got mixed reviews. Many DC comic and movie fans had dismissed the film for its poor, unfocused script. Mostly because the film went through a difficult production and some serious changes between 2016 to 2017. There were reports that Zack Snyder left during the production because of the suicide of his daughter Autumn, then Joss Whedon came in and changed things around and may have ended up changing things a little too much than he should have.

Apparently die-hard fans and cybercitizens went all over social media with the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign, and the studio eventually listened after a few years. Now we finally get the version Snyder always wanted to release, and it became a four-hour long movie that came out on HBO Max. Fortunately, the famous Snyder cut this time around makes Justice League into a film worth seeing.

After Superman (Henry Cavill) sacrifices himself to kill Doomsday, Batman/Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) travels all over the planet to gather a new team of superheroes, which includes Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), The Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), and Cyborg (Ray Fisher), to defend everyone from an oncoming alien attack. That attack is Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds), one of Darkseid’s (Ray Porter) minions who wants to get the three Mother Boxes, the powerful and indestructible boxes that are capable of building and destroying the planet.

Tatat Bunnag said in his review, “While the premise in Zack Snyder's Justice League in broad terms remains the same as the 2017 film, with double the runtime, the new film is a methodical slow burn and has a much deeper interest in exploring its characters more than one may expect.” Nearly every character in the extended version in every way has more of a background and is far more articulate and appealing. These improvements help us really like the characters and understand where they’re coming from.

The premise for the Flash and Cyborg mainly – since the presence of those two characters were mainly dull and somewhat boring in the theatrical version – really bring forth everything that’s human and strong about them. Mainly, Cyborg feels like a well-rounded person in this movie, and for the first time, you see what he thinks and understand more of his family background (Joe Morton and Karen Bryson). Bunnag said, “And it's frankly stunning how engaging Barry Allen/The Flash is here compared to the bland iteration in the theatrical cut.” Allen struggles to find a direction in life and keep his promise he gave to his father, played by Billy Crudup. Now the film pieces the character together from his decision to help the heroes to accepting his responsibility to use his powers for good. Steppenwolf is also more a well-done villain in this version. There’s more clearness to his motivations, which include his duty and loyalty to Darkseid.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League also nicely gives us more background on the three Mother Boxes, which was never explained in the theatrical version. When we look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how they have released so many main and solo movies over the years to go into so much detail on each of the Infinity Stones, we see the DC Extended Universe never had a chance like that before. Now, thanks to the extended version, there’s more than enough time to let viewers know more about the Mother Boxes. Bunnag ended his review by saying, “Ultimately, Zack Snyder's Justice League is definitely a surprise vindication for the director and really saves the movie from the dustbin of history. With its improved stories, better realised protagonists and antagonists, I believe that it should resonate with fans better than ever.”

We also get appearances from other famous DC characters, like Jeremy Irons as Alfred, J.K. Simmons as James Gordon, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Amber Heard as Mera, Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko, Kiersey Clemons as Iris West, Joe Manganiello as Deathstroke, and even Harry Lennix makes a surprise appearance as Martin Manhunter. We even hear the voices of Carla Gugino as the A.I. on the Krypton ship, Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner as Clark Kent/Kal-El’s fathers.

 For those who did not really get into the theatrical version, check out the Snyder cut. There are still some problems, it doesn’t resolve all the issues from the theatrical version, but they do improve on those mistakes. Snyder’s direction and characterization are better, but he just can’t do Superman justice. That’s a major complaint that I can understand where people come from when they say that. However, seeing how this is a long film, which it in pieces, since you can watch it on HBO Max, if you have an account. Still, you should see this because it is a great film and another one of my favorite comic book films. I didn’t mind the theatrical version like a lot of people did, since I missed some of those comedic moments that were in the theatrical version, but the Snyder version was worth it in the end.

Thank you for joining in on today’s review, stay tuned tomorrow for the continuation of “The Addams Family Month.”

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Ultimate Edition

Since this year, we saw the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League cut, I thought it would be best to finally check out “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Ultimate Edition.” I know that this has been out for since 2016, but I never got around to it until recently, and I watched it on HBO Max while exercising, since this version is a half-hour longer than the theatrical version. I heard that this version is better, but is this R-rated extended edition superior or not? Since I just finished it this morning, I will let everyone know.

I can safely say that the “Ultimate Edition” is thankfully superior to the theatrical version. There are a lot of scenes added and everything that was added feels necessary in making sense of things that didn’t add up in the theatrical version. One of the added parts is Henry Cavill as Superman doing way more in the “Ultimate Edition.” Superman did not have a lot of scenes in the theatrical version, but the “Ultimate Edition” has him investigating Batman hard in Gotham, interviewing citizens who fear him. Sean Gallagher said in his review, “Likewise, we learn just how much of a death sentence the bat-brand can be from the point of view of the branded’s wife. Through Clark’s investigations, he learns that Batman sees himself as a fearmonger and above the law.” Clark sees that he needs to stop Batman because he’s been told by Gotham residents how scared they are of him.

The “Ultimate Edition” also does a better job explaining why Superman was blamed for the events in Africa. In the theatrical version, soldiers tasked by Lex Luthor destroyed a village and blamed Superman for it, which confused many viewers as to how this would make everything think that Superman never uses firearms. The “Ultimate Edition” shows the villagers were burned by Anatoli and his minions and knowing that Superman has heat vision, that makes the crime seem more believable. On top of that, we see that one of the survivors was paid by Luthor to say Superman was to blame. This beginning makes a lot more sense and makes the movie’s overall story more consistent and logical.

Another part that makes more sense is the explanation on why Superman didn’t see the bomb in Wallace’s (Scoot McNairy) wheelchair. Lois, played by Amy Adams, gets to do some real investigating (with the help of Jena Malone’s character, exclusive to this version) and learns that Wallace wasn’t a willing participant in his demise. He didn’t commit suicide but was killed so that Superman could get framed. She also sees that the wheelchair he was using in the senate hearing was made of lead, which Superman’s X-Ray vision would have not seen and prevented him from stopping the bomb. Again, this is vital information. Even though the warehouse fight hasn’t changed so much from the theatrical version, besides a few additional serious violence, the Batman fight scene against Luthor’s minions still is one of the best Batman fight scenes ever on screen.

The scene where Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) speaks with Steppenwolf is also added in the “Ultimate Edition,” which gives contest to the final conversation he has with Batman (Ben Affleck) in the cell. This scene was released online before the release of the “Ultimate Edition” but it’s still a nice inclusion as a segue from “Batman V Superman” to “Justice League.” A lot of scenes that are added in the “Ultimate Edition” just make other scenes make more sense, instead of just leaving the audience scratching their heads and asking why certain scenes were in the movie.

Unfortunately, even though the “Ultimate Edition” does add a lot and makes sure there are not as many plot holes than in the theatrical version by adding scenes that makes the movie make more sense, the problems that people had with the original theatrical version are still here. Snyder and his team decided not to remove any scenes from the “Ultimate Edition,” which is sad because there are certain parts of the movie that could have been removed completely. One of them could have been Lex’s speech at his gala, which still feels weird to watch (along with his cartoony antics), and the Martha scene at the height of the fight between the superheroes still hits a bad nerve. Gallagher noted, “Doomsday’s last-minute appearance isn’t alluded to at all until he shows up really, barring Lex running some mysterious experiments on General Zod’s body, so that reveal still comes out of left-field.” The Justice League cameos are still shown very briefly in email attachments seen by Batman. There’s also a lot of stuff in the movie that sometimes makes it feel distracted when looking at the future of the DC Extended Universe.

Now, I don’t know if Snyder’s cut to “Justice League” learned any lessons from the “Ultimate Edition,” but I must see that in order to make any sort of final judgment. The additions that Snyder made in the “Ultimate Edition” were very essential to make the movie much better, and I heard that the Snyder “Justice League” cut is his original vision of the movie before he was replaced by Joss Whedon due to the tragedy in Snyder’s family, although now I’m hearing that wasn’t entirely true. I know that Snyder made his version of “Justice League” four hours long, and I don’t think he would have released that in theaters, seeing how people would not have wanted to sit through a four-hour movie. Like I already stated, I must watch Snyder’s version of “Justice League” that he released earlier on HBO Max. That will also be an exercise movie, since now with streaming services, I can watch films in pieces if they’re too long.

In the end, I will say that if you were not satisfied with the theatrical version of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” check out the “Ultimate Edition” on HBO Max. Even though the flaws from the theatrical version are still present, a lot of scenes make more sense, and it was needed. Like I had already stated, it is a three-hour long movie, so if you can’t sit through the movie that long, watch it in pieces, if you have HBO Max.

Thank you for joining in on my review today. Stay tuned Friday for the continuation of “Special Needs Month.”

Justice League

Well everyone, I came back from seeing the much anticipated “Justice League,” which came out yesterday. This is a movie that every DC fan has wanted to see ever since the Marvel Cinematic Universe came out with “The Avengers.” Maybe long before that. However, I will share with everyone what I thought of this film that every DC fan has requested for years.

Maybe everyone had really low expectations after “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” but “Justice League” is good. It’s nowhere near as amazing as “Wonder Woman,” but “Wonder Woman” also had the smart idea of being a standalone story that was trying to do something different than the previous huge superhero combination movies. I agree with Katey Stoetzel when she stated in her review, “Justice League takes what was bad about Batman V Superman and fixes some of it, which leaves us with a film that, to be kind, didn’t feel like a complete waste of my time or money.”

The cities are in danger after the death of Superman, having criminals do so much crime they want and for aliens to enter in Earth now that they have no savior. To stop the madness, Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck) brings together a team of superheroes that consist of Barry Allen/The Flash (Ezra Miller), Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and Victor Stone/Cyborg (Ray Fisher). Together, they form the beginning of the Justice League and are the best part of the film, hands down. They work off each other so well, with enough comedy that feels on par with the Marvel films, but also enough drama to not feel just like a copy of the Marvel formula.

Individually, they’re just as interesting. Gal Gadot’s return as Wonder Woman is just perfect after the five month break since we last saw her. Stoetzel admitted, “Jason Momoa as Aquaman kills it, although if you’re not familiar with the character, you might be a little lost on some of his story (like me). Ezra Miller as The Flash, who I was the most concerned about due to my affection for Grant Gustin’s turn on the CW series, ultimately impressed with his charm.” It’s the completely unknown Ray Fisher who is the best part here. Victor Stone may be mostly robotic, but Fisher fills humanity and warmth through only his facial expressions and voice. It’s also good that Victor has the most convincing character arc out of all of them.

Stoetzel said, “The nicest thing to say about Ben Affleck’s Batman this time around is that he isn’t a distraction while Superman played by Henry Cavill remaining the dark mark on the DC Universe.  Delivering a wooden performance, his relationship with Lois Lane (Amy Adams) remains cringe-worthy. Cavill’s turn as Superman has been around since 2013, but I couldn’t find it in myself to care about his return, despite how much the film wants you to.”

The plot is less messy than the over-packed mess of “Batman v Superman,” but there’s still some questions that will be asked and will make it hard to follow sometimes. Stoetzel admitted, “While some feel that Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) is just another CGI villain, I found him to be a worthy opponent for our heroes.” The flashbacks of the first fights with him put “Justice League” and the DC Extended Universe on a larger, epic scale. The action is engaging, most notably when we have a part in Themiscyra, home of the Amazons. Its here we first see Steppenwolf when one of the three Mother Boxes power up and Steppenwolf appears to steal it. The Amazons try to keep the box from being stolen; throwing it between each other like they are playing “Monkey in the Middle” with Steppenwolf. The larger story about the three boxes is a little vague – something to do with remaking Steppenwolf’s home planet, but it only tells as much as that it would destroy humanity, rather than explaining further on why, exactly.

Stoetzel said, “The film also suffers tonally. The comedy fits well with the drama between the characters, but it also flits between Lord of the Rings-type mythical battles, sci-fi alien invasions, and a gritty dystopia that can only be healed when their hero returns.”

“Justice League” brings light to the DC Extended Universe, so at least this time; there is some enjoyment to have. I agree with Stoetzel when she said, “It’s definitely a step up from BvS, not quite as remarkable as Wonder Woman, but a good popcorn film that doesn’t have me losing faith just yet.” Be sure to stay for the two mid-credit (where Flash and Superman agree to race one another) and post credit scenes (where Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) escape from Arkham Asylum and recruits Slade Wilson/Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello) to create a team), though, because that’s what comic book movies do nowadays.

After seeing this movie, I have to admit that it’s better than all the movies in the DC Extended Universe, except for “Wonder Woman.” That’s still the best, but that’s probably because it was a standalone, solo film about one character, rather than about a team. Those seem to cram too much in, but “Justice League” doesn’t really do it that much. The action was great, the comedy was funny, and it was about the team coming together, learning about one another, and learning teamwork. This movie did what “The Avengers” did, but not at the same level. Even though there isn’t as much action, it was still a good movie because it was more about the characters coming together, learning from one another, and learning to work together as a unit. I would probably say this is one of my favorite comic book films. My only complaint is that Steppenwolf is not a good villain. I know that he was never a villain in the Justice League and it should have been their main villain, but I don't know Justice League that well. Maybe DC needs to work on their villains a bit, but Marvel had that problem for a long time as well.

My advice is to not listen to the critics, since Rotten Tomatoes is showing critics hating this movie, but audiences love it. Go and see the movie for yourself. I seriously think all of you will like it, agreeing that it’s the second best installment in the DC Extended Universe. I give this a recommendation and tell you to go check it out.

Thank you for joining in on my review, stay tuned next Thursday when I review a Thanksgiving movie.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Tonight, I finally got a chance to see “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” which came out last month. If you remember my “Batman and Robin” review, I said that this was in the works but was scrapped immediately. However, this was in talks forever. Now we finally got it, and how does the end result fair out? 

Allan Hunter started his review out by saying, “In Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, it’s fisticuffs at 20 paces as the Caped Crusader and the Man Of Steel decide that humanity can only survive if one of them doesn’t. It’s billed as the greatest gladiator fight in the history of the planet, the result of which is a chaotic comic book extravaganza that careers between exhilaration and exasperation.”

A combination of death and destruction built around moral dilemmas, ethical issues and observational fear, this makes the cheerful innocence of the Christopher Reeve time feels like so long. Even if you were paying attention at the end of “Man of Steel,” you might not have noticed the final fight between Superman and General Zod ended in the destruction of Wayne Enterprises and many people died in that.

Worrying, grief-stricken Bruce Wayne, played by Casey Affleck’s older brother, Ben Affleck, can neither forgive nor forget, continuing to think of Superman as a reckless enemy of the human race who must be destroyed. The trouble-making Alexander “Lex” Luther, played by an enjoyably crazy Jesse Eisenberg, has his own sneakiness plan to kill a superhero, requiring a huge amount of Kryptonite.

As the fight between Superman and Wayne’s crime-fighting alter ego Batman heats up, other elements get mixed in, including the arrival of Wonder Woman (the hot Gal Gadot), the death-daring experiences of reporter Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and the campaign by Senator Finch (Holly Hunter) to make Superman accountable for his actions.

There is enough going on in “Batman v Superman” to fill a handful of films. Director Zack Snyder keeps it moving at a decent pace but between the flashbacks, fantasy orders and loads of characters the film feels like it is exploding at the climax.

Hunter stated in his review, “The violence and spectacle easily outshine the soul-searching dilemmas and there is a thunderous score by Hans Zimmer. Everything is big, bombastic and overwrought and by the end it feels amazing anything or anyone is left standing or that the film only secured a 12 certificate.” Affleck is correctly tortured and heartless as a grouchy old Batman but Cavill is still on the boring side as Superman.

Jeremy Irons is a nice addition as a sarcastic, long-suffering Alfred, telling Bruce Wayne: “You’ve got too old to die young.” Hunter is right when he said, “Despite its flaws this film works on its own terms as the inky black visuals and cliff-hanging plot create something that feels true to its comic book origins.” It also leaves enough up in the air to keep the franchise running for many years.

Now, I know that this film has been getting bad reviews from critics. However, I do not think this is a great movie by any means, or even one of the best. Still, I don’t think this is as bad as everyone says it is, and is not even anywhere close to being one of the worse comic book adaptations or one of the worst movies. I thought that it was fine and there was plenty in it that kept me engaged.

In the end, if you want to see this movie, you can see it if you like. Otherwise, if you think it is better to just rent it when it comes out on Blu-Ray, then go right ahead. I personally am happy I saw this, and it was a fine first entry in the Justice League build-up movies.

Hopefully I gave everyone a good recommendation. I won’t spoil anything since I don’t like doing that, especially since this movie came out a few weeks ago. Check in next Friday for the third entry in “Karate Kid Month.”

Batman week Part 7

For the epic finale of my Batman week marathon, or Bat-a-thon, it's time to end off with the epic conclusion to the Christopher Nolan "Batman Trilogy." The last one came out last summer, July 2012, which was called "The Dark Knight Rises."

After the ending of "The Dark Knight," where Batman is being chased by Gordon’s dogs, everyone was anticipating the sequel. However, no one really knew who the villain was going to be. People were saying that Johnny Depp was going to be the Riddler, Phillip Seymour Hoffman was going to be the Penguin, and there were talks of a third villain, possibly Catwoman. The villains Christopher Nolan decided to go with were Catwoman and Bane. Now that's the way to end off the series.

Before beginning my review, I would just like to say that I saw "The Dark Knight Rises" on opening night, and when I came home, I had heard about the tragedy at the Aurora Theater shooting in Colorado. How sad is that? People come to the theater to see one of the most anticipated superhero films of the summer, and some nut who saw the film decided to come in and shoot innocent bystanders who were watching it? My condolences go out to every family in Colorado that lost someone in the shooting, now onto the review.

Now the premise to this movie would be familiar to Batman fans, if they had read the "Nightfall" story arc from the comics.

Tim Burton wanted to make the film as dark as Nolan did in "The Dark Knight Rises," but obviously couldn't do it after what people had said about "Batman Returns." However, with Nolan toning down the darkness in this film, I feel was appropriate because it's Batman, and it's supposed to be dark and set in a realistic setting, which is possibly why Batman has no superpowers.

Since I believe this movie is the best comic book adaptation ever made, I will be making a long review praising and defending it, as I feel that the movie was unjustly ridiculed and nitpicked at. However, I do hope that all of you enjoy my review.

My main reasoning for liking this film is because of Bane, played by Tom Hardy. I think that he is one of the greatest villains I have ever seen portrayed after a while, and in my personal opinion, I think he was even better than the Joker. Don't get me wrong, Joker is my favorite Batman villain, as for a lot of other people, if not everybody, but I had already seen him done before very well by Jack Nicholson in the '89 Batman. As I had mentioned before, Heath Ledger had escaped the shadow of Nicholson and made a tremendous Joker in his own way, but I understand if anyone prefers the Joker.

My reason as to why I prefer Bane is because Jeep Swenson's portrayal of Bane in "Batman & Robin" was obviously horrendous, so Bane was a fresh approach in this one. Like those who never read any of the comics, I watched the '90s Animated Series, so I was familiar with Bane and Batman's story through that cartoon.

When I saw Bane in this movie, I thought he was a good villain with an objective, a diabolical plot, which he pulled off perfectly in this.

His appearance will definitely give you a scare when you see his presence with that mask he wears and when he does those shifting eyes, you know that something is going to happen. His voice was just dastardly, hands down, which is something that they had changed. Before in the earlier trailers, they had his voice sounding much raspier than Batman's, about a hundred times harder to understand what he was saying, from what I heard. But the finished product on his voice, I thought was perfect for him. They gave Hardy some sort of a filter so that you could hear Bane's voice clearer and really projects his voice.

Nolan made Bane really enjoyable and how he's really soaking up, hamming it, and having fun being the villain. With everything you throw at him is great and he's really intimidating.

I thought it was funny on the plane when the CIA agent wanted to know about Bane by asking, "Tell me about Bane! Why does he wear the mask? A lot of loyalty, for a hired gun!" He doesn't know that Bane is right behind him, that Bane sneaks up behind the agent and replies, "Or perhaps he's wondering why someone would shoot a man, before throwing him out of a plane?" Wanting to know more, the agent asks him, "At least you can talk. Who are you?" and Bane replies, "It doesn't matter who we are, what matters is our plan. No one cared who I was until I put on the mask."

Another reason why he's so great is because he did what Ra's Al Ghul and the Joker almost succeeded on, but Batman stopped before they're plot was just about to be complete: take over Gotham City. He did just that, but I believe that he was a sympathetic guy when he announced that he was going to take over Gotham, but the Police that he had trapped underneath the tunnel were going to be kept alive, supplied with food and everything they needed. Remember, the Batman villains were only concerned about getting Batman out of the way, not the police. I understand if you say that the police would eventually get out of the cave since they were supplied with food, but it all depended on the material they had and how long it would take them to dig their way out of the cave when they used their resources. Bane would eventually fight everyone, he was just prioritizing everything. Every supervillain has their own way of prioritizing who, when and how they are going to fight everyone.

For those who say that the good guys are going up against Bane and his henchmen, who have AK-47s, with sticks and batons, remember that Robin and Batgirl don't have that much in their arsenal of weapons.

In this film, which it couldn't have been complete without Nolan inserting this: Bane breaks Batman's back over his knee, and kept him away for months. That is until he was helped by the people in the well he was thrown in, to recover by snapping his back right back into place. Before Bane broke Batman's back, I loved it when Bane said, "Ah, yes... I was wondering what would break first... Your spirit, or your body?" When he's down in that prison, he asks Bane, "Why didn't you just... kill me?" to which Bane responds, "You don't fear death... You welcome it. Your punishment must be more severe." That is another great Bane line.

Also, it takes time for a back injury to heal, which is why it took him a while to get better. You might be saying, "Well what about the people who are in wheelchairs because of broken backs? Would I have to just snap their backs back into place and they'll be cured?" Listen here nitpickers: what Bane did to Batman wasn't "as" severe as other people's broken backs, so calm down. Don't go, "Bruce gets better in that well?" Just look at it from a medical view and think that the back injury wasn't as severe.

The people in the well told Bruce that only one person was able to get out, and with the "Deshi basara!" chant helping him out was great. Of course, that was played in the trailer, and no one knew what it meant until we saw the film, which the chant meant "Rise."

One point of defense is that when complaining about the jump out of the well, I heard a complaint that Bruce could have just used a chisel and climbed his way out, but this was to keep the suspense, which is what it did perfectly. They asked a professional rock climber about that issue, and they said he could have jumped out of it easily, but I feel it kept the suspense, and when he came out and the bats were flying all around behind him, it was Bruce rising again as Batman.

Remember, Bruce's back was fine. He was just trying to rebuild his spirit. That's why he spent so long in the well. He was trying to mentally get himself back into action. He was thinking that he wasn't worthy and that there was nothing left for him. No villain had beaten Batman the way Bane did. Bane had broken Bruce's spirit, so Bruce had to mentally get himself back together and rise again as the superhero we all know and love. Think of it as similar to Jesus resurrected.

People probably complained that they didn't see anyone do anything when Bane was taking over, but Gotham's citizens must have been planning. It wasn't necessary to show who was planning a way to stop Bane.

Also, people might have complained with how Batman came back and just punched Bane really hard to win, but I thought that it was a well-done battle, and overall, well put together up to his demise. If you were expecting something better, then you should check out another Batman film you like. Remember, this is a war film, so you would only expect what you saw at the end.

With Catwoman, she is played by the gorgeous Anne Hathaway. I had seen Anne Hathaway in the two "Princess Diaries" films, "Ella Enchanted," and Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland," but I was familiar with some other films she did that had a PG-13 or R rating. This was the first film that I saw Hathaway casted in where she was doing something more geared towards the teenagers and/or adults.

Hathaway as Catwoman was well done, and she is up there with actresses who played the best Catwoman. She is one of the best Catwoman actresses I have seen, but I would say that she and Michelle Pfeiffer are good in their own respective ways.

Hathaway goes back in forth between the typical damsel in distress and then becoming serious, which was just for show. She plays the different parts in the character and she is having fun with it.

Nolan made Catwoman more of a spy in this movie, which worked great, and I think she was made more like the Catwoman from the comics.

Whenever you see her and Batman together, you know something is going to happen.

I especially liked her goggles in this, where it went to the top of her head, it looked like cat ears, which I thought was a nice touch, hence the reason why she is called, "The Cat Burglar" and not Catwoman.

There is a third villain, who is played by Marion Cotillard, and her character name is Miranda Tate. Around the third act, she reveals herself as Ra's Al Ghul's daughter, Talia. I thought that was a dark and interesting twist, but people probably thought that Ra's Al Ghul was going to be in this because you hear his voice in the trailer. There is a scene where Bruce sees Ra's Al Ghul, but it turns out he was a vision.

Also, I found it surprising that they made her Bane's girlfriend in this, and the child that made it out of the well, leaving Bane behind. Batman had thought, as did everyone else who was watching this, that Bane was the one who made it out of the well, but apparently not. Talia made it out, and Bane tried to fight the people off while she escaped.

Even though she died unexpectedly, and had a wimpy death to some people, I thought it was a nice addition, and no one probably expected that.

The music in this film was excellent, which is a big part as to what makes any film so captivating because without it, it wouldn't be as exciting as it is. However, there are parts in the film that don't have music in them at all, and they are actually done very well. If you remember in "The Dark Knight," when Batman confronts the Joker in the streets, and no music is played, in "The Dark Knight Rises," there is a scene similar to that, which is effective.

I actually liked the plot in this film better than in the last two because I believe it was a fitting closure to the Batman storyline, told by Christopher Nolan. Since the stakes were higher in this film, it made it more interesting.

If you remember from the beginning of the film, eight years has passed since Harvey died. Bruce is seen in retirement looking really old. When he hears that a terrorist named Bane is going to make Gotham City into unbridled anarchy, which is something that the Joker and any super powered villain always tried to do, Bruce sees that Gotham is in serious trouble and whips himself back into shape, which he did a good job of doing. However, he's in serious trouble after Bane breaks his back.

It's very dark and depressing story, but this is how this chapter is supposed to be since every superhero has that moment where their powers are lost or they are momentarily defeated. Remember in "Superman II," when Superman gave up his powers to be with Lois Lane, or in "Spider-Man 2" when Peter decided to not be Spider-Man anymore? A new opponent comes around, who is like a superhuman being, and defeats the hero, so it's all about the fall and rise of that hero. Batman had defeated every villain he has encountered, but Bane was the first villain to beat Batman and break his spirit.

You're probably wondering if the whole film is completely depressing, but no, there are some funny scenes in this. One that you remember from the trailer is when Bane is taking down a football field, and the field is destroyed, but one player is running, which someone can take either as the player running from the destruction or trying to score a touchdown. You might probably be wondering, "He wouldn't know the field is being destroyed because he doesn't turn around until he scores the touchdown." True, but the ground is shaking, so I guess it would be hard not to know.

Like "Batman Begins," "The Dark Knight Rises" is very story-driven, which is what I really liked because you get to know the back-story of both Bane and Talia a lot, which makes it interesting.

The run-time of the film didn't feel as long as it did, and went by really fast, but that's probably because I got into it so fast. However, the beginning was slow, but quickly picked up as the film went on. Very few films should have the allotted run-time as "The Dark Knight Rises," but that's something people can debate on. A lot of stuff was happening in this, and new characters were introduced, which would make a person want to get into it, if they would enjoy it and it's the Batman film for them. It's a fitting closure to the Nolan trilogy, and he also co-wrote the screenplay once again with his brother, Jonathan.

The Nolan trilogy are their own distinct genres, since they are crime dramas with Batman, and this a war film, which I think they did a good job on. He set them in a realistic setting, and it looks completely realistic, with the explosions and stuff that he did. In "The Dark Knight," the hospital that Joker blew up was an actual hospital that had ran out of business for a while.

That's what I like about Christopher Nolan, since he made the films with no CGI effects. I think it's a job well done since everything seems to have CGI in it, but there are exceptions to when it's fitting and good in a film.

In the end, if you have seen the film, Batman files away in the Bat-Copter, or Bat-Chopper, whatever you want to call it, maybe Bat-Jet, and it blows up. Before I go further, let me defend one thing here. I heard that Batman would not have made it out as far as he did in time, and the explosion would not have exploded just the Chopper. Listen, it's a time-suspension rule that every film has done, so once again, chillax!

People think that he is dead, and Alfred cries at the funeral saying that he failed the Wayne parents in promising to protect Bruce. The Wayne House is now going to be a museum, Batman is recognized as a hero, but the one thing about Bruce is that he gave Alfred, Lucius, and Gordon a ray of hope inside, which no one else had, that he's possibly still alive. Alfred told Bruce earlier in the film, "Remember when you left Gotham? Before all this, before Batman? You were gone seven years. Seven years I waited, hoping that you wouldn't come back. Every year, I took a holiday. I went to Florence, there's this cafe, on the banks of the Arno. Every fine evening, I'd sit there and order a Fernet Branca. I had this fantasy, that I would look across the tables and I'd see you there, with a wife and maybe a couple of kids. You wouldn't say anything to me, nor me to you. But we'd both know that you'd made it, that you were happy. I never wanted you to come back to Gotham. I always knew there was nothing here for you, except pain and tragedy. And I wanted something more for you than that. I still do." At the end, he goes to Florence, sits in the cafe, orders his Fernet Branca, looks over, nods his head, and sees Bruce and Selina sitting there, finally retired.

Gordon sees that the Bat Signal is repaired, and Lucius finds that the autopilot in the Bat-Jet was fixed. So now they know that Bruce is still alive.

One more thing: you would complain about is that Michael Caine is not in the film as much. Didn't Alfred say that he wasn't going to help Bruce anymore? Remember that part before you complain about Caine being nowhere until the end. Alfred helped out Bruce in the beginning, but once he got the hang of going out to fight crime at night, there was no need for Alfred to keep helping Bruce.

People complain that Alfred wouldn't just up and leave Bruce the way he did. If something were to happen, since Alfred took care of Bruce since he was a boy, Alfred would have come back to Gotham and looked for Bruce. There was nothing about Alfred coming back and helping Bruce get everything he needed to take down Bane. He isn't in the background helping Batman out, but what people need to understand is that Alfred's role, despite being more condensed in this movie, is still phenomenal. He has many key scenes.

My defense to this complaint is that normally with the Hero's Path, the mentor doesn't show up so much, even though I acknowledge Alfred is supposed to be there all the time. The comics and movies are two different entities. Also, it's now Bruce's job to find Alfred. You can't expect Alfred to hold Bruce's hand through everything. One day, he has to learn, despite that Bruce is in his late 30s to early 40s in this movie. I know that it's strange that Alfred would leave him at that old of an age, but Alfred wasn't there for Bruce when he was away from Gotham all those years.

Michael Caine did a great job as a mentor who did give long lectures, but there was some valuable lessons, despite the tone Michael Caine gave Alfred. Also, look at when and for how long Michael Caine was available to shoot his scenes as Alfred. I don't know if he was shooting something else, but just think about that.

Now there is one character that I didn't mention, a young police officer name John Blake, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who in the end reveals that his birth name is Robin. When he quits the force, he discovers the Bat Cave, possibly hinting there will be a Robin spinoff or possibly he'll be the next Batman. Whatever the case might be, Nolan is officially done with the Batman series.

Overall, I believe that "The Dark Knight Rises" is the best Batman film, my all time favorite comic book adaptation, another one of my favorite films, and the best superhero film of all time. Other people would disagree and call it the worst of the trilogy, but they probably over thought and nit-picked it to death. I don't see why they would, it's an amazing movie. Just check your brain at the door, sit down, and enjoy the movie for crying out loud. Stop nitpicking things to death. There is such a thing as "too far," which people have done a lot with the Nolan trilogy.

One person says that in this trilogy, Batman gets outsmarted every single time. This is a modern look at Batman people. He did use his head and he still has his brains, doesn't he? I don't see where Batman gets outsmarted in the trilogy.

I'm sorry for being so defensive and I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but still, it's just a movie. I understand if you grew up with a different version of Batman than I did, but you should still accept the movie for making a valiant effort for capturing the comics as best as they could. I know the comics will always superior, and I feel the same way about every novel adaptation that I see on a novel that I read, like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings.

So, what's next for Batman? Well, I'm hearing rumors of a reboot because they're planing on making a Justice League film, but we'll see. In the mean time, go watch "The Dark Knight Rises," I highly recommend it, and I think you'll enjoy it. I hope you enjoyed my Bat-a-thon, and stay tuned for more of my reviews.

Batman week Part 6

After the success of "Batman Begins," it would probably come as no surprise that Christopher Nolan was planning a sequel. In 2008, he did just that with, at the time, the Best Superhero film ever made, "The Dark Knight." I'll admit that when I saw the trailers to this, I thought it was going to be a horrible remake of the '89 Batman, so I disregarded ever seeing it. However, when I finally did see it, I was wrong. It was "much" better than the '89 Batman, and it was the perfect follow-up to "Batman Begins." I would even go far to say that I consider this film higher on my favorite films list than Tim Burton's "Batman." This is another one of my all time favorite comic book adaptations. A lot of sequels, which people have noticed are pretty common, either repeats the same storyline or they try some new type of story, which fails miserably. "The Dark Knight," which is a crime thriller, did not do either and told the next story, picking up where "Batman Begins" had left off. Nolan made this film after reading the Joker's comic debut in 1940, The Killing Joke, which is the 1988 graphic novel, and the 1996 series The Long Halloween, which retold Two-Face's origin.

It was nice to see the returning cast of Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman in their respective roles, and they did just as good as they did in Batman Begins, maybe even better. Katie Holmes did not reprise her role as Rachel Dawes, although she was signed on, but turned it down to star in "Mad Money." In March of 2007, the beautiful Maggie Gyllenhaal was in final talks and was casted as Rachel Dawes. Gyllenhaal has described her character as "a damsel in distress to an extent," but says "Nolan sought ways to empower her character." So, "Rachel's really clear about what's important to her and unwilling to compromise her morals, which made a nice change from the many conflicted characters whom she has previously portrayed." Gyllenhaal did just as a good job as Holmes did, a tough and intelligent role that could also be looked at as a role model. Also, you might recall when Rachel tells Bruce that she'll be with him once Batman is no longer around. There is, if I remember correctly, a scene that follows up with that.

Now comes the juicy part, the villains in this film. Cillian Murphy returns briefly in the beginning as Scarecrow, but is tossed aside for the main villain of this film that steals the show: The Joker, played by Heath Ledger. What can I say about this performance? Unlike Jack Nicholson, who plays the role in a very funny type of a way, Ledger played it the exact opposite. This is hands down, one of the scariest performances I have ever seen in a while. I was actually scared of him the entire time he was on screen because he had such a dastardly plan that you knew he was going to go far into taking over Gotham City. When he sits down with the robbers to devise a plan to kill Batman, he knows what he is saying to them and knows that's the only thing to do. In this film, they made him too invincible with interrogating the mob of criminals and escaping the police too easily, but he's still a tremendous performance.

Joker is the main villain that is seen all the time in Batman comics and the shows, so there is no doubt that Joker is everyone's favorite Batman villain. The hype to this film was a little exaggerated for a while. The news was covering on "The Dark Knight" for some time, but more specifically about the drug overdose which caused Ledger's unfortunate and sad passing. Nolan had originally planned that he would reprise Ledger as Joker in the next two or three sequels of his Batman films, but after he passed away, Nolan had to switch gears and find a new villain.

I believe that after Ledger passed away, the internet rumor called "The Joker Curse" had started, where people stated that whoever played the Joker had gone through some sort of problems, like psychological issues or some sort. I had believed that for a while, with everyone saying (if I remember correctly) that Cesar Romero had some psychological issues, Nicholson was in the hospital a week later after suffering a heart attack, Mark Hamill, who did the voice of Joker in the Animated Series, had trouble sleeping, and of course, Ledger's drug overdose. However, I think people were being too over panicked about this, so I brushed it aside after a while.

I got tired of the question (although I was asking this myself) on who the better Joker was, comparing Nicholson and Ledger. Both did an outstanding job in their own respective ways, and that's what made Ledger so great. He was an original Joker, not imitating any of the past actors who played Joker, and not laughing as often.

When you hear Joker tell his different stories as to why he got his scars to one of the mobsters and Rachel, we don't know his back-story and if he's telling the truth. I wouldn't be surprised if Nolan got that idea from the Animated Series’ episode, "Mad Love," which happens to be my personal favorite out of all of them. You have to love the Joker line, "Why so serious?"

The Batman and Joker scenes are just perfect. When you see the two of them together in a scene, you want to see what they do. The interrogation scene, the fight at the party, the car chase, and the end fight, it's all just perfect scenes well-put together.

Sal Maroni, played by Eric Roberts, is the one who takes over Falcone's job, which is another criminal Gordon is after in this one. Bob Hoskins and the man who brought you "The Sopranos" and did the memorable role as Tony Soprano in the sitcom, James Gandolfini, auditioned for this role.

Now the final villain is Harvey Dent aka Two Face, played by Aaron Eckhart, who did a better job than Tommy Lee Jones in "Batman Forever" by a mile. Before Eckhart was casted, Liev Schreiber, Josh Lucas, and Ryan Phillippe wanted to play Harvey Dent, Mark Ruffalo auditioned, and Hugh Jackman was also considered. Nolan chose Eckhart because of "his "extraordinary" ability as an actor, his embodiment of "that kind of chiseled, American hero quality" projected by Robert Redford and his sub textual "edge." Eckhart was also interested in good guys turning evil." We all know that Two-Face is a crime boss, but Nolan put him down as a twisted vigilante because he's Batman's counterpart. Eckhart said that, "[He] is still true to himself. He's a crime fighter; he's not killing good people. He's not a bad guy, not purely." Eckhart thought of Two-Face as Robert Kennedy, as an "idealistic, held a grudge and took on the Mob." He had his hair lightened and styled to make him appear more dashing. Nolan told Eckhart to not make Dent's Two-Face persona "jokey with slurping sounds or ticks."

I especially liked the line that Dent said to Bruce, "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." In Dent's case, would you say the latter is the one he did? Because thinking now, I think that he lived long enough to see himself become the villain. Unfortunately, I do have to complain: didn't Nolan rush in making Dent into Two-Face? He's literally Two-Face for maybe the last half-hour of the movie, and then he dies. They should have made him turn into Two-Face, and left it as a cliffhanger for the third movie. Oh well, but he played the split-personality of Two-Face perfectly.

It was especially a strong thing for Dent to say that he was Batman so that he could cover up Bruce. After Batman interrogates Joker and goes after Dent while the others go after Rachel, she dies, and Dent becomes Two-Face after getting half of his face burned with the acid explosion. Joker comes to him in the hospital, and turns Gotham's "White Knight" by bringing him from the higher level to the same level as the Joker. That shows you how powerful of a villain the Joker can be.

The action scenes are much better in this one than in "Batman Begins." Although I liked the action in that one, this one cleaned it up with no more of that up close shaky camera movement. Not only did this involve more vehicles and explosions, but "the hand-to-hand combat were photographed and edited in a more coherent manner" which is a statement from James Rolfe's review that I agree with. When the Tumbler exploded, I didn't mind, but the Bat-Pod looked really neat, and a much better vehicle for Batman.

There are two scenes in this film that I believe pay tribute to the '89 Batman, which you might know the ones I'm mentioning.

People would probably also complain that "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" really have a lot of pretentious, brooding dialogue that they don't care for and are annoyed of, but I didn't pay attention to that.

Gordon is believed to be dead for a while, but comes back and is promoted to Commissioner after Joker kills Gillian B. Leob, played by Colin McFarlane.

Nolan worked with his brother, Jonathan Nolan, on the screenplay, and gave the idea of the Joker's first two appearances from the first issue of Batman in 1940. Nolan also wanted to make this film show more of Batman's detective side, which is a side that wasn't fully developed in "Batman Begins."

With Ledger dead, people were going around talking that possibly Johnny Depp would play the Riddler, Phillip Seymour Hoffman would play the Penguin, and I believe they were talking about putting Catwoman in there as well. But who would be the next villain in the series? And will this one get better, or will be the worst of them all? Tune in next episode! Same Bat Time! Same Bat Channel!

Batman week Part 5

After 8 whole years of Batman not appearing on screen in theaters, along comes one of the greatest directors of all time, Christopher Nolan, to restart the Batman series. In 2005, he did just that with the best Batman film by far at the time, "Batman Begins." People who didn't like this film or thought it was alright, I seriously think nit-picked this film a lot. Now, in all honesty, this was my first Batman film I ever saw the whole way through (the past I had only seen parts of on TV or from the VHS copies we owned), and I actually enjoyed it fully. The best part about it was we saw it in the theater, which was a great experience.

It starts off with a back-story of Bruce as a small child (Gus Lewis) playing with Rachel Dawes (Emma Lockhart). When he falls down a hole and discovers a bat cave, we get a first glimpse at his fear, but he’s saved from that hole. His parents, played by Linus Roache and Sara Stewart, and Bruce go out to an opera house, where Bruce asks to leave because of his fear of bats. Once they leave, he witnesses his parents getting shot by a robber named Joe Chill, played by Richard Brake. The police inform Bruce that they are going to find the man, leaving him to be raised by his butler Alfred Pennyworth, now played by the great Michael Caine. I do say I prefer him as Alfred because he makes him so loveable and the loyal butler that he is, that he pulls this role off well. You have to love him when he always tells Bruce, "Why do we fall, sir? So we can always learn to pick ourselves up again." Whether you like it or not, this whole backstory is necessary here, hence the reason why it is called a "reboot." This is for the new school Batman fans so they can understand how Bruce becomes Batman. 14 years later, Chill is being granted parole in exchange for Carmine Falcone, played by Tom Wilkinson. Bruce (now played by Christian Bale) goes to the trial to kill Chill, but one of Falcone's men instead kill him, while Rachel (now played by Katie Holmes) is ashamed of Bruce taking the law into his own hands. Bruce goes to Tibet, where he is locked up in a prison, until Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) comes in, breaks him out, and trains him in the art of the League of Shadows, led by Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe).

This part is really great because you get to see how Bruce learns how to face his fears and why he goes out into the dark to fight crime as opposed to going out during the daytime. It's also powerful when Bruce learns of the true secret behind the group, that he instead burns the temple down, but saves Ducard and leaves him with the local villagers. Bruce goes back to Gotham and he sees that Wayne Enterprises is now being run by William Earle, played by Rutger Hauer. We then meet the weapons expert that Bruce goes to and gets all of his fancy gadgets and everything from: Lucius Fox, played by the great Morgan Freeman, one of the greatest actors of his time. Freeman plays Lucius's role as the friendly person that wants to help Bruce out, since he and Alfred both know about Bruce being Batman. I'm not really familiar with Lucius Fox being one of the main characters of the comics or him making an appearance in the animated series, but he sure knows everything that Bruce wants. With all of these gadgets together, Bruce makes the Bat Cave, building up to the moment we've been waiting for this whole time, him becoming Batman. Though I don't understand why Bale has to speak in that raspy, growling tone. Was he trying to pull off a realistic thought that if he spoke like he normally would, everyone would recognize who he is? How possible is that? But I digress; he is the best Batman ever!

In the role of Sgt. James Gordon, we have another great actor of all time, Gary Oldman, who I have to say is perfect in this role. Unlike Pat Hingle, Gary Oldman does the role of a police officer like he should be doing. He goes out after getting the information from Batman and tries to get the criminals. Even though he may not be successful in doing so himself, Batman is always there to help Gordon out, which is something that Oldman does perfectly as Gordon. I didn't mention this before, but I will now: Katie Holmes is not only hot as Rachel, but she really plays a powerful role in this. Rachel was never a character in the comics or anywhere, she is just a character that Nolan made up for this film. However, Dawes did alright and portrayed a good role model for kids.

Now who could be the villain in this film? Well rumor was going around that the Scarecrow was going to be the main villain, and that he was going to be played by Howard Stern. Guess what? He's in this film, but Cillian Murphy plays Dr. Jonathan Crane aka the Scarecrow. His job is to spray his victims with a gas that will make them see their own personal fears. When Murphy speaks in that low voice, you know that he is planning something, and you can read him easily, which makes him a scary villain. Crane tells Bruce that he is doing work for Ra's Al Ghul, but Bruce refuses to believe him, telling Crane that Ra's Al Ghul is dead. He actually does use his gas on Batman, which makes him see his fear of bats, that he pages Alfred to come and get him. From here, he is given an antidote that is made by Fox. He even uses his gas on Rachel, which causes Batman to save her. He injects her with that same antidote, and gives her two antidotes: one for Gordon and the other for mass production. Scarecrow comes into full form when he appears on a fire-breathing horse, and is coming to get Rachel and the kid she is with, until she zaps him in the face with the taser, and he rides off into the fog. Who knew that Scarecrow could be such a wuss? Here, you can see that Rachel and Bruce have an on-off relationship with one another. She even tells him at one point, "It's not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you." Later on, Batman rescues her and the kid from the mass damage that Ra's Al Ghul and Scarecrow have done. On the rooftop, Dawes asks him, "Wait! You could die. At least tell me your name." Little did she know that the same advice she gave Bruce would bounce right back at her when Batman turns and says, "It's not who I am underneath, but what I *do* that defines me." Here, she realizes it's Bruce, but before he says another word, he jumps off the rooftop. Now that's a way to keep the suspense.

Who could be the real Ra's Al Ghul? Well a decoy, played by Jay Buozzi, appears briefly, but he is not the real one. Henri Ducard is the real Ra's Al Ghul. Talk about a dark, sudden twist! First, he is such a good mentor and friend to Bruce, next thing you know, he is the central villain in this film. Neeson does a brilliant job as the villain in this film, like he does in every one of his roles. Ra's Al Ghul is known to be a powerful villain, and is one of the main villains that made Bruce become Batman, which is shown in this film. Neeson brings the character to life and he knows how to play Ra's Al Ghul as the villain who is responsible for the creation of Batman, and is one of the villains that Batman always is after. Ra's Al Ghul almost succeeds in taking over Gotham because he comes to Bruce's birthday party, and burns the house down, almost killing Bruce. Then, he goes on a train to spread the toxin-riddled water supply using the Microwave Emitter he stole, and turn the people of Gotham into violent, animal-like people, raising the city into unbridled anarchy. This is just great.

Falcone is a great character in this, especially with the line that he delivers, "Ignorance is bliss, my friend. Don't burden yourself with the secrets of scary people." He turns out to be one of the men that Crane has working for him, and is the one who has been shipping the toxin water-supply. Flass, played by Mark Boone Junior, is Gordon’s corrupt partner, who is a character that you just hate and want Gordon to report and get off the force. Finch, played by Larry Holden, is the district attorney.

The action scenes in here are hard to see because of the up-close shaky cameras, which are annoying, since they can probably make your head spin and you won't know what's going on. However, they are still great. Now, the Tumbler seems to be not appropriate for this film since I believe it didn't look right to be the Batmobile. Though, I have to admit it's funny to see Gordon drive it because it's something you would never expect Batman to do: ask someone else to drive his car. This is a very story-driven Batman film, which is what makes it so enjoyable to watch. Which is why I would consider this one of my all time favorite comic book adaptations. This is an origin story about Batman, and Christopher Nolan treated this film the way it should be. I would even dare to say that it's far more enjoyable to watch than the Tim Burton films. They are "that" good.

In the end, Gordon is promoted to Lieutenant, and he gives Batman a Joker card, which at first I thought was supposed to seg-way into the '89 Batman. Was that what Christopher Nolan was trying to do? Tune in next episode! Same Bat Time! Same Bat Channel!

Batman week Part 4

Well guys, I have finally come to it. A day that I have been hoping wouldn't come this whole week, but unfortunately it has. I have to look at the absolute "worst" comic book adaptation ever made. It is none other than Schumacher's worst of the worse, "Batman & Robin," released in 1997. I am talking about a film that is so bad, that our government is debating on whether or not this should be a new form of capital punishment: subjecting their prisoners to watching this horrendous piece of manure. At first, I was laughing when I watched it, since it pretty much plays as a comedy, and it promoted a line of action figures, but when I was returning the film to the library, I had no idea what I had watched. Even when I saw it as a kid when we got this monstrosity from the library, I don't remember hating or liking it, but I didn't know it was this bad. Remember, I was a kid, so I didn't know any better. Also, I may want to add that I will be going off on this one since this will be the worst one I have reviewed yet. Trust me; there are a lot worse films than this one that will be coming along the way. So please sit tight because this is going to be a long post.

First off, I want to start out by saying Val Kilmer did not return for this one because he was off shooting "The Saint," and instead was replaced by George Clooney, who you might remember from that hit Television sitcom, "ER." Interesting choice...NOT! His Batman was so horrible, that it was just a pain to see him play it, but as Bruce Wayne, he did well. Chris O'Donnell reprised his role as Robin, but in this one, they made him into a whiney pain that you just want to punch dead in the face. All he does is complaining. "You just can't stand it! Maybe she wanted me instead of you. I mean, this is your idea of friendship, isn't it, Bruce? It's your house, it's your rules, it's your way to the highway! It's Batman and Robin, not Robin and Batman, and I'm sick of it!" "I want a Robin signal in the sky, I'm sick of being in your shadow"....SHUT UP!! He contributes nothing to this film, and the only good thing he does is save Batman from the frozen handcuffs in the Rocket Ship. However, when they go sky-surfing down onto the houses to land safely, Robin yells "COWABUNGA!" That was superfluous. Just like the last film, the Bat-Nipples and Bat-@$$es are shown again. How much do you want to bet that this gave Saturday Night Live the idea to start the "Ambiguously Gay Duo" cartoon? I wouldn't be the least bit surprised.  The major issue with this film is that its camp value is WAY more than the 60s show, if you can believe that. I would also like to point out that if you are not a fan of one-liners, this film is full of them, but they are all horrible. For instance, the first lines are Robin telling Batman, "I want a car. Chicks dig the car" to which Batman responds, "This is why Superman works alone." WHY DID YOU JUST SAY THAT, THAT MAKES NO SENSE! WHY WOULD YOU EVEN BRING UP SUPERMAN WHEN THERE IS NO MENTION OF HIM IN THE PAST THREE!? SO YOU DECIDE TO MENTION HIM HERE!? WHY SCHUMACHER, WHY!?

Now let's talk about how horrible the villains were done here. Once again, just like "Batman Returns," there are three villains. First off is Dr. Victor Fries aka Mr. Freeze, played by none other than Austrian bodybuilder and former California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. This has got to be the worst role he has ever done. Granted, a lot of the roles that he has done may have been bad, but at least they are enjoyable to watch just because of how laughably bad they are. Here, it's not even funny to begin with, but a pain to sit through. Now, Batman fans will tell people who are not familiar with Batman so much that Mr. Freeze is a villain who has been stripped of all emotion. He is a scientist who only can survive in the cold after his laboratory boss pulled the plug on his experiment to use a freeze ray on his wife, Nora, (played by Vendela Kirsebom Thomessen) who was in cryo-stasis. As a result, she was frozen and shattered, causing him to go insane. The only feelings he has are love for his wife and hate for all humanity. And what does Schumacher have him doing here? MAKING ICE PUNS THAT WILL MAKE YOUR EARS BLEED! HAVING HIS MINIONS SINGING CHRISTMAS CAROLS! THEY MADE HIM LOOK LIKE THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO HIM WAS THAT HE GOT FROZEN AND HIS WIFE ALMOST DIED! ARE YOU SAYING THAT MR. FREEZE WAS DOING DRUGS WHICH IS CAUSING HIM TO FEEL EVERY EMOTION!? YOU TOOK THIS GREAT SUPERVILLAIN AND MADE HIM INTO A COMIC FOIL, SCHUMACHER! SHAME ON YOU!!!!!

Next up we have Dr. Pamela Isley aka Poison Ivy, played by Uma Thurman, who would later go on to do Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2, which is a "major" step up compared to this. Now Poison Ivy has her own type of plant life biology, because she uses this poisonous gas to attack Batman. Yes, you can see that in the comics and the Animated Series. At one point, she actually uses one of her plants as a whip, which she never does anywhere else. She uses her plants to attack people, but never as a whip. And her plants don't eat her!! That doesn't work!!!!! And to top it off, you make her yell "Curses?" WHAT IS THAT SCHUMACHER, DID YOU NEVER BOTHER TO LOOK THIS OVER BEFORE SHOOTING IT!? Now her origin is that she was a science experiment by a scientist, but in here, the scientist, Dr. Jason Woodrue, played by John Glover, is over-the-top. She spots him testing on a man, he finds out she saw it, and pushes her into some chemicals, transforming her into Poison Ivy. NOT CORRECT!! Also, if this was supposed to be geared towards kids more, than why did you make her act like a prostitute? Especially with her blowing that poisonous kiss onto people. Oh, I forgot to mention, SHE DOESN'T BLOW THAT GAS ONTO PEOPLE AS A KISS!!! Yes, she has her own plant-life to make men fall in love with her, but she doesn't blow the kisses onto them, the plants spray the gas. She hates men, but she goes after those men that can't resist her, but Batman is able to do that. She is obsessed with Batman, but doesn't love him. Why do you have her talking to herself and getting obsessed with Mr. Freeze? Is he the perfect pawn for you to take over Gotham? Also, is he really that gullible to believe her when she tells him Batman and Robin pulled the plug on his wife? Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze don't work with one another. Poison Ivy cares more for her plant life. Also, call her a hypocrite when she says, "I'm a lover, not a fighter."

Finally we have the films biggest flaw: Bane played by Jeep Swenson. As I mentioned before, Poison Ivy saw that her boss was experimenting on Bane, by turning him into some sort of luchador and auctioning him off to foreign leaders. Was there a war going on that was caused by this film? I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. Now Bane in the comics is one of the smartest villains ever. For Batman fans that have read the Nightfall series, they know that Bane is the villain who breaks Batman's back over his knee. In this one, he is nothing but a drone. He doesn't even do anything. All he does is walk around with Poison Ivy speaking only in grunts. Want me to be more specific? Picture if they made Hulk stupid. And who defeats him? Batman's sidekicks, not Batman! Uma Thurman may have been the worst performance, but this is the most butchered character I have ever seen.

There is one scene that I would like to share with everyone that is just flawed from start to finish. First off, Batman is making a public appearance in front of the Mayor, WHICH BATMAN NEVER DOES AT ALL!!! Yes, he did that a lot in the 60s series, but that was for the camp value. At least they didn't make him go out during daytime or else that would have "really" killed him off. So as the scene goes on, Poison Ivy comes along to spread those poisonous kisses on all the men. She makes sure she gets Batman and Robin, and they start betting over her. They start from two million and go all the way up to seven million. This is the part that has scarred all the Batman fans ever since they saw it in this putrid adaptation...The Batman Credit Card. WHY SCHUMACHER, WHY!? HOW COULD YOU!? YOU HAD THE AUDACITY TO GIVE ONE OF THE GREATEST SUPERHEROES EVER A CREDIT CARD!? Look at the Nostalgia Critic's reaction to it when watching his review of Batman & Robin. Notice that he and I share the same feelings. Then, in comes Mr. Freeze, who starts his whole ice jokes.

Now let's talk about the latest addition to the Batman family: Batgirl. Alicia Silverstone plays Barbara Wilson, Alfred's niece...wait, what? Barbara is made into Alfred's niece in this one? Schumacher did you do your homework before making this? Her name is Barbara Gordon, Commissioner Gordon’s daughter, not Alfred's niece! As far as any Batman fan would know, WE DON'T KNOW ANYONE IN ALFRED'S FAMILY!!!! And if you haven't read the comics, which I'm sure you haven't, you would have known that Barbara is a redhead, not a blonde! In the comics, Barbara Gordon is a rebel who is very much a troublemaker, and likes to get into fights and stop criminals. She goes out to fight crime, is a high-spirited likeable character, and is very adventurous, but an innocent character, not snobby. In here, she doesn't want to get into any adventure and isn't likeable at all. At first she is looking around commenting on Wayne Manor, then goes to call them rich snobs, before discovering the Bat Cave and acting like a little kid in a candy store. Oh, and might I add that she is apparently from England who went to a top Computer school, and comes to Wayne Manor for vacation, AND SHE DOESN'T HAVE A STINKING ACCENT!? Were you afraid to offend the British if you just tried? Everyone can do a British accent, it's not that hard! Also, why would she go out at night doing motorcycle races off the edge of a bridge? That makes no sense at all! Apparently Alfred prepared a suit for her when she discovered the Bat Cave, which looks nothing like the suit in the comics or any other adaptation because her mask is similar to Robin's mask. Also, is it that hard for Batman and Robin to recognize her with just that small mask on? May I ask that she made her own suit instead of having to go to the Bat Cave to get it prepared!? At the end, when Bruce tells Barbara that she is going back to school, she instead insists on staying at Wayne Manor to fight crime. Ok, when Batgirl first started off, she was rarely seen. Yes, she became a permanent partner, but she never lived with them. Also, when it comes to fighting crime or going back to school, Schumacher was telling kids to jepordize their education by dropping out to go fight crime.

I would like to finish off with talking about Alfred. In this film, Alfred is dying from some sort of a disease that he shared with Nora Fries. Unlike Nora, Alfred was luckily in an earlier stage, which Mr. Freeze was able to find a cure for. Mr. Freeze was researching a cure for the other stages, especially the one his wife was in. Before I go on, how come Mr. Freeze wants to take over the world? I understand he steals the jewel in the beginning of the movie to power up his ice suit and also wants to use those jewels to power up a freeze ray gun, but why take over the world? The other villains in all the other Batman films said they wanted to take over Gotham, which worked well. Especially when it was just fine in "Batman Forever," but the world? Why? Just stick to Gotham City, that's what every other villain did!! And how does it work that Mr. Freeze can freeze the whole world? Ok, getting back to this, Poison Ivy pulls the plug on Nora, which she tricks Mr. Freeze into believing Batman and Robin did it, to which he replies, "First Gotham city, then the world!" After Batgirl plays a recording that Poison Ivy confessed she pulled Nora's plug, he helps them by giving them the antidote for Alfred's stage of the disease. Of course, a man that dresses like a bat goes out and fights crime every night, but if the butler is dying, there's the real drama. Before I wrap this up, which I really want to do, you're probably wondering if Bruce had a girlfriend in this. Yes, as a matter of fact he does, but she doesn't play a big role in this, unlike the past ones. In here, we have Elle Macpherson playing Julie Madison, who is just looked over for a good majority of the film.

Whew, it's a good thing I'm done with this piece of garbage now. As you have noticed, this is not the Batman film fans wanted and were ashamed to see him sink to this level. Believe it or not, Schumacher actually came out and apologized for this film. He said, and I quote, "If there is anybody who's watching this, that...let's say loved "Batman Forever," and went into "Batman & Robin" with great anticipation, if I have disappointed them in anyway, then I really want to apologize because it wasn't my intention. My intention was to just entertain them." Thanks to this film, Batman was never seen on the big screen for almost a decade. On the side they were planning Batman Triumphant; I believe one that was based on "Batman Year One" and a Batman vs. Superman film. These ideas were scrapped mainly due to the negative criticism given to "Batman & Robin." However, one director would come around and clean the slate to revamp the series, which is what it needs. Who will that director be? Tune in next episode! Same Bat-Time! Same Bat-Channel!