I found myself enjoying the elder Batman storyline. Given that it is penned by Frank Miller lends some cred to the animation. Miller's treatment of Batman is dark (read The Killing Joke). He understood that the Batman should be less campy, yet retain the Gothic undertone, only with a bit of danger for good measure.
I believe Tim Burton understood this as well, but Tim can't fart without an element of cheese staining a canvas. I enjoy his 1989 Michael Keaton "Batman" Movie, but idea of a masked vigilante dressed like a Bat is goofy enough without any assistance from an over creative, macabre director/producer. Even though the only Burton directed Batman was perfect for the time, his film spawned a franchise dangerously mirroring the dumbness of the 1980's Superman movie flops. The over saturation left a black eye to a character that didn't need one.
Adam West's 1966-68 treatment did a great job of deeming Batman stupid for over 20 years. The Batman comic book was close to cancellation by the mid 1980's. Every non-comic version of the Batman in between West and Keaton was animated for the Saturday morning crowd and not a far stretch from West's legacy.
I've never gave the 1990's WB animated Batman much time, but I did like the idea of darker imagery mixed with hints of 1930's nostalgia. Mark Hamill voicing the Joker in the series didn't escape me either, but as an adult I don't invest much time into animated cartoons geared toward kids.
2005 brought the character into the modern movie age. Christopher Nolan gave the Batman a much needed kick in the ass with "Batman Begins." Gone were the millionaire villains with nonsense gadgets, world domination aspirations and bottomless pools of henchmen. Replaced by gritty mob back stories and (gulp) less cheesy ninjas, who are hell bent on the destruction of Gotham and Gotham alone.
2008's second installment of the Trilogy showed how damn good a superhero movie could be. "The Dark Knight" is one of the best movies of the entire superhero genre. The third movie wraps it all together and ended the series on a high note. Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan saved the character and set the cinematic tone for the foreseeable future.
Today, Batman is everywhere. I've been following the TV series "Gotham." Which is set somewhere around 15 (or so) years before Bruce Wayne first dawns a cape. I was skeptical, but I found myself getting invested quickly. I especially like Robin Lord Taylor's Penguin, who is really the runaway star of the series. The show is written around Jim Gordon, letting a young Bruce Wayne take a supporting character role. It's good fun.
Of course 2016 will bring us the first ever Superman V Batman cinematic treatment. The animated version of the DC characters have addressed the animosity between the two before, basically capitalizing on the Boy scout Superman intervening in the Vigilante Batman's affairs. Drama ensues, but there is always a mutual respect under the surface. Perhaps the reason why Superman doesn't just pummel Batman? For the Man of Steel's squeaky clean annoyance, it's an opportunity to finally tarnish the character on the big screen. Yay.
DC is taking a page from the Marvel Universe, starting a buildup to a Justice League movie down the road. Suicide Squad is set to release next year. Wonder Woman is in the works, and the stage is set for a decades long dance of anticipation.
The characters thought up almost 80 years ago still having relevance today shows how timeless they are. It's modern day mythology in a way. The acceptance of constantly revamping the story lines for whatever the "current audience" wants is key to the survival of the fantasy universe.
We should all be cautious about the relevance. Any misstep, regardless of good intentions, could spiral the whole ball of wax into obscurity. Trends change and our coveted heroes change with them (not always for the good). It is safe to say that in our current culture we are over saturated with superhero movies in general. We are one bad movie away from calling "Bullshit" at the box office.
Based on the chart above, with an average price of $12 per admission + another $10 in popcorn, I'm spending $700 on dumb movies if I see them all (I won't) over the next 4 years.
Marvel is dangerously approaching "Nerds Only" territory with complicated storylines leading up to something big regarding "Infinity Stones." That's right average movie fan, the entirety of the whole Marvel thing is an intertwined nerd sub-plot disguised as individual Hollywood blockbusters! Nerds rule!
Everything is cyclical. When masked people with super powers stop making money for Hollywood, it's all over. Today, for every "Guardians of the Galaxy" thrill ride, there is an antithesis "Green Lantern" piece of dung.
Hollywood is constantly pulling fast ones on the world assuming we consumers have short term memory loss. Some of which has to do with production rights. Wonder why Spider-Man got re-vamped before DVD's of Tobey McGuires character were in a bargain bin? Marvel sold the rights to Spider-Man movies way back in 1985. Sony ended up with them. Sony calls the shots.
Spider-Man movies have grossed almost 4 billion between 5 movies in 13 years. Why would Sony give it up? They won't. What they did do is give Marvel the ability to use Spidey. Marvel splits the profits and Sony retains the rights. Spidey will get a cameo in an upcoming Captain America movie to kick the whole partnership off.
Worse than that, another Spider-Man revamp is in the works. Spider-Man ushered super hero movies into the 2000's and may kill it with confusion less than 20 years later. My head hurts thinking about another Spider-Man, but I am curious to see if it can be pulled off, again.
DC is taking a slower pace cinematically. This approach should keep them relevant for some time. In a world completely over saturated with "A" list superstars playing "B" list comic book heroes, an occasional Batman movie is very welcomed. The 2016 Ben Affleck Batman could be awesome, we will have to wait to see. In the meantime I'm looking forward to Monday night episodes of Gotham. I may even start "Flash" on CW.
There is no void in the genre. Choose the best for you and enjoy the ride. It's entertainment after all.
Nago.
No comments:
Post a Comment