Which movie are you expecting the most... Batman or Fantastic 4 ?

[learn2kneel]

I just saw Batman. There was a few surprises so don't assume anything about the villains/story/character roles till you see the movie. Best comic book movie I've ever seen, it was perfectly crafted.

 

[deep]

excerpt from review

I loved this movie because it is dark, your bad men are rotten to the core. They even scared me, and I loved it. There was no room for hokey little jokes or over the top performances, you really wouldn't want to meet up with these guys in a dark alley. Now of course that being said as usual there is a great amount of quick wit and random comedy that helps break up the drama. I loved the fact that we saw just as much of Bruce Wayne as we did Batman, in fact you probably saw more of Bruce. It shows him as a man that becomes something extraordinary, however in the end he is just a man and can be hurt just the same. I really cannot say enough about not only the movie but the amazing cast in this film. Everyone plays their part to perfection and you look forward to their return. In fact I would like to see a little more of Morgan Freeman and even Rutger Hauer, we all know what a bad guy he can be. As usual I don't want to give away too much of the story, but this is what I will tell you. The gadgets come to life, when Bruce stumbles upon a basic warehouse of military products that Wayne Enterprises invested in but never seemed to sell. Bruce uses all of these items to his advantage and with Lucius Fox' help he manages to put them to some good use.

Christian Bale and Chris Nolan are my hero's they helped save a franchise that should never have turned into the fluff that was Batman Returns. They do a wonderful job of not only showing you how everything came to be, they help set up the villains and stories that have yet to come.




The characters are cast perfectly. Christian Bale has always been a favorite of mine, and now he is my favorite Batman but even better I was finally just as psyched to see Bruce Wayne on the screen. He encompasses Bruce Wayne's smart, witty, and at times vulnerable personality. Bale is also joined on screen by Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Katie Holmes and Rutger Hauer who round out the rest of this amazing cast. As I said before, I loved this movie, this is the reason I go see movies. I was entertained, maybe even a little enlightened, OK a little too far with that one... Bottom line I was left salivating like Pavlov's dog waiting for the bell to ring only my bell is a sequel

(Submitted by Susanne Robbins on 2005-06-15.)

 

[MsMofoGone]

I'm looking forward to Batman ...

 

[phanan]

The only review I've read said Katie Holmes is terrible..they also said it started out promising then sort of pandered to the more commercial cartoonish aspects of Batman

That's interesting, because CNN just posted their review and said the beginning was a "long and boring trek into the dramatic wilderness" while the second half was "the good stuff...when Bruce puts on his bat ears" (which I find hilarious, because the critic says at the beginning of the review that the director "wisely abandoned the slapstick, cartoony tone of the last two Batman films" yet says the second half of this film is better.

Go figure.

 

[Eliv8]

 

[Jack In The Box]

I saw it today, and as learn2kneel said... best comic book movie

I just did not understand Katie Holmes character... why?! WHY??!!! I hated her

Scarecrow is the most underrated bat-villian ever, I'm happy with him in this movie, and the twist with Ra's was so good

I will see it again this Saturday

 

[trevster2k]

I won't see it until Friday when it gets here. Yeah, Katie Holmes is just getting raked over the coals for her role in this movie. I have seen or read many reviews suggesting she is definitely the worst thing about the otherwise excellent film.

BTW, best comic book movie is quite a compliment considering everyone thought Spiderman 2 was the best ever.

Oh yeah, Jack, go pick up the trade paperback of Crisis on Infinite Earths, it's a good read, George Perez provides excellent art and the whole DC universe is there. It was published the year you were born according to your profile. and the fact you are a girl reading comics puts you in a small exclusive group but you are cool in my book.

The funny thing about Crisis is that I hear that almost everything done in Crisis has been undone including bringing back the dead characters and creating more alternate universes.

 

[trevster2k]

I would have saved the Scarecrow for a sequel film. I would have started it off with Batman seeing the deaths of everyone he loves like his parents, Alfred, and Robin. During these sequences, we would watch as Batman fails to save his family and be crushed emotionally. The audience would be confused as to what the hell is going on.But as he screams aloud, quick zoom into his mouth and darkness followed by pulling back to see him strapped in straitjacket in Arkham Asylum. Here we would see the Scarecrow under his regular identity administering drugs to Batman keeping him on the edge of insanity. It would be a psycho thriller as we see Batman fight his inner demons, reliving the past and his fear of failure and slowly realize what has happened to him. Eventually, we get to see him escape from an inescapable prison and defeat the Scarecrow who would in the end be a victim of his own fear drugs leading to his internment in Arkham.

I would have liked it if directed in a dark brooding realistic manner. Almost like a suspense thriller but no campiness.

 

[Jack In The Box]

Oh yeah, Jack, go pick up the trade paperback of Crisis on Infinite Earths, it's a good read, George Perez provides excellent art and the whole DC universe is there. It was published the year you were born according to your profile. and the fact you are a girl reading comics puts you in a small exclusive group but you are cool in my book.

The funny thing about Crisis is that I hear that almost everything done in Crisis has been undone including bringing back the dead characters and creating more alternate universes.

I'm tempted to buy it, but I don't know... I bought Superman/Batman when Supergirl returns (another Supergirl because the thing with Power Girl it's complicated, they decided bring back Kara, but Barry is still dead, the others who will return are Hal Jordan and Donna Troy, but they didn't die in the Crisis)

oh, yeah, this is the best comic book movie ever because I'm not a Spiderman fan

 

[Siren]

Yep, Katie Holmes is there to attract some females to the audience.

Not really. Bale is reason enough to go see Batman. I'm glad this one is more faithful to the comics. I've read some reviews and the buzz is pretty good.

 

[trevster2k]

Not really. Bale is reason enough to go see Batman. I'm glad this one is more faithful to the comics. I've read some reviews and the buzz is pretty good.

I didn't mean to attract females sexually, I meant she is a love interest for Batman so there will be kind of a love story like Titanic stuff so it could be a date movie too.

 

[Queen Bee]

Oh, man. I just came back from seeing it. I want to have 10,000 of Christopher Nolan's babies. I hope he's signed on to direct the sequel.

I just did not understand Katie Holmes character... why?! WHY??!!! I hated her

Yeah, I've never been fond of Katie Holmes. Her character was the only low point of the movie for me. I thorougly enjoyed everything else about the movie though. I can't wait to see it again next week.

There was a few surprises so don't assume anything about the villains/story/character roles till you see the movie. Best comic book movie I've ever seen, it was perfectly crafted.

 

[80sU2isBest]

I saw Batman Begins yesterday, and I loved it. I've been a batman fan since - well, let me put it this way; Batman was one of my first words. Now I'm 37, so that's a long period of Bat-Excitement.

I think it was the best Batman movie ever, and I liked Katie Holmes in the movie. She was easily my favorite of all Bruce's love interests.

 

[Dalton]

Can I get a little "bat-advice".


I really liked the movie - a lot - and would like to know more about batman. How can I get caught up on the Batman story? Do I have to read all the comic books or are there books I can read. Are there websites? Yes - I know how to use google - ass . But a little help would be nice.

Thanks,


PS

I AM Batman

 

[Dalton]

ANSWER MY QUESTIONS

 

[trevster2k]

Definitive Batman trade paperbacks

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

-by a guy named Frank Miller, you may have heard of him, both story and art, Batman in the future as old guy

Batman: Year One

-written by Frank Miller, art by David Mazzuchelli, origin of Batman

Batman:The Long Halloween

-writer/author Jeph Loeb, 12 issue series involving many Bat villains

Batman: Hush

-writer Jeph Loeb, artist Jim Lee, recent yearlong storyline involving whole rogues gallery

Batman: Death in the Family
-writer Jim Starlin, artist Jim Aparo, has death of Robin

Batman: The Killing Joke
-writer Alan Moore, artist Brian Bolland, features Joker at his most evil plus origin

Son of Demon, Bride of Demon, Birth of the Demon

-graphic novels with Ra's Al Ghul as bad guy

and anything written by Denny O'Neil with art by Neal Adams, great classic Batman from '70s


Most of these books are available as trade paperbacks at comic book stores or Amazon. I would recommend Year One, Dark Knight Returns and Killing Joke as must reads however. They are beyond comic books.

Check out a book called the Watchmen too. In development as a film,but again, an incredible book.

 

[trevster2k]

ANSWER MY QUESTIONS

I just did.

 

[80sU2isBest]

Dalton,
For a great history of Batman, I'd recommend the following graphic Novels, in chronological order.

1) Year One
2) Year Two
3) Death In The Family (the death of the second Robin)
4) A Robin Reborn (I think that's the title) - the origins of the 3rd Robin
5)Knightfall - The back-breaking of and replacement of the original Batman
6)KnightsEnd - The return of the original Batman
7)The Dark Knight Returns - Batman in the future
8)Kingdom Come - A future tale involving many heros.

 

[Dalton]

WTF? How many robins have their been?

Trev or 80's will one of you give me a condensed timeline of the major batman moments? That would be cool.

BTW - I will pick up year one tonight.

 

[80sU2isBest]

4 Robins to date, one in future.

Condensed Batman timeline (Spoilers ahead).

1)Joe Chill kills Bruce Wayne's parents.

2)Bruce becomes Batman.

3)Batman hunted by cops.

4)Batman befriend Gordon and some other cops.

5)Dick Grayson's parents killed in acrobat "accident", taken under Bruce's guardianship.

6)Years later, Robin leaves Batman partnership and latchges on to the Teen Titans.

7)Robin becomes Nightwing.

8)Batman gets second Robin, Jason Todd, a street urchin who was stealing things.

9)Second Robin killed by Joker.

10) Third Robin, Tim Drake introduced.

11)Super freak of a villain, Bane, releases inmates from Arkham Asylum. In "Knightfall", Batman and Robin hunt down the villians, which wears Batman down. Eventually, Bane breaks Batman's back.

12)New Batman is appointed by Bruce. He ultimately defeats Bane, but turns very brutal and kills and maims the villains; Bruce wouldn't kill.

13) After healing, Bruce takes back the "mantle of the bat" by beating the new Batman.

14)3rd Robin quits – new Robin, a girl, starts, but I think the 3rd has come back.

 

[Jack In The Box]

yeah, Tim Drake returned to be Robin and the girl (I can't remember her name!) became Spoiler

and Captain Boomerang (Flash villian) killed Jack Drake, Tim's father

 

[LMP]

The ending of Batman was great too, but I wasn't sure how they were wrapping it up...

For all that have seen it do u think that they were setting it up for a sequel, or to tie in with the 1989 Batman?

*I don't want to spoil it for anyone so I will keep my foot out of my mouth*

 

[Jack In The Box]

I think (and hope) they were setting it up for a sequel, because Nolan and Bale said like 465456 times that this movie isn't a previous movie, it's another, very different, Batman

 

[trevster2k]

4 Robins to date, one in future.

Condensed Batman timeline (Spoilers ahead).

1)Joe Chill kills Bruce Wayne's parents.

2)Bruce becomes Batman.

3)Batman hunted by cops.

4)Batman befriend Gordon and some other cops.

5)Dick Grayson's parents killed in acrobat "accident", taken under Bruce's guardianship.

6)Years later, Robin leaves Batman partnership and latchges on to the Teen Titans.

7)Robin becomes Nightwing.

8)Batman gets second Robin, Jason Todd, a street urchin who was stealing things.

9)Second Robin killed by Joker.

10) Third Robin, Tim Drake introduced.

11)Super freak of a villain, Bane, releases inmates from Arkham Asylum. In "Knightfall", Batman and Robin hunt down the villians, which wears Batman down. Eventually, Bane breaks Batman's back.

12)New Batman is appointed by Bruce. He ultimately defeats Bane, but turns very brutal and kills and maims the villains; Bruce wouldn't kill.

13) After healing, Bruce takes back the "mantle of the bat" by beating the new Batman.

14)3rd Robin quits – new Robin, a girl, starts, but I think the 3rd has come back.

A couple of additions to 80s excellent list

1.5) Young Bruce Wayne comforted by Dr. Leslie Tomkins who runs clinic in poor part of Gotham(Crime Alley), Bruce disappears for a few years (like the movie) but the comic books have never really delved into the exact training he received (there have been hints but no definitive story),

5.5,6.5) Robin grows up, leading to rift between Batman and himself, you know how teenagers rebel

8.5) Readers are given a phone number in part 3 of the Death in the Family storyline to give thumbs up or down to the fate of Jason Todd who was a punk,for the record I voted for death

Many Batman stories are imaginary and not part of the regular continuity in the life of Batman. There are over 50 years of stories published every month in many different comics involving Batman like Batman, Detective, Batman Family, Robin, Catwoman, Azrael, Legend of the Dark Knight, multiple mini and maxi series. The Dark Knight Returns is an imaginary future story, just as the Son of the Demon is outside the regular continuity as Talia, Ra' Al Ghul's daughter gives birth to Batman's son and leaves him at a monastery. The Killing Joke is a part of the continuity, actually it became of the defiinitive moments in the development of the Joker as a true psycho and if the rumours about the next film are correct, could become the greatest movie villain ever making Nicholson's performance look like Crusty the Clown.

The remarkable thing about comics which people forget is that the characters like Batman, Superman, Spiderman, etc. are not silly stories written for kids. Yes, typically in the distant past (the 50's & 60s) it was geared towards children and sometimes the writing and art has been weak.

But more often than not, these characters have a deep rich history unmatched by any other form of literature. Multiple writers and artists have been given the opportunity to provide their vision of the characters.

It would be like James Bond films being directed by Spielberg, Tarantino, Kurosawa, Woo, Ron Howard, Rodriguez, etc. The Broccoli brothers would never let this happen because they like the formula they have for Bond films and don't want to mess with it.

Comics allow their "James Bonds" to be put in the hands of different "directors" leading to unique and sometimes incredibly fresh interpretations of this modern mythology.

Comics are not just about superheros either. There are many genres which deal with war (The Nam -produced back in 90's where the characters rotated out after a year just like the war unless they were killed), the supernatural and bizarre (Vertigo line of books, various titles from other companies), social issues ( Maus- classic award winning story depicting the Holocaust portraying the Nazis as cats and Jews as mice). The development of the graphic novel has allowed comic books to be considered legtimate forms of entertainment in the eyes of many people today. Writers such as Alan Moore, Frank Miller and Neil Gaiman have become as acclaimed as many of today's contemporary writers.

I haven't collected comics since 1997 but I still pick up the odd paperback because I still love the medium. And just like the movies, a lot of stuff produced is just crap but sometimes they produce magic which transports your mind and soul to another world.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

The Cavalier

I started reading the Golden Age stories first which did descend into stupidly cheesy storylines after a while but then I discovered Miller's work which is fantastic. I also love the painted comics like Arkham Asylum; very dark storylines and the art is phenomenal.

I'm going to try and watch the film tomorrow, I really like the things I'm hearing about it.

 

[UnforgettableLemon]

Ra's A Ghul being involved in training a young Bruce Wayne and him being Japanese

***Pseudo-spoilers***





Don't be so sure...

 

[LMP]

***Pseudo-spoilers***





Don't be so sure...

bumbumBUM

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I thought Batman was very good-the acting, the score, the cinematography, the writing. Christian Bale played it perfectly.

I really liked that it wasn't campy. Definitely the best quality of all the Batman movies.

 

[Jack In The Box]

a question for you guys

What villains can you recognize in Arkham?

 

[80sU2isBest]

Zsaz, or however you spell it. They even say his name.