Post by Cherry Pepsi Maxil on Oct 11, 2024 15:30:26 GMT
As for the other Batman instalments:
I like the Tim Burton films, but not as much as the bulk of the Hive's membership. They benefit largely from excellent set design and music, but I always found them narratively and thematically mildly lacking. The original is fairly air-tight- and features two very strong leads- but I don't find it especially thought-provoking. Batman Returns is better aesthetically but has a far weaker script. Although well-acted, I never found Catwoman believable in the slightest- not least her inexplicable resurrection- and Batman himself plays second-fiddle to an even greater extent than in The Dark Knight Rises (which at least had a thematic and emotional rationale for doing so). There's no clear narrative reason for this beyond Burton's lack of interest in the key source material, demonstrated by the fact that his primary familiarity with the Batman canon is that of The Killing Joke, rendering the Joker his primary intuitive strength. Still, they aren't bad films, and I've re-watched the first one fairly often.
The Joel Schumacher films are dumbfuck in every sense, although as insinuated elsewhere, Batman Forever may have a good film in there which was subsequently destroyed in the edit. The deleted scenes are infinitely better than the final film. Batman & Robin is a quagmire of awfulness from start to finish, although whether it's more entertaining whilst drunk isn't yet known to me. Still, at least Schumacher apologised. Davies, take note...
Christopher Nolan's trilogy is probably the iteration I find most compelling in live-action- especially if I were assessing them purely from a narrative perspective. Batman Begins has an alluring operatic quality to it, helped by Nolan being influenced by the set design and architecture explored by filmmakers like Lean, Kubrick (Wayne Manor is the Eyes Wide Shut "fidelio" castle) and Scott (Gotham still resembles Blade Runner in this one, contrary to the Chicago-Gotham seen in the latter two). His version is also aided by his blending of these influences with the best of mainstream action cinema (having cited On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) as his favourite Bond outing), and by his dislike of metatextual/postmodern allusions so as to strengthen immersion. The first film's biggest flaws are its final act (in which the budget begins to show- Nolan wasn't yet an experienced blockbuster filmmaker) and Katie Holmes' casting- she's far too young and impressionistic to be a convincing lawyer, even less a convincing romantic foil. The Dark Knight is an exceptional exercise in tension building, spearheaded by a phenomenal turn from Heath Ledger. Rises, as alluded to earlier, is the least focused of the three, although still benefits from an excellent cast and scope. The Burton films are objectively more stylistically assured, but I don't re-watch them as frequently as these films.
The Zack Snyder films blur into a haze, primarily because they feel so studio-mandated. I don't hate them as some do- and they benefit from not completely emulating the Marvel films- but they don't compel re-watches at all.
I didn't mind the Matt Reeves/Robert Pattinson version as much as many here did. From a technical perspective, it's more ambitious than the Nolan films- especially in its blending of POV shots and narrow depth of field- and arguably benefits from stronger world building and music. Gotham is more convincingly "lived in" (and, by extension, alive) than it's ever been, excluding Joker, and I thought individual moments (the opening sequence, the orphanage sequence, Paul Dano's Riddler turning himself in with that unsettling grin) were all well done. However, it's narratively weaker, offset by a poorly signposted fourth act (the controversial final hour didn't help!) in which the city is suddenly flooded, with no pre-established basis or foreshadowing (as seen in Batman Begins). Some have likened the film to Se7en, and while superficially similar, it owes a lot to Polanski's Chinatown narratively- albeit less clearly choreographed in how and why corruption dominates as much as it does.
The plot of the 1989 film isn't as layered as some of the later films, but I think the whole film holds up remarkably well. My mum still likes it a lot and even my sister, who is crazy about the Nolan ones, found it incredibly satisfying when I showed it to her about ten years ago. I absolutely adore it personally. It is flawed in some ways, but the "it was never good in the first place" crowd are bonkers.
Returns is beautiful visually, but is let down by inferior studio sets and a story where Batman almost feels a bit like a spectator. The climax I feel is lacking (especially compared to Batman's pursuit of the Joker in the Cathedral) and some of the plot is messy. I still don't know how they Penguin got the plans for the Batmobile in the first place. Still, there's way more good than bad here. Elfman's score in particular is wondrous and Michelle Pfeiffer is my favourite Catwoman. And who doesn't love the Christmas setting?
Batman Forever is my most watched Batman film and unlike mostly everyone here I consider it a perfectly entertaining and serviceable Batman adventure. Tonally it is jarring, but the focus on Batman's guilt as well as the theme of duality and the struggles that come with it show a much deeper film hidden beneath the neon lights.
Batman & Robin is brainless fun. Unlike Forever, there's not much under the surface and it basically is just a visual feast. I find it quite endearing. While Russell T Davies kills off his pretty women, Schumacher shoots them like goddesses. I still can't believe how amazing Uma Thurman looks in it.
The Nolan trilogy is something I don't revisit very often. Begins is fine but even then I can't remember too much about it. The Dark Knight I didn't think was all that great and Rises is my least favourite live action Batman movie. I remember being in a very excited cinema at the time and not really understanding what all the fuss was about.
The Batman is a film I've warmed to. Not perfect, but I like it more than the Nolan ones. Be interesting to see if they can top it with the second film.
