It's not that I don't love the new Batman films - I mean I wasn't as keen on
Batman Begins (2005) as I was on
The Dark Knight (2008), but they are both rad - and it's not just because I'm a bit of a Burtonite, but I think I'll always be a bigger fan of the original Legacy.
I own this box set of
Batman (1989),
Batman Returns (1992),
Batman Forever (1995) and
Batman and Robin (1997), and I think it's my most treasured out of my collection. I've just watched
Batman for about the 10th time and I still love it - I mean what a film! Danny Elfman's score is spot on, but the added Prince hits just make me feel warm inside. The scene where The Joker and his cronies crash the museum is outstanding - when Prince's 'Party Man' gets blasted from the stereo and all the vandals are transformed into funky beat loving geniuses, it's one of those pieces of film that you just love to watch (there's a link to it at the end). I probably preferred the Bat suit in this film to all the others too.
Burton really made something beautiful when he made
Batman Returns. Michelle Pfeiffer made me warm to Catwoman and really brought the character to life, in a dead looking menacing way. I've never been a big fan of the purring villainess but this film changed that and I gave her the benefit of the doubt (despite the Halle Berry incident we're all trying to block out). The sets and music are what really make this a work of art though - people may argue Burton has become samey, but at least when he does Gothic he does it well (despite the Corpse Bride incident most of you are trying to block out, but that I still love just because). I really can't get enough of the creepy haunting music that sees baby Penguin float off down the river, and the army of penguins emerging from the underground Santa's grotto style lair, not to mention the strangeness of that ear biting scene.
Then there's the ultimate retro tackyness that is Mr. Freeze and his sweet puns in
Batman and Robin. Schwarzenegger's accent is the icing on the cake (sorry) when he comes out with lines like 'You're not sending me to the cooler!', 'Ice to see you!', and the over-the-top epicness of his character is so brilliant with lines like 'Allow me to break the ice - my name is Freeze. Learn it well, for it's the chilling sound of your doom.' I don't care what anyone says about the cheese levels of this film, I love the bright cartoony colours and the camp Batman vs. Robin fights over Poison Ivy. Her character was always a favourite of mine and the two villains of the story work so well together - 'Adam and Evil' as Mr. Freeze puts it. It would be good to have the girl on guy pairing in the third installment of the newest Batman adventures on the big screen, but I don't think it'd go with the tone and would be out of place. It was perfectly done in the past though.
It's a shame they didn't ever make a proper Harley Quinn film - she is my ultimate favourite and I loved her in Batman: The Animated Series. In fact I loved everything about that cartoon - the union of Quinn, Ivy and Catwoman as The Joker's followers was a girly geek fest and I don't think Batman would be so popular today without the creative minds behind that show. The baddies in Batman own all other comic book baddies by far - it's probably why I do prefer it to Spiderman even though it's such a tough decision. I love Peter Parker and MJ, but the only nemesis I ever really enjoyed was Venom - and he hardly featured in the film trilogy. I love the neutral step back Batman takes in the plot that allows the Gotham City villains to show just how elaborately insane they are.
When Batman first came out in '89 people only really had the Adam West shenanigans to compare it with and it was like visiting the Haunted House after a ride on the under 10's Pirate Boat. With
Begins we got taken that step further into an action thriller beyond cliche proportions, and
The Dark Knight stands out on it's own as royalty across every genre in the blockbuster kingdom. Unlike a lot of film buffs (not that I'd class myself as a buff really) I'm a big fan of re-makes as long as they try to add something extra. I'd just never choose Zombie over Carpenter, or Nicolas Cage over Edward Woodwood - because you can't have the latter without the former. As it stands, Zombie's Halloween was a disaster and The Wicca Man shouldn't have been touched, but I did love Ledger's performance, and I was a fan of The Scarecrow, and I appreciate that this new Legacy went straight to the core, chewing up what we expect from a comic book adaptation and spitting something from a Graphic Novel in our faces. I'd just like the original Legacy to get a bit more respect, because it's extremely deserved.
I'm lucky my favourite hero has never been tarnished through film, and only allowed to grow and morph with the industry into the land mark he is today... poor Hulk fans.
Complete smackdown in the Hollywood sense, AMIRIGHT? Most bland of all comic book adaptations. At least Ed Norton half saved the day though in the more recent movie, and the excitement left with you after that ending beats everything. I can't wait to write about The Avengers.
Things you might like to watch:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1b5ov7PEcIA&feature=related - The Joker and his gang crashing the museum to Prince.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=iHufrsP9XMA - that's an awesome video, it's The Dark Knight trailer set to clips of the Adam West TV series clips. Really funny and works really well.
(Just the gingham one)
(But not in pink or white)
