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Feb 01 2013
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Books, Film

Atlas Batmanned

Reviewing Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 is dispensed with easily enough. It is another fine example of the work being done under the banner of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. As I mentioned in my short reviews of both the graphic novel and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1, as I read the graphic novel I was struck by its cinematic quality. Given the quality of the previous DC Universe Animated Original Movies, it came as no surprise that these two films represent a flawless adaptation of a graphic novel that was already nearly 100% ready for this medium. And Part 2 is where most of the meat of the story is. You need the setup that was provided in Part 1, but Part 2 is where we get Batman vs. Joker, Batman riding a horse into Gotham City to restore order and essentially become the law, Batman vs. Superman… the fact that both encounters represented final encounters allowed the graphic novel (and, consequently, its animated film adaptation) to explore both conflicts to their logical conclusions.

Before I move on, let me just say that I am truly impressed by the technical proficiency with which this adaptation was made. The animation is top-notch, which should come as no surprise of consumers of recent DC films. The voice-acting was professional as always. Peter Weller was not a familiar voice as Batman, but I was actually pretty okay with that given the disconnect between this story and the rest of the Batman mythos (hold that thought for a moment.) As always, Christopher Drake provided an incredible soundtrack.

What’s pretty incredible to me is that they didn’t just combine these two 76-minute features into a single, 152-minute feature and release it in theaters. I understand the economic climate is different than when, say, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm came out, but it really feels like these films belonged on the big screen.

Alright. You’re all satisfied that I was impressed with this film? Good. Now let’s get into the more interesting part: why I hated it.

To be fair, that reaction had nothing to do with the film. It’s derived entirely from how I feel about the source material, a position which I never fully elaborated on when I reviewed said source material. Considering the graphic novel would have to be on a list of the ten most influential Batman comics of all time, I probably ought to do so, and now seems like as good a time as any.

My problem with The Dark Knight Returns is actually two problems that are so interconnected they start to feel like one problem: Miller’s politics, and the fact that this narrative is basically fanfiction.

Okay, look: if you think that a rehabilitative approach to the criminal justice system is totally bunk and a punitive approach is preferable, that’s totally up to you. There’s plenty of data that shows rehabilitation produces much better outcomes than the punitive approach, which is a long way of saying that you’re wrong, but you’re entitled to be wrong. That’s fine. And if you think that psychology is a pseudoscience, the government is weak, and physical violence is vastly preferable to discourse and understanding… again, you’re perfectly entitled to think that. If you hate women… you and I probably shouldn’t talk very much, but I can’t do anything about the fact that you think that.

Here’s the thing: leave all of that out of my comic books. If you want to write a comic book that is 100% about not only advancing your politics, but doing so with a smug sense of superiority, you should probably make your own original property rather than cramming it into the mouths (and fists) of Bruce Wayne, Jim Gordon, and Clark Kent.

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Oct 06 2012
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Film

My Favorite Superhero Films. #3: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

#3: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)


This is pretty universally considered the greatest animated superhero film of all time. When it comes to its place in my personal estimation, I’m actually willing to heap on a few additional superlatives. It is one of my favorite superhero films of all time (obviously), my favorite superhero film made before 2000, possibly my favorite incarnation of Batman of all time, and last but not least quite probably my favorite animated film of any genre. (Remember, kids! No matter what Uncle IMDb tells you, “animated” is a medium, not a genre!)

One of the major reasons Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is as good as it is is that it starts with a pretty solid foundation: Batman: The Animated Series. With due respect to those who consider Christopher Nolan’s the best interpretation of Batman, The Animated Series completely blows him out of the water and then keeps firing just because it can. During a period of time when Batman had become a commercial empire and Warner Bros. was spitting out mostly-mediocre films by Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher, The Animated Series was bringing an unabashedly mature take on the character onto the smaller screen.

Well, mostly on the smaller screen. The series also made it to the big screen in the form of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. It’s really pretty amazing how many things this film got right. It’s the only feature-length Batman film that had a reasonably good mystery plot, which is interesting when you consider the character is known as the World’s Greatest Detective. And it managed to have both a depiction of Batman’s origin story and an emotionally intense romantic subplot that both leaned heavily on flashbacks without either feeling like it had been “crammed in” to the film.

What was truly impressive about the film was how it managed to have such cinematic scope while still making sure everything was tied together. The film featured two major antagonists, the Joker and the titular Phantasm. The identity of the Phantasm was the center of the film’s mystery plot and connected to absolutely every single aspect of the film.

Everything leads to an setpiece three-way battle between Batman, the Joker, and the Phantasm. Every single element that his shined throughout the film–the script, the acting, the animation, the incredible score by Shirley Walker–reaches soaring heights in this epic finale.

I cannot stress enough how vital it is that you see this film if you have not already done so. If you consider yourself even a casual fan of Batman or superheroes in general, this is an absolute must-see, and it might help you understand why so many of us are frustrated by the direction Warner Bros. is electing to take the DC franchises they’ve been entrusted with.

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Sep 26 2012
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Books

Summer Reading Wrapup

With summer officially over, it’s time for some stub reviews!

Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
I finally understand all the popular complaints about Tolkien’s writing style. Although his descriptive passages were often quite dense in Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, they at least directly related to what was going on in the story. Return of the King is when I frequently found myself realizing I had no idea what was actually happening and had to backtrack through several tangents of random description before finding any actual narration. Although Tolkien’s verbose style never bothered me previously, here it did dramatically impact my ability to enjoy the book. I was able to enjoy the book, but it was a bit of a chore to get through. I don’t know if I’ve ever said this about a book before, but here it is: I liked the movie better.

Shadows in Flight by Orson Scott Card
At this point, the Ender’s Game series has been going on for so long that you’d think it would only have two options: stagnation or radical departure. Shadows in Flight is proof that this series suffers from neither. And it even delivers one of the series’ signature moments of understanding when one of its main characters literally sees through an alien’s eyes. It remains unconscionable to me that someone with the intolerant views that Mr. Card has so often espoused writes so often and so well about understanding someone with a completely different perspective, but he somehow does so brilliantly.

Resistance (Rising, #1) by Laura Josephsen
In the interest of full disclosure, yes: I do know the author. But that’s really just an added perk. This is exactly the kind of book I want to read more of, but Amazon.com doesn’t exactly have a search filter for, “Yeah, I’d like a fantasyish book with a distinctive setting that gives it flavor without overwhelming it, but which is actually mostly focused on developing characters and relationships and has really great pacing and this sort of tone which I can’t really think of a good word for.”

(Here it is on Amazon, or the Kindle version is only $4.99)

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson
I really wish someone had explained to me that I needed to read this before seeing The Dark Knight Rises. After reading this, I now know where most of the plot of the film came from, and actually have a greater appreciation for it as a loose adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns that actually is more true to the spirit of Batman than the comic it’s adapting. (Yeah, I went there.)

The Dark Knight Returns has an almost cinematic quality to it. I admire Miller’s work here and I understand this comic’s significance in the evolution of Batman, but I’m also glad that this interpretation of the character did not survive wholesale in later iterations. Instead, this is what Batman would be like if he had been created by Frank Miller (including all of his awkward hangups about women and politics.) I will say that I like the noir flavor and think it works quite well for Batman, I just think it would’ve worked better if he had acted more like… Batman.

So, in short, this is a brilliantly composed comic and I think I might hate it.

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
You know what? No. This is getting its own entry.

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Aug 03 2012
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Film

My Favorite Superhero Films. #9: The Dark Knight (2008)

I think it’s a stirring testament to how rabid Christopher Nolan’s fans are that if I had more readers, I guarantee you people would be outraged that I’ve “disrespected” this film… by having it among my top ten favorite superhero films of all time. Just think about that for a moment.

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#9: The Dark Knight (2008)

First and foremost, The Dark Knight is an unbelievably well-made film. Despite clocking in at 152 minutes, this film doesn’t really feel that long thanks to its brilliant pacing. There’s just always something “happening” in this film. It never lets up, but it also somehow avoids the trap of becoming fatiguing as a result. The characters and situations are complex and gradually developed, the tone is much more three-dimensional than its given credit for (still a bit dark for my taste, but not as monotone as some claim), and the acting is just absolutely brilliant. In short: this is a really, really well-made film.

One thing I will forever respect Christopher Nolan for is what he does with stunts and visual effects. 99% of the things you see in his films that make you say, “Okay, that had to be computer generated”? Nope. Nolan is notorious for avoiding computer-generated effects whenever it is practically possible to do so. Although I’m not on the “computer effects = bad” bandwagon (we’ll get more into why on one of the forthcoming films on this list), The Dark Knight is really a brilliant example of traditional filmmaking at its best, and that’s something I really can’t overlook.

This is not to say that Christopher Nolan is flawless. My biggest frustration with The Dark Knight and (moreso) Batman Begins was that you really couldn’t tell what was going on in a lot of the fight scenes. I know his legions of fans will defend this as an intentional, “stylistic” choice, but it’s really quite distracting and not at all appropriate for a superhero film. It’s worth noting that Nolan’s approach to this gradually improved throughout the series, reaching its high point in The Dark Knight Rises, which left very little to the imagination in this arena.

I hope it won’t come as news to anyone that far and away the most outstanding thing about this film was Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker. I have to admit, I’ve never particularly cared for the character before. I wasn’t as impressed with Jack Nicholson’s performance in Batman (1989) as everyone else seems to be. I tended to enjoy his character in Batman: The Animated Series (voiced by Mark Hamill), but didn’t really see that character translating well into live-action. Indeed, Nolan went back to the comics to find a darker interpretation of the Joker, drawing heavily from The Killing Joke. And Heath Ledger just absolutely nailed the part. Although Christian Bale is probably the best Batman we’ve seen in a live-action film, Ledger completely stole the show in The Dark Knight. He had at least three iconic moments that I can think of, and that’s being conservative with the label.

One of the most enduring refrains of this film is the Joker’s query, “Why so serious?” This could actually double as a succinct description of some fans’ reservations about Nolan’s Dark Knight: it is quite intentionally dark. I actually think these films are much more tonally diverse than they’re given credit for. The major beats these films strike seem to be traditionally “badass” moments (both for Batman and each film’s villains), wry humor, and fairly serious drama. I don’t find these films especially depressing or “hopeless” as some do. My problems lie elsewhere.

The flaws I find in Nolan’s vision of Batman are in his interpretation of Batman’s character. I find his three-film-long contention that Bruce Wayne cannot be psychologically healthy and Batman at the same time a serious reinterpretation of the character, and one which writes off the vast majority of the character’s history. In the comics (and animated series, and even Batman Forever), Bruce Wayne is able to move on from his parents’ death to a certain extent (it’s still a huge motivating factor for him), and experience new sources of tension and conflict. In Nolan’s world, Bruce Wayne can either be happy or Batman. (Or, in the first bit of The Dark Knight Rises, neither.) This isn’t necessarily a flaw, because Christopher Nolan’s world is separate from other continuities.

But therein lies my fear. Because these films were exceptional, it’s natural for a lot of people to consider them the “definitive” interpretation of Batman. I think this is a grave mistake, as the franchise has a rich and complex history, much of which directly contradicts Nolan’s reading of the character. And the last thing I want is a bunch of Nolan wannabes making every Batman film from now on, when Joss Whedon just showed us how well an unironic take on these stories works. (Shockingly, comic book films can be good and unabashedly based on comic books at the same time.)

That’s hardly my only problem with Christopher Nolan’s vision, but it is my biggest one. It still infuriates me that Rachel Dawes (here played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, previously played by Katie Holmes) exists. That Nolan felt he had to invent a character, and a pretty pointless one at that, to serve as the love interest in the first two films when Batman’s history is full of so many strong women with complex relationships with the Caped Crusader will never cease to confuse me. Worse, he actually compounds the problem in The Dark Knight by making Rachel the subject of a love triangle involving Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent. Moreover, she is basically the entire reason Harvey turns into Two-Face. I really hate to harp on this point, but characters who previously didn’t exist should not be this large a part of two main characters’ lives!

I already discussed this in greater detail in my review of The Dark Knight Rises, but it is again worth noting that the politics of this film are awkward at best. During the height of the U.S.’s debate over the privacy and due process issues associated with wiretapping, Nolan has Batman able to spy on every single cellular telephone in Gotham. Not only did the politics of this leave me feeling perturbed at best, it demonstrated an element of Batman’s character that Nolan completely failed to incorporate: his renown as the “world’s greatest detective.” In these films, Batman comes off more as a moodier version of James Bond, relying mostly on his gadgets and right hook than his investigative talents.

Again, this is a great film. Ledger’s performance as the Joker alone would’ve carried this thing to huge success, but it didn’t happen in a vacuum. The other major source of this film was The Long Halloween, the source of the triangular relationship between Batman, James Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart.) Their performances were terrific, as were two of the most overqualified supporting actors you’ll ever see in a superhero film, Michael Caine (as Alfred Pennyworth) and Morgan Freeman (as Lucius Fox.) And everything is held together by another excellent score by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard.

From a pure filmmaking standpoint, this should pretty clearly be much higher on the list than I have it, if not at the top of the list. (I would probably reserve that spot for Zack Snyder’s Watchmen (2009), but it’s very open to debate.) As a series, Nolan’s Batman films have an essential element which separates truly great superhero films from the rest. These films, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films, and Bryan Singer’s X-Men films, to me are still the Holy Trinity representing what we get when good filmmakers are given control of superhero films. What makes them so spectacular is that they’re helmed by filmmakers who have a very clear idea of what they want to do, and are exceptionally good at bringing that vision onto the screen. In Raimi and Singer’s cases, I happened to love (for the most part) what they wanted to do. In Nolan’s case, I happen to have quite a few reservations. But that doesn’t stop me from recognizing that this is an exceptionally well-made film.

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Aug 01 2012
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My Favorite Superhero Films. #10: Batman Begins (2005)

#10: Batman Begins (2005)

I nearly put this film ahead of The Dark Knight, which I imagine would’ve raised a few eyebrows. This film is, frankly, one of the two perfect superhero origin films I’ve seen. What I mean by this is it did everything an origin film needs to do perfectly, not that it was a perfect film.

Certainly there are things about Batman Begins I like much better than The Dark Knight. Out of Nolan’s three Batman films, this one was by far the most lighthearted. Although I think Nolan’s sense of humor in the series as a whole is largely underappreciated, it is a much bigger part of Batman Begins to be sure. I also appreciated that this film was, unlike the other two, without overt political references.

In contrast to previous Batman adaptations, this film spends a bit more time on Thomas (Linus Roache) and Martha Wayne (Sara Stewart) as real people, rather than merely horrified-looking faces in the process of being gunned down in an alley. Well, Thomas anyway. Martha was notably silent, which while hardly unusual for mother figures in superhero films is nevertheless a legitimate source of frustration. Still, the scene on the train where Thomas is talking to a young Bruce (Gus Lewis) about Gotham works quite well thematically throughout the film and series as a whole. It gives the older Bruce (Christian Bale) a reason to be emotionally invested in the city and makes the “knight” in “the Dark Knight” much more explicit. This gives much greater weight to Bruce’s quest to defend Gotham, especially in his later philosophical struggle with Ra’s al Ghul (Liam Neeson.)

Gotham is almost a living, breathing character in this film, and is much more explicitly given a history than in many other incarnations. We see Thomas and Martha using their wealth and influence to try to make Gotham a better place. We learn that after their deaths, Gotham slid into a depression that their acts of charity had been merely delaying. Still, not every citizen has given up on the city.

This leads rather nicely into my biggest complaint by far about the film, and the series as a whole: the character of Rachel Dawes (here portrayed by Katie Holmes, Maggie Gyllenhaal in the sequel.) It is unconscionable to me that Nolan felt the need to create a Mary Sue character to lecture Bruce on several occasions before ultimately becoming his romantic interest. This character, who has never existed in any other incarnation of Batman, is suddenly the most important person in Bruce Wayne’s life.

The really frustrating thing is existing Batman characters easily could’ve fit into Rachel’s shoes. Nolan has admitted that Harvey Dent almost made it into the film to fill a large portion of Dawes’ role, but Nolan felt he couldn’t “do justice” to Dent in the limited screen time he would’ve had. Well, that’s the beautiful part: you don’t have to. Just include him in the first film, and then give him a bigger role in the second film when he’s already become a familiar face.

Of course, not all of Rachel’s roles in the film could’ve been filled by Dent. Her biggest part in the film isn’t her role as a District Attorney, but rather as Bruce’s love interest. Well, your main villain is Ra’s al Ghul, right? How about Talia al Ghul, a strong female character who actually could’ve matched Bruce punch for punch in battle, and brought some strong internal conflict to the film due to her divided loyalties between her father and love interest?

As a longtime Batman fan, these both seem like pretty clear choices to me given the rest of the narrative of the film, but my larger point here is that previously nonexistent characters probably shouldn’t define Bruce and serve as his primary emotional motivations through two-and-a-half films.

That being said, there were a lot of characters this film (and series) got right. Of course a lot of it came down to good writing, but I think the bigger factor was brilliant casting. I never would’ve imagined Gary Oldman as James Gordon, but then Oldman really does seem to “disappear” into his roles, which is one of the best compliments you can give an actor. Michael Caine was a fantastic choice as Bruce’s butler and confidant, Alfred Pennyworth. And in an absolute coup, Morgan Freeman plays Lucius Fox, Bruce’s ally in Wayne Enterprises who eventually becomes its chairman.

Liam Neeson as Ra’s al Ghul was a true strength for this film, giving it an extremely strong villain. His relationship with Bruce was one of the film’s biggest strengths, as he actually starts out as a mentor figure who trains Bruce to be a member of the League of Shadows. If you’ll pardon the uncritical reaction, I really don’t think you can go wrong by having significant portions of your film’s first act feature training montages set to monologues by Liam Neeson.

What I really loved about this film was that it was about Bruce Wayne. Batman films almost always fall into the trap of making the antagonists much more interesting than Batman himself, and having Batman basically spend the entire film reacting to what everyone else is doing. Here, we actually see Bruce training to become Batman, acquring a lot of the skills that make him who he is, and developing his moral code. Having a Batman film be about Batman really doesn’t sound like rocket science, but you’d really think so based on a lot of other takes on the character.

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Jul 30 2012
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Film

My Favorite Superhero Films: Honorable Mentions

Since we’re about to crack the top ten on my lists of favorite and least favorite superhero films, now seemed like a pretty good time to identify a few films that just didn’t quite make the cut on both lists.

(Hopefully this will also give you a pretty good idea of why my Favorite list was so much shorter than my Least Favorite list.)

(Disclaimer: I haven’t seen the Superman/Batman animated movies, the two Hulk animated films, or Thor: Tales of Asgard.)

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Honorable Mentions (Favorite Superhero Films)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)

Not nearly as good as the first film, but not half bad either.

Kick-Ass (2010)

A lot of this film is very silly (in a good way!), but some of it is surprisingly poignant. Consider the main character’s narration: “In the world I lived in, heroes only existed in comic books. And I guess that’d be okay, if bad guys were make-believe, too. But they’re not.” Not to mention this film actually (realistically) has him get his ass kicked in his first few attempts. And Nicholas Cage was hilarious in this.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

A lot of people would probably have this on the other list, but I enjoyed it. I’ve never been a huge Wolverine fan, but Hugh Jackman makes the character pretty impossible not to like. One pleasant surprise was having Cyclops, Emma Frost, and a bunch of other mutants rescued by Professor Xavier. I wish they had used this hook for X-Men: First Class as it would’ve allowed them to give a lot more screen time to some of my favorite characters (Cyclops and Emma Frost), but oh well.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Many would consider this a serious omission, but I have to admit I’m not quite as impressed with this film as everyone else was. Don’t get me wrong: it was good, and the fact that they managed to craft a version of this character whose patriotism didn’t bother me even a little was impressive, but I didn’t find it nearly as memorable as Thor or Iron Man.

Ultimate Avengers (2006)
Ultimate Avengers 2 (2006)

These Marvel Animated Features were a cut above The Invincible Iron Man for sure. The two films actually hit a lot of the same beats as The Avengers between the two of them (though not entirely as successfully.) Granted, these films suffer greatly in comparison to The Avengers, but at least we know Marvel is capable of making halfway decent animated features.

Batman (1966)

Yeah, the Adam West one. I absolutely loved that series. This was intentionally bad (like the series!), and featured appearances by pretty much every single villain from the show teaming up to try to defeat the caped crusader.

Superman (1978)

Honestly? The only thing holding this movie back was that I found it a little bland, but I’m not sure that’s entirely avoidable for a Superman movie. Then again…

Superman: Doomsday (2007)
All-Star Superman (2011)
Superman vs. The Elite (2012)

This may be largely symptomatic of the DC animated movies being far superior to DC live-action movies, but I’ve yet to see an animated Superman film I didn’t like.

Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)
Justice League: Doom (2012)

Justice League: The New Frontier was a pretty solid narrative and very distinct as it made the conscious choice to set the film in the 1950s, allowing them to make use of some Golden Age aesthetics. I was, however, frustrated that some characters (like Green Arrow) just randomly showed up for the final battle and didn’t do or say anything. Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths was pretty easily the best Justice League film I’ve seen, and probably belongs on the main list, if it weren’t for the fact that I didn’t see it until after I started the list. Justice League: Doom had the pretty major problem of trying to cram too much into too short of a film (and consequently being a bit of a mess), but I still enjoyed it.

Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003)

It might not be the most popular opinion, but I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit. Yet again we have to turn to the animated adventures of Batman to see him with an actual mystery plot.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)

I have to admit I was never a huge fan of the Batman Beyond series, but this film really made me wish I had been. It was shockingly good. And the way it tied back into older Batman continuity is the kind of thing that would’ve made me enjoy Batman Beyond if they had done more of it.

Green Lantern: First Flight (2009)
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011)

More on these later. (“Wait, but they’re on your Honorable Mentions list. Doesn’t that mean there won’t be an entry about them?” You’ll see.)

Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998)

Man, in retrospect, this definitely belonged on the main list, I’m pretty upset that I forgot how good it is. It’s a bit below the cinematic quality of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (but only a very little bit), which it largely makes up for with a great plot, one of my favorite villains (Mr. Freeze), and features Robin and Batgirl. This is a really great film.

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Jul 29 2012
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Film

My Least Favorite Superhero Films: Dishonorable Mentions

Since we’re about to crack the top ten on my lists of favorite and least favorite superhero films, now seemed like a pretty good time to identify a few films that just didn’t quite make the cut on both lists.

(Hopefully this will also give you a pretty good idea of why my Favorite list was so much shorter than my Least Favorite list.)

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Dishonorable Mentions (Least Favorite Superhero Films)

Captain America (1990)

Before Captain America: The First Avenger we had… this.

Batman: Year One (2011)

This definitely takes the cake as the worst DC Universe Animated Original Movie I’ve seen so far. (Wonder Woman wasn’t actually bad, it was just… wrong.) Catwoman is there for no apparent reason and completely wasted. It’s really just a much less awesome version of Batman Begins. Although we ostensibly see Batman’s origin, what essentially happens is that we see Bruce have a bat-related revelation, and the next time we see him he’s in a full batsuit fighting crime. I don’t know if it was like that in the comic, but it really felt pretty unfulfilling in the film.

The Punisher (2004)

Boring. Depressing. Violent. Whee. I once saw this on TV opposite of Atomic Twister and I chose Atomic Twister. I’m not joking. The only reason this isn’t on the main list is that I haven’t seen it all the way through, so I can’t really write a review of it.

Zoom (2006)

This was basically a really, really dull version of a better film (Sky High) with terrible acting from the children. It’s really sad, because I was really excited when I first heard about this. “It’s like Sky High with Tim Allen!” Not so much.

The Invincible Iron Man (2007)

Do you want to know how much Marvel animated films suck compared to DC animated films? They made Iron Man boring. Let me repeat that: they made Iron Man boring. How do you even do that?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)

Even when I was a child I knew this film was terrible, which is really not a great sign because this was the first Ninja Turtles film that didn’t “get” that it was supposed to be entertaining for children and adults at the same time.

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Jul 28 2012
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Film

My Favorite Superhero Films. #11: Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)

#11: Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)

It’s actually nearly impossible to believe Batman: Under the Red Hood was a direct-to-DVD release. It had a cinematic quality that would’ve made it excellent to experience in the theaters. This film is actually an excellent example of the fact that DC Comics’ animated features show much more fidelity to their characters than their live action versions, and arguably are just better films in general.

Batman: Under the Red Hood adapts both the similarly-titled Under the Hood and the one Batman storyline I never thought I’d see any medium of adaptation try to touch: A Death in the Family. I actually like this film’s version of Jason Todd’s return much better than Under the Hood‘s. While the essential elements were the same, and the conclusion is similar, it’s much more streamlined both structurally and in terms of the actual story.

The production values here are as impressive as they’ve ever been for the DC Universe’s animated features, and Christopher Drake turns in arguably his best performance as soundtrack composer. I was surprised by the choice to recast many of the voices for this film as I think the original voice actors would’ve been excellent reprising their roles, but I can hardly argue with who they got to replace them. Bruce Greenwood (as Batman) and Neil Patrick Harris (as Nightwing) bring serious Hollywood prestige to the cast, while veteran voice actor John DiMaggio (as the Joker) is, as ever, impressive.

The quality of this film stands out even among other DC Universe Animated Original Movies, which have been with few exceptions consistently excellent. I would love to see more major Batman storylines told in a similar vein. I’d love to see a (probably at least two-part) adaptation of Knightfall and Knightsend, largely glossing over Knightquest, and definitely a sequel adapting Prodigal. The Long Halloween and Dark Victory (still the best interpretation of Dick Grayson’s origin story ever) would be spectacular as well.

So far, though, the only additional storyline they’ve used is Year One (which was okay but not great), and there’s a forthcoming two-part adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns, which I must confess I’m not especially looking forward to. But then, my bias has always been for more exploration of the “Batman Family,” a concept which modern interpretations of Batman have largely tried to ignore. Under the Red Hood, on the other hand, plays into my prejudices by heavily featuring Bruce’s relationship with both Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. This is really what I’d like to see more of, just throw in some Barbara Gordon and Tim Drake and we’ll be all set.

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Jul 17 2012
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Fandom, Film

My Least Favorite Superhero Films. #14: Batman & Robin (1997)

Parallel to my countdown of favorite superhero films (though not perfectly so as there are far fewer noteworthy in this category), I will also be counting down my least favorite superhero films. As with the other list, the only “rules” for what constitutes a superhero film will be that it reasonably seems like a superhero film. I won’t be applying any ridiculous standards that end up making Batman not a superhero because he has no super powers, or anything like that.

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#14: Batman & Robin (1997)

I ended yesterday’s (partial) defense of Batman Forever with the comment that aside from the fact that it was kind of mediocre and had some fairly substantial problems, I think the main reason most people actually hate Batman Forever is that they conflate it with Batman & Robin, and that I think that’s a pretty serious mistake. Batman & Robin is a terrible film. Much worse than Batman Forever. Batman Forever wasn’t exactly cinematic brilliance in the first place, but Batman & Robin actually pulled off the neat trick of ruining three (three) of my favorite villains in the same film. And Batgirl. They also ruined Batgirl. Because you know, why not?

The things that make Batman & Robin so bad are actually much simpler than the things that mitigate Batman Forever‘s badness and led me to defend it. While Batman Forever has Dick Grayson’s anguish over his parents’ death, Bruce’s relating to that and taking him under his wing, the complicated development of a relationship between the two, and Bruce’s own psychological recovery going for it, Batman & Robin has… nothing.

Where Batman Forever was occasionally marred by hints of the nails-on-chalkboard awful dialogue we’d rather see throughout the entirety of Batman & Robin, they were just that: hints. Large segments of Batman Forever involved legitimately interesting character-building and relationship dynamics. Batman & Robin throws a completely superficial conflict between Batman and Robin at us that’s so forced it doesn’t make either of their characters more interesting. The closest thing this film has to “something going for it” is Robin chafing under Batman’s leadership (and one can’t help but wonder if the fact that his Robin costume is already starting to resemble Nightwing’s was hinting at something), and that wasn’t given enough attention to really count as a strongpoint.

You know what? I’m going to say it. Chris O’Donnell as Robin was the only worthwhile thing about this film. I actually really enjoyed his performance. This film could’ve been replaced by 125 minutes of Chris O’Donnell beating bad guys up and it would’ve been a much better film.

George Clooney? I… actually think he might be the worst Batman ever. That might be largely indicative of the script’s failures, but I’m not sure I could’ve bought Clooney as Batman even in a more well-constructed film. That seems like it should serve as the worst possible indictment of the film, but we haven’t even gotten close to the worst parts.

As I alluded to earlier, this film pulled off the shockingly impressive trifecta of ruining three of my favorite (and most fans’ favorite) supervillains of all time, and threw Batgirl in for good measure. To start things off, let’s look at Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy. Ivy is a fan-favorite Batman villain because of her enigmatic nature, and the awkward romantic tension between her and Batman in their various incarnations. Ivy has been portrayed as a temptress, and her connection with nature made her an obvious choice to channel feminists influences into the Batman series. The ultimate depiction of this character is probably in The Animated Series, where she is depicted as subtle but incredibly deadly.

Batman & Robin‘s depiction of the character incorporates some of those elements… in the sense that a few vaguely superficial mockeries of feminist and environmentalist themes are briefly mentioned in Ivy’s psychopathic rant immediately after being transformed and never mentioned again. Oh, and that “subtlety” thing from the other versions of the character? Not so much. She basically parades around in revealing costumes and seems much more sexually available than any other version of her character. (Hey, Schumacher had to distract audiences from the homosexual overtones somehow… right?)

The funny thing is, Ivy might be the least ruined villain in this film. The other major villain of the film is Mr. Freeze. Though Freeze was always noted for having a more “serious” tone than many other Batman villains even in his early days, it was Batman: The Animated Series that gave him the tragic origin story of a fatally ill wife whom he cryogenically preserves in order to protect her until he can find a cure. This depiction was so seminal, it resulted in his comic book incarnations being altered to fit this new origin story, and the episode that introduced this new origin won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program in 1993. As a result, the character has a melancholy nature, and is moreover a seriously driven character.

Batman & Robin‘s version of the character is pretty much the worst reinterpretation anyone could’ve come up with. The utter stupidity of this film’s characterization defies all reason. Schumacher opts to keep Freeze’s tragic backstory, but depict him as a beyond-campy, pun-spouting, shallow caricature played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is virtually impossible to overstate how completely wrong this character is.

And he isn’t even the worst one. Linked to Ivy (for reasons passing understanding) throughout the film is Bane. Fans of the Batman comics will remember Bane from the Knightfall arc, during which he proved to be a physical and intellectual equal to Batman, eventually actually defeating the Dark Knight and knocking him out of commission completely for over a year. That’s not in-story time, that’s real-world time. There was a year of comic books published during which Bruce Wayne was crippled and someone else was Batman.

What many later interpretations failed to “get” about Bane, even The Animated Series, is that his awesome strength isn’t his biggest asset, it’s his incredible intellect. His plan to take down Batman is ruthlessly brilliant. Seriously, if you aren’t planning on reading Knightfall, just read this summary. It’s one of the best Batman storylines of all time. The thing is… as lacking as every attempt to reinterpret Bane into other continuities has been, Batman & Robin was unquestionably the absolute worst. Did it fail to make him an intimidating criminal mastermind? You could say that. Batman & Robin reimagines Bane as a petty criminal who becomes super-strong only because of Venom. Calling him Ivy’s henchman would be giving him too much credit: he’s her slave. And for most of the film, he seems incapable of speech.

Ill-content to merely ruin the film’s villains, Schumacher next turned his attention to Barbara Gordon… no, wait, I’m sorry, we’re calling her “Barbara Wilson” here. Because, for no apparent reason, Barbara is now Alfred Pennyworth’s niece. She’s played (badly; you had to see that coming by now, right?) by Alicia Silverstone. She rides motorcycles (so she can identify with Robin and get in a really stupid motorcycle race that’s one of the film’s worst scenes) and is said to be a computer expert (so the film can allude to her comic exploits as the Oracle without doing any actual work.) Everything she ever does with or says about computers in the film makes absolutely no sense, and would make someone with an even rudimentary understanding of computers feel vaguely violent. The hints of romantic tension between her and Dick Grayson in this version come off as more than a little creepy since Alfred basically functions as Dick’s uncle.

Oh, yeah, speaking of her relationship with Alfred, here’s the best part: Alfred created a costume and gear for her and wrote a program in the Batcomputer just in case she ever needed to become Batgirl for no apparent reason, without Bruce knowing. You know. Bruce. Bruce Wayne. Batman. The incredibly paranoid guy who takes down criminal geniuses for a living. (Wait, no, I forgot: there aren’t any criminal geniuses in this version. My bad.)

Now… you could probably take all of these horribly, horribly butchered characters and actually write a pretty interesting movie about them, but as I already said, that didn’t happen. Dick Grayson’s introduction in Batman Forever is duplicated almost beat-for-beat in Barbara’s introduction, only without the orphaning and with a great deal more awkwardness and terrible acting. The “point” of the film seems to have been to introduce the “Batman Family,” but you can get a better introduction of that concept literally almost anywhere the concept has been depicted.

So, the obvious question. Why isn’t this higher on my list of least favorite superhero films of all time? Well, here’s where you’re going to want to throw stones at me again: I… actually kind of enjoy it. I’m not saying I enjoyed it when I was a kid, when I was supposed to enjoy it and didn’t know any better (although that also is true). I… actually still enjoy it to this day. Chris O’Donnell’s performance as Robin (probably aided by the fact that I have a serious crush on the character) remains compelling to me for some reason, and no matter how bad this film is, and no matter how thoroughly it butchered the characters and stories it ripped off… I can totally watch it as a guilty pleasure, which I can’t say about a lot of other films on this list.

You know what? Screw it. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Joel Schumacher is hardly the first person to look at Batman and go, “You know… that’s kinda gay.” He’s just the first one to make a lot of money off of it, and I kind of actually love him for that. I hate what he did to a lot of my favorite characters in the process, but I just can’t direct the kind of venom (no pun intended) at this film that others can. It’s bad. It’s awful. I acknowledge that it might very well be the worst superhero film of all time… but I can’t hate it as much as I’m supposed to.

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Jul 16 2012
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Fandom, Film

Superhero Films I’m “Supposed” to Hate: Batman Forever (1995)

Tomorrow, I’m going to be posting my review of my 14th least favorite superhero film of all time, Batman & Robin. I’m expecting to catch quite a bit of flak for having this so low on the list, as Batman & Robin is nearly universally considered to be one of the worst (if not the worst) superhero films of all time. As long as I’m going to be in hot water anyway, let’s just lay it all on the table right now. So, if I told you Batman & Robin was my 14th least favorite superhero of all time, in addition to being shocked at how low on the list that is, you’d probably be thinking, “Wait. You have Batman Forever rated as worse than Batman & Robin?”

Nope.

Which, of course, means Batman Forever isn’t on this list at all. I’m unlikely to escape not including Batman Forever on a list of my 15 least favorite superhero films of all time without explanation, so with these two films being “brothers” due to being Joel Schumacher’s two entries into the Batman film universe, I may as well address Batman Forever first, to inform tomorrow’s criticism of Batman & Robin.

After Tim Burton’s early-90s Batman blockbusters ignited the decade’s comic books explosion, many inside and outside of Hollywood realized that Burton’s take on the Caped Crusader was exceptionally dark (and not in a Chris Nolan Dark Knight kind of way), and probably not the most appropriate thing in the world for kids, who were a huge part of Warner’s target audience. So despite the fact that Batman Returns is practically begging for a sequel (“Batman Re-returns“?), the studio gave Burton the ax and turned the thing over to Joel Schumacher.

At this point, every Batman fan reading is already shuddering, having long ago equated “Schumacher” with “awful.” I now consider it my duty to stand up for the man. Joel Schumacher is actually a good filmmaker. Don’t believe me? Go watch The Client. You heard me. Go watch it. Now. Since you obviously listened to me and are already watching the film, at this point I can reveal that this adaptation of a John Grisham novel (prepare for unpleasant deja vu) is directed by Joel Schumacher and stars Tommy Lee Jones.

Here’s the thing: it works. It’s actually the best legal thriller I’ve ever seen. Yeah, you heard me: ever. I was so stunned by this film, it forced me to completely reevaluate everything I “knew” about Joel Schumacher. A quick glance at his filmography informed me that he directed the 2004 adaptation of Phantom of the Opera, which is one of the finest films I’ve ever seen and is certainly much more serious than his work on Batman. Further digging revealed that Batman Forever and Batman & Robin were not the Batman films he wanted to make at all. In fact, he wanted to make a much more serious film with darker themes based on Batman: Year One (if that sounds eerily familiar… yeah, we’re talking about basically what Chris Nolan did.) If Schumacher weren’t under heavy pressure from Warner Bros. to make a Batman film that would be primarily attractive to children and sell more action figures, it’s entirely possible we would remember him as the man to revitalize the Batman film franchise. It isn’t even really that far-fetched.

Was Batman Forever entirely without missteps? Of course not. I mean… look at it. But with that in mind, my entire perception of the film changes. Why? Because I did like it when I was a kid. A lot. Schumacher did exactly what the studio asked him to do, he made a film that sold a ton of action figures and helped create a marketing empire. Given his artistic sensibilities (as demonstrated in other films) and desire for a more serious interpretation of the character, it’s unlikely Schumacher himself was satisfied with the end product. That being said, he did find a way to put his own mark on the franchise by making the film not only kid-friendly, but intentionally over-the-top and campy. And all those neon colors and “comic booky” aesthetic that everyone suddenly always hated? They fit right in with the campy atmosphere of the films, they wouldn’t have looked very out of place in a lot of other superhero movies, and I’m kind of confused as to where all of this universal hatred was in 1995.

And hey, here’s an interesting thing: as Movie Bob pointed out recently, Batman Forever actually has the only interesting character development of any 1990s Batman film with Bruce Wayne briefly giving up his career as the Caped Crusader, and later deciding to continue to be Batman “not because I have to, but because I choose to.” Wait, what? Closure? A sense of optimism? And (this can’t possibly be overlooked) having Robin in his life as a positive influence?

This is the kind of turn that Christopher Nolan’s series (as much as I like it much better than Schumacher’s work, and like it in general) will never make. The reason Nolan absolutely refuses to make more than three movies is because he has no story left to tell. His Batman can’t have this sort of psychologically-healthy epiphany, he can never move on from his parents’ deaths. (Unless he does in The Dark Knight Rises and I end up looking like a giant idiot.) Optimism? Not in my Batman! (Except, you know, the character has clearly been depicted in the past as not constantly being alone and in pain and it’s worked just fine. See: the comics, Batman: The Animated Series, the Adam West live-action series which was clearly a source of inspiration here, Batman: The Brave and the Bold…)

Can you imagine a series of halfway-decent films about a psychologically-healthy Batman? Where did we get this idea that Batman is always, always, always dark and serious? Okay, Schumacher’s take on the character was far from perfect, but what if someone came along who could combine how enormous of a badass Batman is with him actually getting over his parents’ deaths? (Yeah, that’s already happened in a lot of comic book and animated iterations, but a live-action one? Can we get that Batman for Warner’s lead-in to the inevitable Justice League film?)

Okay, I’m getting carried away here, let’s bring it back in. Am I going to argue that this is a great film? NO!!! Are you kidding me??? It’s Batman Forever!!!

It does have some great elements. How about the acting? Val Kilmer could’ve been a better Batman than Keaton had he been given a more serious take on the character, and was already pretty compelling with the already-mentioned psychological exploration of the character. Nicole Kidman did great with what she had to work with. Chris O’Donnell was probably a good choice as Robin, and frankly was the thing I loved about the film the most in my childhood.

How about the villains? Here’s the biggest difference between Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Jim Carrey was absolutely fantastic as the Riddler in an interpretation that harkened back to the aforementioned Adam West television series. Tommy Lee Jones… well, yeah, okay: here’s where the first hints of where Batman & Robin was going to go horribly, horribly wrong came in. Tommy Lee Jones is absolutely hilarious in this film. He is an over-the-top, humorous villain who channels Silver Age villain personalities brilliant. What he isn’t… is Two-Face.

If Joel Schumacher had been able to cast Tommy Lee Jones as some random Silver Age villain (or an original villain based on Silver Age aesthetics), I would actually be able to make a pretty convincing argument that this is actually a good film. But in bowing to studio pressure to feature the popular villain (who didn’t fit the film’s tone at all), the film was ruined. Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but a Batman film that was a little silly and featured a villain and armies of disposable henchmen actually could’ve worked.

Aside from the fact that it was admittedly kind of mediocre and had some fairly substantial problems, I think the main reason most people actually hate Batman Forever is that they conflate it with Batman & Robin, and I think that’s a pretty serious mistake. But let’s talk about that more tomorrow.

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