Let’s look at this from the perspective of an “Uber Batman
fan”...me! First, as some might assume, my
answer to the question was “Yes, as soon as possible!” I will clarify my opinion by first pointing
out that I have both “loved” and “hated” some of the offerings that WB has
given us from the Batman franchise. As
for the obvious misstep (I dare not speak it’s name, but it rhymes with “Shatman
and Knobin”), I’m pretty sure a lot of WB execs got shown the door on the back
of that one. With that exception, I have
not “hated” any of these films. Some
have certainly been better that others, but I feel that they really progressed
with the times and lead to where we are today.
I certainly understand why people like Christopher Nolan’s vision for
the character. “Batman Begins” is by
far, my favorite film in the franchise.
I feel that, with David Goyer’s script, Nolan did a fantastic job in
telling an origin story and making me believe that Batman was the true savior
of Gotham City.
Then came “The Dark Knight”.
Granted, it was “gritty and realistic”, but overall I felt the story was
a bit disjointed and I was somehow jipped out of my “Batman is a total bad-ass!”
moments as in the first one. Watch them back
to back, and I’ll bet you’ll get what I’m saying. Also, I don’t really care how “realistic” a
comic/superhero movie is, as long as there is some explanation as to how or why
these characters can do what they do.
For instance, the guy is a gazillionaire/ninja/smarty-pants and he can
do whatever the (expletive) he wants.
I’m cool with that! I think
(again, with the opinions) that we all got a little wrapped up in the emotion
of the real life drama surrounding the movie, prior to its release. I won’t go into that any further, but you
know what I’m saying. All that being
said, however, I will be first one in line to see “The Dark Knight Rises”. “Why?” you ask; because I’m a Batman
fan!
This is my take on it (and when WB steals my idea, you will
all be subpoenaed for the civil suit), I think that we should be given as many
visions and versions of these characters that we can. Much like the actual comic book titles
do. Here’s how it would work; the studio
would coordinate with different writers, directors, producers, and etc. They let those creative teams come up with their
own unique take on the characters, while remaining true to the core
material. They would all coordinate so
that there’s no repetition in the details; such as, villains, plot, or specific
themes. The films would NOT be part of a
trilogy, quadrilogy, or whatever. They
would be STAND ALONE stories that would be in the 2 ½ to 3 hour range. These films would be released every year, or
every other year, depending on what other DC characters are being brought to
the big screen. These movies would not
be origin stories, either. We all know
who Batman is, and why he is, who he is.
I would not begrudge, however, the occasional use of a flash back
sequence or montage to grab the mood. Yeah,
I get that it would probably be a logistical nightmare, but if WB/DC took a
couple of cues from MARVEL they could see how well you can coordinate these
creative teams for a central goal, ala “The Avengers”. It’s not rocket surgery people!
Anyway, I understand that my “vision” will most likely never
come to fruition. Until then, I’ll keep
dreaming of a day when guys in $3000.00 suits aren’t kicking puppies, and
trying to figure out new ways to F’up the things that I love! Barlow-Out!
