Batman and the Dark Knight
I recently went back and watched Batman Forever - that's the less remembered one from the old 80's and early 90's run with Val Kilmer as Batman. It is pretty over the top in most respects. But as I watched it, I began to realize that not only have the comic book genre movies become far more complicated and visually stunning, they also have a different atmosphere about them. Comic Book Movies for sure, but they don't make themselves as caricatures of the comics from which they originate.
That I find refreshing. I have been a comic book fan since when I was quite young. In many ways I feel that comic book movies are just now starting to match the imagination and vibrancy they had within their pages. With a few exceptions, most of the comic book movies out now can be taken seriously by comic book fans and movie fans alike - and one doesn't have to be a comic book fan to enjoy or grasp the movie. By that, I mean one doesn't have to go into the movie already knowing the story for it to be enjoyable (but knowing the story helps as well as the comic series on which the movies are based - here I am thinking of the after credit scene in the most recent Thor movie: if you didn't know who the Collector was and what the Infinity Gems were, that scene would make little sense).
Getting back to Batman...
When Batman Begins came out, rebooting the series, the tone was darker, the mood was darker, the writing was far more deep, and the movie was a complicated study on the psyche of Bruce Wayne and the dual life he led. More to the point, the movie made Batman a far more human character than a superhero. Like the more recent King Arthur movie, the Watchmen, or many of the Robin Hood remakes, whatever otherworldly, alien, or super-power like characteristics take a back seat to the more human aspects of the character. They aren't removed completely, but they are muted so that they don't overpower the stories - which makes the viewer find the experience more accessible. It is also what makes the new 007 movies far different from the older ones - the gadgets have taken a back seat to the characters and the plot, unlike some of the Bond movies where the gadgets stole the show.
Batman Forever is fun to watch, if a little (actually a lot) goofy. The villain two-face is half-circus clown, half ...well maybe mostly circus clown. His moans of frustration when he can't kill Batman are so overacted that they generate mostly laughter, not fear. The redone Two-Face in "The Dark Knight" is a complicated character who is anything but a circus clown. Likewise the Joker - well, the Joker is the best you could ever hope to see (in my opinion). Not a fool, not a buffoon, but a true sociopath. His character represents a variety of evil, and Batman has to decide how far he will be willing to go to take down such evil. That is a poignant commentary on the elusive nature of evil - are we willing to become evil to stop evil? (One might want to read Bonhoeffer to gain some insight into that question.)
Comics are at their best when they make social commentaries without making obvious social commentaries. Superheros and villains become archetypal characters that represent mythic struggles as well as struggles we each may face in our own lives. We may not face the Joker, but we have to know how we will respond to evil, and how far we might go to stop it. Likewise, we all have the capability to become Two Face, the Joker, or even Batman. They use our imagination to tell us stories, and those stories can speak to us in a grand variety of ways.
It is great to see the movie versions of these comics coming into their own. Most comic book readers have known for years how great the stories and the characters are. It is wonderful to have comic book movies that don't need to be defended as 'comic book' movies, but instead stand on their own. And, as it seems they are gaining in popularity, I look forward to the stories yet to unfold in the pages and on the screens.
Who knows - maybe one day even Dr. Fate might make it to the big screen.
That I find refreshing. I have been a comic book fan since when I was quite young. In many ways I feel that comic book movies are just now starting to match the imagination and vibrancy they had within their pages. With a few exceptions, most of the comic book movies out now can be taken seriously by comic book fans and movie fans alike - and one doesn't have to be a comic book fan to enjoy or grasp the movie. By that, I mean one doesn't have to go into the movie already knowing the story for it to be enjoyable (but knowing the story helps as well as the comic series on which the movies are based - here I am thinking of the after credit scene in the most recent Thor movie: if you didn't know who the Collector was and what the Infinity Gems were, that scene would make little sense).
Getting back to Batman...
When Batman Begins came out, rebooting the series, the tone was darker, the mood was darker, the writing was far more deep, and the movie was a complicated study on the psyche of Bruce Wayne and the dual life he led. More to the point, the movie made Batman a far more human character than a superhero. Like the more recent King Arthur movie, the Watchmen, or many of the Robin Hood remakes, whatever otherworldly, alien, or super-power like characteristics take a back seat to the more human aspects of the character. They aren't removed completely, but they are muted so that they don't overpower the stories - which makes the viewer find the experience more accessible. It is also what makes the new 007 movies far different from the older ones - the gadgets have taken a back seat to the characters and the plot, unlike some of the Bond movies where the gadgets stole the show.
Batman Forever is fun to watch, if a little (actually a lot) goofy. The villain two-face is half-circus clown, half ...well maybe mostly circus clown. His moans of frustration when he can't kill Batman are so overacted that they generate mostly laughter, not fear. The redone Two-Face in "The Dark Knight" is a complicated character who is anything but a circus clown. Likewise the Joker - well, the Joker is the best you could ever hope to see (in my opinion). Not a fool, not a buffoon, but a true sociopath. His character represents a variety of evil, and Batman has to decide how far he will be willing to go to take down such evil. That is a poignant commentary on the elusive nature of evil - are we willing to become evil to stop evil? (One might want to read Bonhoeffer to gain some insight into that question.)
Comics are at their best when they make social commentaries without making obvious social commentaries. Superheros and villains become archetypal characters that represent mythic struggles as well as struggles we each may face in our own lives. We may not face the Joker, but we have to know how we will respond to evil, and how far we might go to stop it. Likewise, we all have the capability to become Two Face, the Joker, or even Batman. They use our imagination to tell us stories, and those stories can speak to us in a grand variety of ways.
It is great to see the movie versions of these comics coming into their own. Most comic book readers have known for years how great the stories and the characters are. It is wonderful to have comic book movies that don't need to be defended as 'comic book' movies, but instead stand on their own. And, as it seems they are gaining in popularity, I look forward to the stories yet to unfold in the pages and on the screens.
Who knows - maybe one day even Dr. Fate might make it to the big screen.
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