Last night I went to GMX and got to meet Doug Walker, and
naturally I’m going to rip him off now.
I love his “Old vs. New” features.
They usually end up being very spot-on, and his
Batman vs. the Dark Knight
special is one of my favorite of any of his reviews.
It sums up perfectly why I’m one of the few
people who prefers
Batman over
Dark Knight.
I agreed with virtually everything he said in
it.
So I decided to make an unofficial sequel to it with
Batman Returns vs.
The
Dark Knight Rises.
Both movies immediately followed
groundbreaking Batman movies starring the Joker, and, oddly enough…they both
bear the title of the previous movie following by a verb beginning with an “R.”
Batman and
Dark Knight were both hard acts to
follow, and their two sequels…
Well, let’s put it this way: they both exceeded expectations
of not meeting the expectations of the originals.
Both depictions of Batman are heavily flawed. The BR Batman is often rightly criticized for
crossing the line and killing a couple of criminals when he really didn’t have
to. At one point, when some moron
attempts to breathe fire on the Batmobile,
Batman uses its exhaust to immolate him, almost as if he was just one-upping
him. Still, if not for these frustrating
moments, Batman would have been a really well-done character. Michael Keaton is great as Batman, coming off
as unassuming as Bruce Wayne and intimidating as Batman. I also like his suit a lot more.
DKR Batman is very problematic.
He spent the years between DK and DKR sulking
when we were practically promised to see him as an independent vigilante
running from the law.
Also, his entire
story arc is supposed to be about overcoming doubt and adversity like in
Spider-Man 2, but it just fails
miserably where that movie succeeded.
His seclusion is out-of-character and just comes off as wangst, and his
debilitating injuries are solved through rushed copouts.
He also doesn’t have the dark edge he had in
the previous two movies.
And then there’s
the voice, which everyone makes fun of.
Christian Bale is a great actor, and his performance as Bruce Wayne is
perfect until he puts on the mask and
turns into The Cookie Monster.
As many have noted,
Michael Keaton’s Batman sounds more natural.
The problem is that
Bale already has a dark, gravelly voice.
When he tries to make it darker, it just sounds cartoonish and
forced.
He also seems to be trying so
hard to make the voice that he can’t even act with it.
Now this makes sense in universe, since Wayne
is just trying hard to mask his voice.
He can eventually make it sound more natural as he becomes more
experienced as Batman.
Another reason
why making Batman go into hiding is not a good call.
While the BR Batman has his frustrating moments, he’s
mostly a good interpretation. The DKR
Batman, however, was just one big mistake after another.
Advantage
MICHAEL KEATON
For all the unfaithfulness of these two
characterizations, they did boast great costumes. Their character designs are creative and new,
but still appropriately reminiscent of the character’s look. Too bad that’s where faithfulness ends.
Now where do I start on the Penguin?
Well, the character just completely misses
the point.
I like how Burton made him
physically deformed and how that fits with his design, but he went too far in
making him an outcast.
That appeal could
have been accomplished if he had still remained in high society like in the
comics.
In fact, it would have been more
interesting and made more sense.
The
Penguin despite his quirks, is also supposed to be one of Batman’s more
restrained villains; here he’s one of the most twisted.
I don’t like the forced Biblical allusions of
his being an evil Moses, and I can’t quite identify with his motivations.
He was abandoned as a child, so he’s going to
take it out on…other children?
He’s
utterly crude and has no self-control while he should be a character with some
class.
I also think that casting Danny
DeVito was questionable.
He doesn’t seem
to be appropriate for this character in his voice in mannerisms, only in his
build.
I must say that his costume is
great, except when he’s running around in his underwear, which he spends an
unsettling amount of time doing.
Finally,
this scene is one of the low points of the entire franchise. Actually, it's a low point in humanity.
Bane’s primary problem is that he’s miscast. Tom Hardy is a good actor, but sometimes a character
is so defined by his ethnicity that you have to cast accordingly. I would have greatly preferred a Latino
actor, particularly Javier Bardem. Hardy’s
Bane sounds too much like a generic evil British guy, which could be okay if it
weren’t so out of place. Also, as
everyone else has noted, his organization’s motivations make no sense now that
Gotham is relatively safe, especially when they drag out its demise just for
shits and giggles. Seriously, the League
of Shadows is now just a League of Trolls in this movie. While some argue that his characterization is
more in line with the comics than the cartoons are, this is offset by the fact
that he turns out just to be carrying out Talia Al-Ghul’s plans, rather than
formulating his own. Still, unlike the
Penguin, Tom Hardy’s Bane is still an intelligent and formidable villain. I also love his costume.
Advantage:
BANE
Michelle Pfeifer’s Catwoman is great. She’s funny, she’s sultry. She has a cool costume. I like Pfeifer’s performance as both a nerdy,
put-upon secretary and an aggressive femme fatale. Her origin story is very interesting and
identifiable (with a healthy fantasy twist): an everywoman fed up with the
world and lashing out. She also has
great chemistry with Batman. Their dialogue
is funny, especially when they finally figure out their secret identities. I also like the open ending she has.
Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman, in contrast, is pretty
bland. Christopher Nolan has often been
criticized for making female characters that aren’t really characters, and this
is a good example of why. She has a handful
of funny one-liners, but for the most part she only exists as a foil for Batman
and a plot device. A lot of people
prejudged Ann Hathaway because of her questionable filmography, but she was
actually not bad in the role. I wasn’t
so much like “Ugh, I hate her movies,” as much as, “I’ve heard her name…isn’t
she in a lot of chick flicks?” Also I
don’t like her costume. It’s supposed to
look high-tech and practical, but it’s mostly bland. She looks like a teenager who wanted to dress
up in a lame “sexy cat” costume for Halloween, but her mom made her cover it up
more. Some elements of the costume, like
the loose hair, clash with the supposed practicality. Hell, she even still has stupid heels,
although I did think it was cool that they were serrated and could be used as a
weapon.
Advantage:
MICHELLE PFEIFER
I changed my mind on this one. Michael Gough’s Alfred is effective as a
kindly old man who occasionally helps out. Michael Caine does more to provide insightful
commentary (I like his speeches, sue me.)
He also does undergo some serious emotional conflict in letting Bruce
Wayne become Batman, whereas Michael Gough’s qualms are mostly limited to
occasionally telling Bruce that he could use a girlfriend. Michael Caine’s struggles come to a head in
DKR when he realizes that he can’t support Batman anymore and quits. Caine’s scenes, supported by his acting, are
very poignant and one of the few elements that DKR actually got right. I still prefer Michael Gough's unflappable, dry Alfred. He's a lot more fun.
Advantage:
MICHAELGOUGH
I almost didn’t include this as a category, because it’s
such a no-brainer. Gary Oldman’s Gordon
is awesome. He actually has an active
involvement in the story and is a primary point of contact for Batman. Pat Hingle’s Gordon is…just there. Hell, I’m not even sure that screenshot is
from BR. Still, the Tim Burton movies
ironically seem to have a less confused impression of what a police
commissioner actually does than the
Christopher Nolan films (in real life it more to do with political litmus tests
than actually fighting crime). Still, I’m
a firm believer of Rule of Cool, and it’s an acceptable break from reality.
Advantage:
GARY OLDMAN
I think Max Shreck is a cool character. He’s a snazzy dresser, he’s witty and at the
same time he’s wily and evil. It might
make more sense to pit him against Talia as the corporate villain who controls
the Heavy, but that’s not much of a contest.
I thought she was kind of lame. Instead
I put him up against another original supporting character.
I actually think Matthew Modine’s Deputy Commissioner
Foley is an underrated character. He
actually mirrors Batman’s story arc of overcoming doubt and difficulty, but he
does it better. Like Batman, he cowers
for a while, but for more understandable reasons: he was intimidated, and he
has a family. In other words, he has a
lot more to lose than Batman, and he doesn’t have the luxury of a secret
identity. Despite all this, he still
overcomes his fear and faces off against the villains. How awesome is it when Gordon confronts him
earlier in the movie and says, “I’m not asking you to march out in the street
in your Dress Blues…” and that’s exactly
what he does in the end. And to top
it off, he actually dies in the battle, making the ultimate sacrifice. He’s one of the few things that DKR got
right.
It seems I made a better case for Foley, and but, you know what, screw objectivity. I'm giving it to Shreck because he's more fun.
Advantage:
MAX SHRECK
Both movies have a different approach to cinematography and
visual style. While Tim Burton chose to
have a more fantastical, stylized and Gothic depiction, Christopher Nolan has a
grittier, more realistic approach topped off with a distinctive chiaroscuro style. Both styles look great and are in line with
the movies’ overall tones, and are so radically different that it’s difficult
to make an objective comparison. It
mostly just goes to personal taste, and I like Tim Burton’s style, which strikes me as more creative. Also, I find Gotham more believable as a
fictional city without the establishing shots of an existing real life
city. BR is Burton style with all the
stops pulled out. The only thing I don’t
like about it is the occasional use of hideous green lighting in places like
the sewer.
Advantage:
BATMAN RETURNS
Danny Elfman’s Batman score is the Batman score.
Nothing captures the feel of the character
more than this one did.
In Batman
Returns, it’s taken to a new level, retaining what worked while adding great
new songs for the
Penguin and
Catwoman.
Hans Zimmer’s score for Batman Begins was excellent, but
it failed to become iconic and distinctive to Batman.
The Dark Knight score took a path of
pretentious minimalism (which admittedly fit the tone), but DKR improved upon it and made
more passionate,
suspenseful music that was fitting for a finale.
Still, it has not surpassed the classic Danny
Elfman theme in relevance to the franchise.
Advantage:
DANNY ELFMAN
Well, the screenshots pretty much say it all. In BR, Tim Burton exceeded what was
appropriate for the action and just made silly crap, like armed penguins. The Sideshow gang fight at the beginning was
entertaining but silly. The Dark Knight,
on the other hand, had more competent and serious action, even if the Bane fights
could have been done better.
Advantage:
DARK KNIGHT RISES
The most important element of the movie, arguably.
Both movies where pretty disappointing.
Far more disappointing than excusable.
They weren’t just underwhelming in comparison
to their predecessors, which would have been understandable.
They had baffling mistakes.
However, most of BR’s mistakes were limited
to one villain’s character arc; most of the major characters in it were fun and
engaging, even if DKR seemed to have a more solid supporting cast.
DKR was just filled with across the board
failure.
Both are stylish enough to be
worth a look, but I think BR was more successful in being what it wanted to
be.
It was trying to be campy and silly,
and arguably went overboard, but it succeeded.
DKR was trying to be epic, thrilling and suspenseful, but that suspense
was skimped out on, and the movie just came off as underwhelming. Also, the half-assed fanservice didn't help, either
(seriously JOHN Daggett? Robin being Joseph Gordon-Levitt's actual first name?) For all its stupidity,
Batman Returns was really just a lot more
fun, and that’s why it wins the comparison.
Advantage:
BATMAN RETURNS
**********
The Dark Knight Rises
**********
