WHO DA MAN? BATMAN!

Here’s the thing…I was perusing one of my fan-boy / geek sites (superherohype.com) earlier, and they had a query for their avid followers.  The pollsters asked the question “Do you think that Warner Bros. should reboot the Batman franchise after The Dark Knight Rises?”  The possible answers were; “Yes, as soon as possible!”, ”Yes, but not for a long time.”, “I’m not sure either way.”, “No, I’m tired of Batman movies.”, and “No, they can’t top these films!”.  The majority of the folks polled picked the latter, and quite frankly, I was a bit surprised.

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!