The eagerly awaited THE DARK KNIGHT comes out the 18th of July, so until then I figure we can argue about which Batman movie is the best, all the while I'll try to review the Batman movies in:

BATMAN (1989)
BATMAN RETURNS (1992)
BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM (1993)
BATMAN FOREVER (1995)
BATMAN & ROBIN (1997)
BATMAN BEGINS (2005)

Now mind you, unless things change, I won't review the 1960s BATMAN movie based off that campy TV show, nor the other animated Batman flicks in the late 1990s/early 2000s. I might, but don't count on it.

Yes, I did review BATMAN BEGINS back in the day, but I'm planning to re-write, cut down, and revamp that review to where its not pretentious....ok, NOT as pretentious....:D

BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM (1993) - ****

I'm pretty sure that I won't be the only one of my generation who'll say that BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES was not just their favorite cartoon as a kid, but probably their favorite television show, period. In retrospect in watching its reruns as an adult, I realize that besides still being a really great program in general, TAS was primarily successful because it never talked itself down to its target juvenile audience. Yeah it was animated and yes it aired on saturday mornings and weekday afternoons, but the production team of writer/producer Paul Dini and animator Bruce W. Timm apparently didn't get the memo.

They gave us a toon unheard of for its time, what with actual guns firing, a very moody atmosphere, blood splash, manga-inspired film noir-ish aesthetics, intelligent and mature storytelling, along with some pure good ole beat-em-up pulp joy. In terms of sophistication, it was to comic book adventurism as THE SIMPSONS was for the domestic Americana sitcom.

This carried over to their feature-length motion picture BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM, which started as a direct-to-video project until it was upgraded to a theatrical release, all two weeks of it. Out in the mean streets of Gotham City, a phantom stranger is killing aging mob bosses, and the Dark Knight gets blamed. As he tries to solve this mystery as the most wanted man in the city, the ex-fiancée of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne comes back to town after ten years....

A colleague of mine told me how that as much as he likes MASK, he would have given it higher marks if it had simply been a half hour longer, and I totally disagree. Clocking in at a miniscule 76 minutes, PHANTASM is packed tighter than a drug mule in MARIA FULL OF GRACE in terms of action, emotions, and plot turns, with every frame essential to the narrative punch. This movie doesn't bullshit around.

But what struck me in watching PHANTASM again as an adult is how the nostalgic flashbacks are rather most eerie and unsettling beneath the innocent surface, almost reminding me of James Stewart and Kim Novak's doomed eerie romance in Hitchcock's VERTIGO. The lives of Wayne and his lover were both shattered by death and tragedy, and its fitting that they meet for the first time at a graveyard.

With Timm's coloring scheme of these sequences reminiscent of the stark panels from 1930s comic books, there is something haunting about their date at the World's Fair in Gotham, representing the hopes and dreams of the future for not just the city, but this couple as well. Then again, seeing that City in the daytime is always weird to me.

Wayne struggles to find happiness for himself while trying to honor his vow to his deceased parents, which in a memorable Frank Miller YEAR ONE-esque scene, includes going out on a night patrol in a pre-Batman costume, and the crooks not exactly frightened by him. But when it comes to a point when he may be forced to make a choice between these two life paths, how that decision is reached plays against not just your expectations, but as well against the cliché of recent superhero blockbusters...and that's probably what makes it heartbreaking. Credit must be given to Batman voice-actor Kevin Conroy, who's subtle vocal range credibly shifts from square-jawed ass-kicker you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley, to an aloft playboy, and finally a wounded soul.

But if we are to talk about the voice performances, then we must mention Mark Hamill as The Joker. People are already Oscar buzzing about the late Heath Ledger in the upcoming THE DARK KNIGHT, and he may deserve the hype, but it'll be tough for him to beat Hamill's take on the Clown Prince of Crime. Unlike Jack Nicholson's face-mugging in Tim Burton's BATMAN, Hamill is both disarmingly hilarious and psychotically violent at the same time. Consider the fate of a desperate criminal, a fatal lesson that we comic fans learn at a very young age:

Never trust the Joker!

What I like is how the movie assumes the audience knows Batman's origin and don't bother to rehash it, while also connecting a character to the murdered mobsters that that doesn't explain what happened to him in-between the past and present, which is nice. Some mysteries should be left unexplored. I even enjoyed how another character discovers Wayne's nighttime job without the abused clichés of willing or accidental unmasking that we got more than once in something like SPIDER-MAN 2...and PHANTASM beat that blockbuster by what, 9 years?

If I have to choose my favorite sight from this visually juicy film, it would have to be sequence director Kevin Altieri's grand brawl between Batman and the Joker in a miniaturized model of Gotham City, as these two "Gods" duke it out for its future. Another is the decrepit, rusting, and rotting abandoned remains of the World's Fair...a fine metaphor for American urban decay. Or how about during a hearty scene, we can't tell the difference between the tears and the rain?

I do have a question regarding the finale, and it would have made total sense if only PHANTASM was the finale for the TAS program (as was the original plan apparently), but alas its a major glaring plot hole. But if you glance over it, you do get a nice good tale about how people can make similar and completely different reactions to the same event.... and the consequences of them.

I still remember in my youth being peeved that my parents wouldn't let me go see PHANTASM at the local cinema, why I don't know. I do recollect though how it was ignored in theatres, but was re-discovered on home video. Hell, I became a lifelong fan of critics Roger Ebert and the late Gene Siskel when they actually reviewed MASK OF THE PHANTASM on their TV show a good two years after its release, and both gave it a huge thumbs up, which just blew my mind as a kid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_KcFFqLggY

Even in the dark days of the mid-1990s, when Joel Schumacher's idiotic blockbuster toy commercials openly mocked anyone who's ever cared or enjoyed reading about the Batman's exploits in some time in their lives, PHANTASM proved that a serious cinematic Batman story could be told without being any less fun.

Hell, it was better than all of the live-action BATMAN movies until BATMAN BEGINS, but that's another review for another time.

I have never been a Batman fan,and have only seen one Batman movie (the first one I believe). However, I am totally intrigued by Dark Knight ever since I've seen the previews. I am now hearing a review today from a movie critic giving it 5 stars and said it is fantastic.

Ledger seems to be the real star and every time they discuss this movie they say he most likely will be an Oscar contender. Today's critic said that Ledger's performance of the Joker is not only the best Joker, BUT one of the best villians ever in screen history.

I had only seen Ledger in his first film with Mel Gibosn, and that's it, but I'll tell you the previews of this movie sure makes me want to see it. Since I'm off work, I'm going to try to see it this weekend.

To those Batman fans, since this seems to be totally different than the other Batman movies, do you know if this is a sequel, continuing where the others leftoff? Cause I really don't care to see the others.

TIS

It's the sequel to BATMAN BEGINS (2005).

The Dark Knight is a sequel to director Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins (2005), but that film isn't, I imagine, a pre-requisite - though I am going by previous outings here...

I wouldn't count all of the above films as one franchise; if I did, I would then inevitably have to include any other film adaptation of the Batman comics, including the Adam West one from the 1960s. Since you can watch any of the films in RRA's post without needing to see any other (a bit like most of the Bond films, there's little continuity between each effort), I'd chop them down by director:

The Burton films (Batman, Batman Returns), the Schumacher films (Batman Forever, Batman & Robin), and now the Nolan films (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight). Mask of the Phantasm is an animated film that doesn't sit along these as a franchise (or maybe it does; I'd have to think about the definition). Burton's Batman, Mask of the Phantasm and now The Dark Knight all have the Joker in, and all three are set in exclusively hermetic seals, their own interpretation of Gotham City. That the Jack Nicholson Joker dies at the end of Batman doesn't make a difference to Heath Ledger playing him.

In short, TIS, delve into The Dark Knight knowing there's only one other film that it directly follows (Batman Begins). Since you're a fan of the Bourne films, you may be mesmerised by Nolan's direction of action scenes - and, for me, there's not a better mainstream director currently working in terms of narrative rhythm or timing. (For a sense of his genius, watch Memento and The Prestige, and since I know you're a fan of Pacino, check out Insomnia, which Nolan also directed.)

Anyway, I can't wait for this film; I love Nolan, Bale and Ledger, and its running time makes it an action epic. I was never as emphatic in my hatred towards the Schumacher films (I actually liked Batman Forever), but with Batman Begins, Nolan showed how much an otherwise overlooked genre (in terms of the filmic canon, superhero movies are treated as "surface" products) can benefit from having a master directing.

Capo,

Thanks for your great detailed reply. You're right I am a fan of the Bourne films, so that is a plus in my book. Also, I did see Insomnia and liked that as well.

I have never really been attractedto any of the Batman films and onely saw the first one (Michael Keaton) at the time because someone wanted to see it.

Like I say, from what I've seen/heard this film seems "different", at least, for me,so much so, that I want to see it. I'm off this week and am flexible as to what "time" I see it. I hear it's a two and a half hour film. I'll post my thoughts if I do see it.

Thanks again,

TIS

TIS, I agree with Capo in that you should at least try to rent BATMAN BEGINS. Not a fetish for art direction like Burton or for stupidity like Schumacher, Chris Nolan shoots BEGINS as a myth, as it should be because its one of America's great contributions to the world pop culture along with Superman, Davy Crockett, and the Wild West.

If anything, its a very detailed myth, explaining throwaway ideas like why Batman's moral code doesn't include firearms, how he smuggles his gadgets/parts without being detected.

BEGINS has probably the best casting ever for a so-called "comic book picture" in Oscar-nominees/winners like Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Tom Wilkinson, Ken Watanabe, outright legends like Gary Oldman and Rutger Hauer, and a current cream of the crop like Christian Bale and Cillian Murphy. Outside of Bale and Caine, all those other actors could have jobbed it considering their small parts and the material, but Nolan gets them to deliver the goods, and it shows.

Anyway, Roger Ebert just gave 4 out of 4 stars to THE DARK KNIGHT: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080716/REVIEWS/55996637

I'd also like to add that Nolan has completely done away with Burton's ridiculous gothic setting, giving the movie a much more believeable tone. Well, believable for a superhero film, anyway.

You know truth is, I was thinking of seeing it tomorrow, since I'm still I vacation I can go to most any showing (although can you freekin; believe the first show is at midnight tonight? ) I know many showings have been sold out, so I don't know if I'll get in or not.

But, get this, looking at the tv guide menu and I see Batman Begins is on at 8:00 p.m. tonight (in about 15 minutes). Ha ha. If I were looking for it I never would have found it. Anyway, I'm gonna try and catch it in a few minutes.


TIS

Btw, back to the current one. Didn't Ledger die while filming the film? Did he get to complete it?

He got to complete it.

He died during the filming of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

(And, therefore, all hype concerning The Dark Knight being his "final film" is rubbish.)

Technically though, THE DARK KNIGHT is Ledger's final completed project, for of course he died before he finished shooting for PARNASSUS.

I'm going this afternoon: The 4:40 show.

I'll let you know.

PB, let us know what you think (without giving anything away)

I had intended to go this morning, but am getting a late start and don't know which showing I might make. I do know that "they say" many showings are sold out, so I may not get in at all.

I enjoyed watching Batman the Beginning. It was totally different than I expected. I admit to dozing a couple times because it didn't end til late, but worth watching.

TIS

I saw it last night at midnight. It is the best superhero movie I have ever seen and overall it is one of the best movies of this decade. The thing I like best about it is the way the story and the characters are made realistic. While Jack Nicholson's Joker was basically a cartoon character, Heath Ledger's Joker is believable as an insane criminal mastermind.

Does anyone know if there are plans for a third Nolan/Bale Batman film? This is going to be a huge blockbuster and I would find it hard to believe that Warner Bros wouldn't make another one, especially since there are still good villians left.

Evidently, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt), is a huge Batman fan and has a brief part in this movie. I'm beginning to love Ledger's performance just from the brief clips I've seen. This one is great.

TIS

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/07/batmanloving_senator_in_dark_k.html

Freddie, only thing I know is that Bale has said that if Nolan doesn't return, he won't either.

But if DARK KNIGHT does enough $$$, yeah Nolan will return (no fired-off like WB did to Tim Burton after BATMAN RETURNS) and who knows...maybe those rumors of Nolan getting involved with the stalled JUSTICE LEAGUE movie w/ Bale as Bats will indeed happen.

My daughter went to the midnight show last night and LOVED it. She came home around 3:00 a.m. and was dancing around my room, waving her jacket behind her like a bat.

I went this morning on a whim without really knowing if I'd get in because I hear they sold out fast(a great thing about living alone,you can do what you want when you want and have nobody to check with) ;)I got in the theater about 25 minutes early. I called my daughter who lives nearby and asked if she wanted to join me and who'd have thought, she said sure and met me there. Couldn't have worked out better if it were planned.

Anyway, keep in mind my opinion is that of someone who is not necessarily a Batman fan and by know means an expert on the comic book character.

Christian Bale seemed fine to me in the title role, although I admit, I don't know that I've seen him in any other. Although not mandatory, I'm glad that, per Capo's and RR's suggestion I watched "Batman The Beginning", which coincidentally was on tv just last night(truly a coincidence). That helped give me a little insight as to how Batman became what he became, and along with his kinship with his mentor, Michael Caine. I can't say I know the female lead, but Morgan Freeman, as a "technical advisor"(?) is good in anything he does.


By far though the scene stealer, and what made the movie was Ledger's Joker character. I hear he did a lot of improvising to make this character his own and whatever he did he did it very well. After each scene, I couldn't wait for the next scene with him in it. Such a wonderfully menacing character. He had some cold and chilling lines, that'd make you cringe and laugh at the same time. A real wacko!

There was no "Robin", thus, no silly "Holy Moly Batman" moments that I remember from the corny tv show; nor did they, I noticed, ever refer to Batman's car as "the Batmobile".

I loved the look of Gotham City. Don't know if it was a "set" or filmed in a particular city, or computer generated, but it sure had a NYC look to it. The chase/action scenes, the close-ups of the big city, the skyscrapers, and the whole atmosphere, kind of a cross between a real city and a cartoon I guess. Very cool!

I'm not much on giving "stars" but I'm guessing if I liked it as a non Batman fan, that many who are will really enjoy it too. Please post your reviews.

TIS

TIS, my daughter said that we really need to see it, and not just on DVD. She said it's one of those films you have to experience in a theater. From your comments about Gotham City, it certainly sounds like she's right.

I do like Christian Bale. The first time I ever noticed him was as Laurie in "Little Women". Then I found him absolutely captivating in "The Machinist".

It was filmed in Chicago, TIS.

SB (and TIS), if you like Bale, check out American Psycho. And The Dark Knight is his third effort with director Christopher Nolan; he obviously worked on Batman Begins, but he's also in The Prestige, one of 2006's best films, an exciting, exhilarating thriller based on two rival magicians. Fantastic film.

I'm probably the only one that didn't like this film. Ledger's performance was good, But it's overrated because he'd dead.

The plot jumped around a bit. Anyways..yeah..didn't really feel it. Perhaps if I watch it again.........

THE DARK KNIGHT (2008) ****

It feels completely counter-intuitive to care little about the special effects and action in THE DARK KNIGHT, Christopher Nolan's sequel to his 2005 BATMAN BEGINS. For a movie like this, you naturally expect to be engrossed by garish gadgetry, incredible stunts and seat-gripping adventure. THE DARK KNIGHT has all of this, don't get me wrong, but even the most intricately executed explosion or choreographed car crash does little to shock you out of the stunning, unrelenting dark drama created in what amounts to one of the best sequels in cinematic history. Nolan takes the basic idea of good versus evil to depths rarely seen, and awes the audience with the heady psychology and physics of what happens when "an unstoppable force meets an immovable object."

Obviously, THE DARK KNIGHT's intensity is enhanced by the incredible performance of the late Heath Ledger. His ability in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is something else. His turn here is almost too wicked for words. Put plainly, Ledger's Joker is one of the most frightening, smart and well-played villains ever. Ever. Believe me when I say I'm not being hyperbolic - it's just unavoidable. What makes Ledger's clown so amazing is the sheer awareness and purity he brings to the role. The Joker isn't a bad guy, so much as a perfect, un-bargaining force of chaos and anarchy. And he knows it. Throughout much of the film, the Joker delivers some of the best existential answers I've ever heard. "He's like a dog chasing a car. He'll chase it forever, but wouldn't know what to do if he catches it." The Joker is that unwavering and motivated. He simply follows his instincts for mayhem and disorder. Ledger not only disappeared into the Joker (as many reports have lauded), but he also caused the Joker to disappear into unmeasurable destructive purity. The late Heath Ledger exquisitely portrays the chaotic mastermind the Joker in THE DARK KNIGHT.

What makes THE DARK KNIGHT so compelling is the mind-wrangling dichotomy of Batman and the Joker. Despite their near super-human abilities and diametrically opposed natures, neither wants to kill the other. Batman cannot premeditatedly take a life, while the Joker won't destroy his only worthy adversary (or play thing). In essence, the two exist because of each other. Congrats to Christian Bale for stepping up his game and bringing a new brooding quality to Gotham's protector that is complementary to Ledger's performance. Batman grapples with his own character, battling his obligations to the city, what it means to be a hero, and how to handle someone who is his complete antithesis, physically and mentally. Both have a rage that motivates them, but in entirely different ways.

Speaking of opposites side of the same coin, sitting smack between the two is Harvey Dent played by the very capable Aaron Eckhart. While Batman and the Joker remain on their respective sides of good and bad, Dent manifests what it's like for someone to shift, painfully, from one side to the other. As Dent gains political prominence in Gotham, Batman begins to retreat from the spotlight as the city's hero. Dent is poised to be the shining knight of Gotham - that is until the Joker systematically breaks the optimistic crime-fighter down, poisoning him with resentment, anger and the desire to act. It shouldn't come as a spoiler that Harvey Dent eventually becomes the villain Two-Face. If you look at the moral poles of the film and Dent's inner turmoil, the division of his face takes on a wonderfully complex meaning. THE DARK KNIGHT is riddled with so many intellectual wells like this, you'll be dissecting the film for hours.

Whisper, it's certainly ok to NOT like this movie. We all won't think alike. There are many movies I feel are overrated that other's don't. We each have our own taste.

So it was filmed in Chicago hu???? I was thinking NY or Chicago, but with the references and "ferry" scenes I leaned toward NYC.

I really don'tknow these stars. Aaron Eckhard, again, I've heard of, and the female lead Gillenhall???? Is that Jake's sister?

Oh, and Capo, you mention "American Psycho??? OMG! I caught it on cable about a year ago, and didn't realize that was Bale. What a horribly disturbing movie. A little "sick" that's for sure.

Anyway, SB to your point of seeing it at the theater, yea, there are certain movies good to see at the theater and I think this definitely is one of them.

TIS

I would also suggest RESCUE DAWN, where Bale delivers an Oscar-worthy performance as a real-life American POW who plots a daring escape from an inhumane savage Vietnamese prison camp. Plus, perhaps Werner Herzog's most mainstream accessible picture (at least so far).

Yup she is, and in fact they acted together in DONNIE DARKO.

Eerie coincidence or not, Jake Gyllenhall is the Godfather of Ledger's kid.

With any hope, I'll go scavenge for drugs, see this film, pick up a hooker, and call it a night.

I'm pumped.

She'll help you keep it up.

Holy Toledo Batman!!!!!!! Christian Bale beats up mom and sister.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/entertai....Christian.Bale

Yea, I posted this on the Dark Knight thread but hadn't seen the story in print yet. Who woulda thought hu? He seems so mild mannered (wait,that's Superman isn't it?)

Anyway, call me daft, but I didn't know he was from England?????? I never detected an accent.

I heard one of the reporters say that Bale was no Russell Crowe, as far as a temper goes. How embarrassing for him.


TIS

Oh, my bad. I saw Batman in the title and thought this was the current thread.