The Burton Batman movies are about as bad as the Schumacher ones...

[measle]

That's a good point.  The Burton films do have a timelessness to them, at least as far as the look goes.  Even though the goth is a bit cliched in hindsight, I like how Gotham felt like it was in an alternate reality.  The DCU has always been a more fantastical place with Gotham City and Metropolis standing in for real cities (at least back in the day).  Marvel has always been more grounded in the real world.  Something I don't think necessarily makes for better fiction.

[John Moores]

That's as may be, but who the fuck voted for that crappy joke I arbitrarily threw in as the final option? I bet it was Mirthquake...am I right? 

[Matt-Ak]

Mirthy didn't vote.  T'wasn't me.

[John Moores]

Really? You think you know someone and their love of daft jokes, puns and the like...

Vote anyway, Mirthy!

I'll try again with another prediction: it was JQ who prefers the Adam West flick. Am I right, or am I two for two?

[Matt-Ak]

m'kay, I voted.  Despite having the follow-through of a dropped bowling ball, (What happened to Max Schreck being a figurative vampire by draining Gotham of its power?  Dropped!  Cobblepot's plan to steal the firstborn of Gotham that he spent the first two acts working on?  Shut down before it ever got started.)  I *still* like Batman Returns better that ANY of the other Batman movies, save Begins... and that got extra points over it ONLY because of Oldman's Commissioner Gordon.  But I REALLY like both of those movies.

Joker had only one scene that gave me the chills like it should've (and that got cut short by a fart joke... I swear he was playing Beetlejuice, not the Joker)... Two-Face was an obnoxious clothes horse who was playing the Joker (playing Beetlejuice), Carrey was good as Nigma channelling Bruce, but other than that the same ham he played everywhere else.  And I would have really enjoyed Uma and Ahnold as their characters if there was a different script and director (and storyline).

One thing I will say in Schmacher's defense... Every time Chase Meridian was on screen she LITERALLY took my breath away.  But thats more in cinematographer Goldblatt's defense than Schumacher's.

[measle]

Really? You think you know someone and their love of daft jokes, puns and the like...

Vote anyway, Mirthy!

I'll try again with another prediction: it was JQ who prefers the Adam West flick. Am I right, or am I two for two?

I wouldn't go so far as to say it was crappy.  Well yes it was crappy in a more literal sense, but it wasn't that bad.....

[John Moores]

I wouldn't go so far as to say it was crappy.  Well yes it was crappy in a more literal sense, but it wasn't that bad.....

It has a much, much worse follow-up as well: What's brown and sticky? A stick.

[Matt-Ak]

You know diarrhea is hereditary?   It runs in your jeans.

[John Moores]

That just earned you five points, mister!

[Abstractharmony]

Ahem!

Back on topic.

The four 90's batman films are all abortive.

I must've seen the 89 flick about 10 times at the cinema (twice on opening day didn't we John?) and literally about 50-60 times on bootlegged greek video and at the time it was great.

However, it hasn't aged at all well. There are still a few moments that bring a smile to my face though but what is with the OAP dwarfen Batman in his first year?

My problem also comes with the 'I'm Batman' schtick in every film - fuck off. He just wouldn't do that (Even Begins suffers from this...)

To my mind no Batman film has ever done the character justice (maybe the Lewis Wilson serial) - and judging by what I've seen of TDK that ain't gonna change.

I'd still love to see a screenplay based heavily on Year One with Jolie as Kyle and maybe Hayden Christensen as Batman but let's face it that's not gonna happen.

Final point - the costume. This is my real, real bug bear. It's Grey and black not black rubber.

[measle]

I pretty much agree with you, but no way is Christiansen an improvement over Bale.  Christiansen is too purty.  In fact, I think the casting in Begins was top notch all the way around.

[Abstractharmony]

Bale was touch too old though...a touch...

Batman is meant to be 25 on his first year out.

[powersthatbe]

oh i remember fans lobbying for christian bale for a young batman role since american psycho.he's was always a perfect fit then and it was cool when i heard he go the part for the relaunch.i didn't know then this but i read somewhere he audtioned for the chris o'donnell robin role in batman forever.

[measle]

Bale was touch too old though...a touch...

Batman is meant to be 25 on his first year out.

I dunno.  If they can make Elijah Wood appear 3 foot tall, or Eddie Murphy into 400 lb woman, then they should be able to make Bale look a few years younger.

[Year6Robin]

Take what I say with a grain of salt, because I have to admit that I have totally geeked out anytime a BATMAN movie came out.  Even with lots of elements being completly wrong, it's hard not to be excited, and I admit that with all the movies, there are parts here and there that I reeeeally like.  That said...

1) The JOKER shooting down the BATPLANE with a fuckin' pistol.  That just really pissed me off.  A puny little pistol!!??  C'mon!!!

2) BATS not being able to turn his head left or right sucked.

4) BATS wearing a bulky, heavy, inflexible, full suit of body armor irritated me.

5) The JOKER dying in the first movie was kinda lame.  Why do they always feel the need to kill a major advisary?  Let's kill PENGY in BATMAN II!

6) BATMAN actually killing a few people was very un-BATMAN-like.

7) The PENGUIN being a damned mutant sucked.  Raised in the sewer by real penguins??  Yeesh. 

You guys pretty much nailed anything else I would have thought of.

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