Personally, I think it's going to be fantastic. It's going back to it's earliest, darkest roots. No flashy villians, no Robin or Batgirl, just a crude look at the beginnings of the Dark Knight.

In the words of Han, Luke, Ben, Threepio, Lando and Leia..."I've got a bad feeling about this."

WHY didn't they just do a straight adaptation of "Batman: Year One??" Wasn't Darren Aronofsky supposed to adapt it and film it???

i think it looks good. it looks dark and murky and noirish and i think it's gonna be something completely different than we've gotten in the past. i'm looking forward to it.

andykeen said:

Go 2 your room this instant young man!

lyricsdaddy said:

Everything I thought about 1989 Batman. I thought that movie was outstanding and very stripped down. Even the joker was relatively restrained, all things considered. It's going to be hard to trump the first Batman, still in my opinion the best superhero movie ever made.

And, no, it's not a Prince bias. I was 6 when it was released, first watched it when I was 8 or 9, and didn't learn Prince did the music until I was 14 or so.

I find Batman an interesting concept and I really hope this film fleshes out the complexities of the Bruce Wayne/Batman character. I find it noble that he swore by the spirits of his parents to avenge their deaths by spending the rest of his life warring on all criminals. He fights for justice; for virtue; for Gotham City and all who inhabit it. Fighting with force, but without fatal violence; he apprehends, he does not punish; he rescues all who need rescuing, even criminals.

What I also find fascninating and different about Batman is that he has no superpowers, either intrinsically (like Superman) or gained through accident (like Spiderman). He made himself into what he is, initially through a deliberate reaction to his parent's death, and then through the long training to fit himself to his chosen task. The choices he has made at each step have been the conscious acts of the person making the choices, and the person making those conscious choices has been shaped by the choices previously made.

What I wish to hope from this film is an exploration of who is Batman is and how he became that way: The decisive change in Bruce Wayne's life occurred the night his parents were murdered: that was the instant he became Batman; everything else merely follows. Strictly speaking, it is impossible that matters should be this way, for when and how did that boy choose to fight through non-fatal means, and to cooperate rather than compete with the authorities? Beneath the cape and mask is a boy with his dreams of vengeance and recovery, however displaced.

This is a character perpetually on the edge, both morally and psychologically, for his actions at bottom have only an emotional basis and are only as stable as those emotions. Neither he nor we can ever be sure of either his sanity or his rectitude, or that he can properly be distinguished from the criminals and villains he fights, for the differences between him and them can only be a matter of degree and not of kind. Batman touches on this very lightly and I felt a film needs to bring this out more. Furthermore, his is a life that can only end in nihilism and despair, for it is predicated upon desires that can never be met. However many others he saves, he can never save his parents; however many lives he restores, he can never restore his own. And since his pain is peculiarly his own , he can pass neither it nor his quest on to another. With him Batman dies. This is the standard diagnosis of who Batman is, and explains why so many recoil from contemplating Wayne's death, for in it lies the death of Batman.

The other catechism is that someone must train to become Batman; although Batman may have been born the night his parents were murdered, the mature character did not emerge until much later. Many choices had to be made, many angers and weaknesses overcome. Emotion must be mastered by reason and discipline, and reason and discipline must be laid down according to certain principles and guidelines. "Batman" thus becomes an ideal and not merely a man; he is the pattern for the warrior-hero fighting for the innocent and the just. And because training can only bestow wisdom and experience, not perfection, Bruce Wayne may never succeed in becoming Batman, for he could always fall away from the high ideals; indeed, only if "Batman" were an ideal to strive for could Bruce Wayne ever be remonstrated for failing to act as he should. Although Batman is a self-created role originating in Bruce Wayne and his choices, it remains something outside of Wayne himself, a projection of the ideal self he would like to be. To be sure, after all, it is called Batman Begins I hope that one of the tasks of the film is to give us an insight into the beginnings of the man beneath the mask.

andykeen said:

I completely disagree. I read the first half of Goyer's orginal draft, and it is fantastic. It is VERY true to the Bat-mythos, and even explores some territory that the comics have only alluded to. It is a 180 from the Joel Schumacher abortion of a film.

As for The Batmobile, yes it looks crappy. However, there is a method to the madness. The concept is that this is Batman in the very beginning. His tools are not refined yet (much as they were in Miller's Batman: Year One). The Batmobile in this film is the earliest version, based on a rejected military prototype that Waynetech was developing (the concept is that he will slowly add to it and tone it down into a sleeker design. Also, the look is an homage to the Batmobile seen in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Case said:

Aronofsky dropped out of the project a long while back. His script wasn't half as faithful as this one. As for a straight-up adaptation of B:Y1, there are a whole lot of legal reasons why that can't happen anymore. This script definitely incorporates a whole lot of Miller's story, but also explores all the stuff that came before (his training, formulating his weapons and tools, etc.). In my opinion, this will be the first time that Batman has actually been done right on the silver screen.

savoirfaire said:

Well, the first is a good film, but it is seriously flawed as an adaptation. Keaton captures the pathos of Batman, but never conveys the false face of Bruce Wayne. Nicholson is great as the Joker, although he misses the mark often (too much of the time he's being Nicholson. Mark Hamill, from the animated series, is still the best Joker).

Too much of the time, Batman is seen doing things he NEVER would do. For one thing, Batman never takes a life. In the film, Bats is seen throwing henchmen down shafts, as well as blowing up a whole bunch of them in a chemical plant (and would Bats deliberately pollute the environment that way?? I think not!). He repeats this again in the second Burton film, when he shoves dynamite down a henchmen's pants. Second, he is shown liberally using guns: The Batmobile has machine guns mounted on it, as does the Batplane. Batman would never, ever, in a million years, use these kinds of weapons. Due to his childhood experience of seeing his parents gunned down, he detests them in every way.

Still, the first two films are decent movies, with a whole lot of great Batman moments. Gotham looks fantastic, and the acting by all the cast members is phenomenal.

I do believe that this new film will eclipse those, however.

Anxiety said:

JDINTERACTIVE said:

Dude! You SOOOOO get it!!!!

andykeen said:

andykeen said:

Groovy!!

andykeen said:

i would pay to watch christian bale sit on a stool.

























well, naked, of course.

As big a Batman fan that I am... I too, and leery about this new movie being made. I have not followed much, as far as the story of this movie, but based on what I've seen so far... it STINKS!

1. The costume

How can you make a Batman movie and not get the costume right? What's with the all black, musculature rubber, crap??? They had the opportunity to do this one right, and get away from the stigma of the other movies, but they delved right back into it, with a costume that looks part Batman Returns, and part Batman Forever. Not feeling it. The costume should be cloth, and the actor big enough to fill it.

2. The Batmobile

OK, waitaminute... WTF???!?!?!?!?!? What is this smashed humvee looking piece of shit? Brown? It's like someone was sitting around in a meeting and saying: "how can we make Batman look stupider than the other movies did?"

3. It's too soon

I still have this bad taste in my mouth from all 4 of the other movies. Unless they create something that is true to the character... this movie will be worse than the others.

Michael Keaton (Mr. Mom), sucked at being Batman. George Clooney... disgusting. Val Kilmer, incredible actor, really came close to pulling it off. I don't know Christian Bale, never seen any of his movies, but so far... NOT IMPRESSED.

Please Hollywood, take a tip from Marvel Comics... keep the characters true to themselves and their origins and you can be as successful as the Spider-Man movies.

Make a live action Batman movie, as cool as the animated series ('92-'99), with a correct costume and you might pull it off.

LovesexyIsThe1 said:

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[Edited 9/3/04 12:02pm]

LovesexyIsThe1 said:

wait 1 fricky dicky minute, Michael keaton is the BATMAN, he made Batman who is 2day, no 1 can beat him 2 that, and Val"i only have 1 tune 2 my voice"kilmer 4 me was the worst!

andykeen said:

Well, while I liked some of Keaton's performance, many hardcore Batman fans did NOT like his portrayal. If you have no knowledge of the comic, its fine. If you are a Bat-freak (like lovesexyisthe1 and I both are), then you tend to be a bit more nitpicky). I didn't have quite the number of problems with Keaton as some did, but I do think there are some definite flaws.

andykeen said:

Sorry... no.

JediMaster said:

I appreciate your post. I was only basing my opinions on what few photos and footage that have been showing up on the net, as well as the trailer. The only thing I can think of is... I hope you're right!

Especially about the costume. Let's talk after the movie comes out.

LovesexyIsThe1 said:

Indeed!!! I'm sure there will be lots of spirited debate when the flick comes out! I understand your fears, especially after the past couple of flicks. I love Batman, and so I completely get where you're coming from

Oh, and I still think they should have taken the Batman/Superman "World's Finest" episode/movie from the animated series and adapted it into a feature film! I totally agree with you that the animated series has been the best adaptation of the Dark Knight to date.

JediMaster said:

This is the closest we'll ever get:

http://www.capedwonder.com/Collora.htm

Watch the trailer here: http://www.capedwonder.co...est_Hi.mov

Have you seen this?

LovesexyIsThe1 said:

Wow, that was some funny stuff. I know Mike O'Hearn as a fitness model. He looked like a swollen version of Supes. The Batman might as well have been Adam West . The whole thing was fun to watch though.
Oh, and bro I have to disagree about Michael Keaton. What I loved about him was his ability to pull off Bruce Wayne. In my opinion, anybody can put on a mask and speak in a hushed, deep voice, but Keaton really played a cool Bruce Wayne.

LovesexyIsThe1 said:

That's a fun short. I can just imagine what that guy could do if he had a real budget. He certainly has the right ideas.

OdysseyMiles said:

But that wasn't Bruce Wayne. Wayne is just a facade. Batman is who he really is. When Wayne appears in public, he puts on the act of a billionaire playboy. Everyone thinks of him as a vaccuous, spoiled rich boy. This keeps people from believing he even remotely could be Batman (think of it this way, could you imagine that Paris Hilton actually goes out and fights crime at night???). Keaton captured Batman's pathos, but he never put on the facade of Wayne. He seemed like he was obsessive and disturbed at all times, regardless of whether or not he was in costume.

JediMaster said:

Dude, I've never looked at it that way. I always knew that Clark Kent was a facade, but never thought of Bruce Wayne that way. Interesting. I guess that makes sense though, considering what he went through as a youth.

OdysseyMiles said:

Michael O'Hearn just had an audition for the new Superman film:

http://www.superherohype....hp?id=1952

Be interesting to see if he gets it.

I thought Clark Bartram did a good job as Batman... he has the right costume, and physique... we'll see if Hollywood's next interpretation comes close.

LovesexyIsThe1 said:

I do like O'Hearn's height. 6'3 is great for Superman. Not sure if he should be as beefy though. You never know . I kind of keep up with what's going on in the bodybuilding world, and I know Mike has been trying to get into film for some time. If he can act, more power to him.