to my reading, in the bourne movies the action has (um) a dramatic purpose and serves to advance the plot, while in the batman they could be excised w/o damaging the plot progression
― remy bean, Friday, 22 July 2011 14:07 (twelve years ago) link
(sub in 'character arc' or 'genre necessaries' for 'plot progression' if you like)
― remy bean, Friday, 22 July 2011 14:08 (twelve years ago) link
io9 had a rave review of the film http://io9.com/5823515/captain-america-is-an-incredible-war-movie-that-just-happens-to-star-a-superhero
very detailed review of the plot w tons of spoilers so don't read it unless prepared to know the whole film going in
― H in Addis, Friday, 22 July 2011 14:19 (twelve years ago) link
i just mean like, the action is the selling point of the bourne movies; the movies exist to give context to some incredible, dynamic action sequences. there's definitely some other stuff of value going on in the margins, but you're not going to those movies to spend more time with beloved characters like... Conklin and Nicolette. most superhero movies cant pull off that level of asskickery (especially origin movies, where its just about setting up the status quo), so they gotta do other things to keep you interested. thats why i think raimi's spiderbro movies worked with audiences who dont ordinarily care for this stuff - they're already fun just as these heightened reality melodramas with a kind of timeless feel to them
the problem with cap - i liked this movie btw! - is that he spends the whole movie effortlessly plowing through every obstacle. i dont think chris evans gets a single scratch or nick on him. so you can basically lean back and go 'eh, he's got this' the whole time.
― DEHUMANIZE YOURSELF AND FACE TO BLOODSHED (Princess TamTam), Friday, 22 July 2011 14:31 (twelve years ago) link
It helps that RDJ is pretty much the walking embodiment of Tony Stark in both look and attitude.
RDJ is easily the best actor playing a superhero in anything since Chris Reeves, I think. Iron Man would be significantly worse without him. I can't say that about any other current superhero films I've seen; the actors are fairly interchangeable.
― akm, Friday, 22 July 2011 14:34 (twelve years ago) link
you'd think audiences would have reached their saturation point by now. this is the umpteenth mediocre superhero film this summer.
― by another name (amateurist), Friday, 22 July 2011 15:15 (twelve years ago) link
the first Burton Batman,
can't believe anyone still reps for this garbage
― No Broehner (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 22 July 2011 15:46 (twelve years ago) link
Yeah, that first movie blows. After all the portent of the beginning, it devolves into ... a countdown plot to poison the water supply of Gotham!!!
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 22 July 2011 15:51 (twelve years ago) link
I like the number that Comics Alliance did on the first Batman:
http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/05/23/batman-1989-review/
http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/05/30/batman-1989-part-two-review/
(They've been going through all the movies these past few weeks.)
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 22 July 2011 15:52 (twelve years ago) link
2nd Burton Batman is great fuiud
― PAJAMARALLS? PAJAMALWAYS! (DJP), Friday, 22 July 2011 15:53 (twelve years ago) link
adding a bunch of people to the enemies list
― apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 22 July 2011 15:53 (twelve years ago) link
Oh, wait, I misread Burton Batman as Batman Begins. Regardless, Burton Batman has major issues, but it does strike a nice balance between comic book and dark batman. Second Burton Batman has superior set/costume design; Pfeiffer's cat woman might be the most iconic villain in one of the ultimately least iconic superhero sequels. And also, Batman Returns has ... a plot to poison Gotham's water supply, too?
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 22 July 2011 15:56 (twelve years ago) link
^^^agreed!
― No Broehner (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 22 July 2011 15:57 (twelve years ago) link
Oh, wait, it's a killing of the first born plot. But the second Burton Batman does have Danny DeVito eating off someone's face, no?
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 22 July 2011 15:57 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7PuqHC8KaE
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 22 July 2011 15:58 (twelve years ago) link
i do love batman returns - saw it in the theater when it came out, i was 7 years old, its really just a crazy burton movie that happens to have a batman cameo in it. its got tragic penguins, killer performances from devito and walken, plus michelle pfeiffer is the definitive catwoman imo - nobody will ever change my mind on this
― DEHUMANIZE YOURSELF AND FACE TO BLOODSHED (Princess TamTam), Friday, 22 July 2011 15:58 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onHNcxo-Lmk&feature=related
But anyway, Captain America. I laughed but it looks OK.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 22 July 2011 15:59 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0j-Zrbo7rA
― PAJAMARALLS? PAJAMALWAYS! (DJP), Friday, 22 July 2011 15:59 (twelve years ago) link
the first movie is a total mess - veers wildly in tone, character motivations make no sense, plot has literally no regard for a coherent sequence of events, majority of the acting is terrible etc
― No Broehner (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:01 (twelve years ago) link
the first movie is hilarious and fuiud
― apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:02 (twelve years ago) link
Michael Keaton wtf
― mh, Friday, 22 July 2011 16:03 (twelve years ago) link
batman returns is fantastic imo but its probably not a great 'superhero movie' the carnival atmosphere makes it too ridiculous and lurid but w/e
― stepmomster (Lamp), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:03 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA6hZ4f34II
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 22 July 2011 16:04 (twelve years ago) link
^^ HILARIOUS
― apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:04 (twelve years ago) link
look all i'm saying is if you give a major super hero franchise kick-off to the guy who made frankenweenie you get what you pay for
― apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:05 (twelve years ago) link
I mean, come on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxySK01v1os
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 22 July 2011 16:05 (twelve years ago) link
it is hilarious. because it is SO BAD
― No Broehner (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:06 (twelve years ago) link
They should have Prince play a villain in a new Batman.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 22 July 2011 16:06 (twelve years ago) link
Now imagine the movie actually started with this scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n4s-lkYm0w
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 22 July 2011 16:07 (twelve years ago) link
i loved dark knight as much as the next guy who didn't think it was The Greatest Film of All Time but i will take a movie where thugs deface fine art to the sound of prince over Brooding Arguments About Creeping Fascism every day of the week
― apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:07 (twelve years ago) link
xpost -- Compare and contrast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-sV-O2-jCY
(Or eight million other films, obv.)
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 22 July 2011 16:08 (twelve years ago) link
ppl hating on "Batman" need to reexamine their aesthetic priorities IMO
― PAJAMARALLS? PAJAMALWAYS! (DJP), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:08 (twelve years ago) link
I get the feeling Prince was the only one that realized how ridiculous the whole endeavor was:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3Bj_So1PuA&feature=related
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 22 July 2011 16:08 (twelve years ago) link
I am pretty certain Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton got it, too
― PAJAMARALLS? PAJAMALWAYS! (DJP), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:09 (twelve years ago) link
i am pretty sure nicholson was lol'ing all the way to the bank and i salute him for it
― apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:10 (twelve years ago) link
You're goddamn right he was:
http://promovieblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/jack-nicholson-the-joker-money.jpg
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 22 July 2011 16:11 (twelve years ago) link
and wheeeereee is the BATman...
― apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:12 (twelve years ago) link
I kind of wonder if Prince wasn't shown any actual movie footage and just had visual cues of what the characters looked like and someone summarized the script
Thinking about the artistic process of Prince is probably something I could do for decades and still be puzzled, though
― mh, Friday, 22 July 2011 16:13 (twelve years ago) link
i have a feeling prince was shown some sketches of the joker's outfits and combined with some vague memories of the tv show cranked the whole thing out in an afternoon between lunch and his nap.
― apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:16 (twelve years ago) link
I wonder what the soundtrack discussions were like. "Who would really nail the feel of Tim Burton's Batman?" "Well obviously someone famous for being horny and funky, right? Horny and funky are definitely the adjectives that spring to mind looking at the storyboards."
― Strictly vote-splitting (DL), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:22 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt2nc2NkcGE
― apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:23 (twelve years ago) link
I am pretty sure the discussion was more like "$$$$$? $$$$$$. $$$$$ PRINCE!" "$$$$$$$$!!!!!!!!!!!!"
― PAJAMARALLS? PAJAMALWAYS! (DJP), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:23 (twelve years ago) link
Oh man I'm going to have Batdance stuck in my head the rest of the afternoon, aren't I?
― online pinata store (Nicole), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:24 (twelve years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyrdui5wQmE
^^ classic material
― apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:24 (twelve years ago) link
That edit of the boxing glove apparently taking out Billy Dee Williams and then pulling back to show it was hitting the TV screen = A+ still.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 22 July 2011 16:24 (twelve years ago) link
still mad at Schumacher for turning Billy Dee Williams into Tommy Lee Jones
― PAJAMARALLS? PAJAMALWAYS! (DJP), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:25 (twelve years ago) link
haha i remember being 11 and none of my friends understanding why it was so cool that billy dee was harvey dent. "give it a couple movies. you'll see!"
― apichathong song (strongo hulkington's ghost dad), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:26 (twelve years ago) link
I love Batdance btw
Vicki Vale! Vick - Vick - Vick - Vicki Vale!
― No Broehner (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:27 (twelve years ago) link
xp In Blockbuster, Tom Shone identifies Batman as the tipping point for blockbuster hype - the first movie where hype was successfully manufactured on a grand scale. I wish he'd included a bit about the soundtrack because I bet the conversation was pretty much verbatim as Dan said.
― Strictly vote-splitting (DL), Friday, 22 July 2011 16:28 (twelve years ago) link