*** Official BATMAN BEGINS Discussion Thread - Page 19

Ironically this is one of the few minor nits I have with the film. I thought this was a bit out of charcter as the Batman would have saved him regardless. However, I understand (if not agree) with the studio's need to have a big payoff at the end as a simple arrest might have leaned toward the anti-climatic.

But all in all, the defintive Batman movie thus far. I would like to see two-face in the next one. Great character with great drama which was reduced to a one dimensional imbecile in Batman Forever.

"I would like to see two-face in the next one. Great character with great drama which was reduced to a one dimensional imbecile in Batman Forever."

Am I the only one who almost got teary at the end of "Second Chance"?(Batman TAS)

(Ok, Im a geek)

Eh Batman just thought Ras is a big talented man, he can save himself

I think the next movie should be The Joker and the Joker alone more or less.

I'm just not a fan of the dual-villain formula in comic book movies.

Maybe they can start the Two Face story arc in the next film (just the beginnings of it), similar to how the Joker is "introduced" at the end of Batman Begins.

Actually, you are probably more right than you think. The character of Ras Gul still has a lot of backstory to draw upon for future use, particularly the Lazarus Pit (which extends his life span) and his daughter Talia, of which Bats and she have a thing going. It would be interesting to being him back in a future movie (sort of Batman's Blofeld, if you will).

Agreed. I read a bit about Talia and there potential for some serious, if somewhat classical drama there.

--
H

Based on how she was described to me by a friend much more familiar with Batman than I, I'd like to have seen Talia be Bruce Wayne's quasi-love interest not Rachel Dawes.

-p

Talia is best saved for later (though I doubt "later" will be "ever"). She's a bit complex for the films.

In other news, this week sees the release of a new Batman comic title. Ho-hum, I know. I balied on comics myself a while back. X and X2 didn't suck me back in. Neither did Sin City or Hellboy (though I reread some of those stories). Spidey 2 came close.

Well, I am still not in But I will be picking this up. I brought it up here to point out that Robin is the key figure and the exploration of the book is on their relationship. The writer and artist are pretty well respected. The "All-Star" banner removes all the burdens on the modern stories and exists to allow the best writers/artists to play with the best characters free of strings. Might be worth it for some old hands like myself who skipped out years ago.

Just a note,
Chuck

Anyone else compulsively listening to the score CD, especially track 10 ("Molossus") which I believe largely accompanies the Tumbler chase through Gotham and beyond . . .?

-p

Jim Lee and Frank Miller are great comic book creators (Jim being more of a fan favorite with eye-pleasing art, while Frank is a critics favorite and brought cinematic storytelling to comics), it's a great team-up for the All-Star line of "classic" stories of the main characters from the DC Comics universe.

It's funny after seeing this the second time (and not at IMAX this time), I was easily able to follow the fight scenes and actually thought they were pretty damn good. I love the part w/ Falcone looking on at Batman taking out his thugs trying to figure out what the fuck is happening.

I'm hoping it can make it to 200 mill.

Just saw BB for the 3rd time while vacationing in Puerto Rico this past week. I love it more with every viewing and still plan to see it once more since I've yet to see it in IMAX.

Just wanted to thank those that recommended the graphic novels. Will be looking to pick up Batman:Year One to start me off.

>>Just wanted to thank those that recommended the graphic novels. Will be looking to pick up Batman:Year One to start me off.<<

I just finished Year One and I'm about to start the Long Halloween. Year One was good stuff and definitely not like the very few comics I used to read as a kid. After LH I'll pick up the Killing Joke.

Thanks again to those that recommended these to me.

I keep forgetting to check Newsarama. Great site. Thanks for the link, Chuck. I'm definitely looking out for that Miller/Lee collaboration.

Yeah, thanks for the link on the Miller/Lee comic, Chuck. Though I'll likely wait for it to hit TPB.

I had been thinking about picking up Hush for the Lee Batman art but Long Halloween didn't do a lot for me so I decided to pass on the rest of Loeb's work.

Actually, Hush wasn't all that bad, and the art is good (if you like Jim Lee's art).

Yes - I'm finding it GREAT background music for writing or working on creative projects. I also love it as good driving music - turned up VERY loud, of course.

Kevin,
I just learned that DC is collecting Hush in their "Absolute" Format, which I've never seen, but seems to be larger pages to better read. They are doing the same with Watchmen this fall. It's pricey ($50 for Hush), but the art is the best thing about Hush (I found the story pretty blah...but it's fun to look at).

I have higher hopes for All-Star,
Chuck

Got the score on Friday, and I'm really enjoying it. It didn't stick out to me at all on first viewing, but I don't know if that's because of volume or just me paying attention to the dialogue. But the score does work very well by itself.

Heres a couple Batman titles no one ever mentiones....

Batman vs Grendel (2 issues) - A fav of mine because of the other character. Matt Wagners excellent Grendel.

Gotham By Gaslight - Sort of a "what if" issue with Batman and a famous London murderer.

[NERD ALERT]Gotham by Gaslight! I bought that the day it was released (same day as Arkham Asylum, fwiw). Mike Mignola art and a turn of the century Batman. Great story as well, and stunning, stunning art.

But it's a "alternate" look, so that's probably why folks leave it off.

One of the things Miller mentions in the interview linked above is something that really defines the popularity of Batman. Of all the superheroes, he is BY FAR the most malleable. He can be drawn and interpreted so many different ways that he can be applicable to numerous stories and themes. Even just the standard "bog" Batman has been drawn or realized in so many different fashions, it's fun to just explore those. Before you even get into "alternates" (Or Elseworlds, as DC calls them...Gotham by Gaslight being the first of many). In short, I think that flexibility in interpretation is one of the keys for Batman. Superman, Spider-Man, and all the rest have varying amounts of wiggle room for costumes or interpretations. But none come close to the Batman.[/NERD ALERT!]

Back to the film and the score, I listen to the score more often than I expected. It's very moody and subtle (unless it's an action cue). Definitely has grown on me quite a bit.

And finally, the box office has borne out the WOM possibilities we debated after the soft first weekend. Most importantly, it does point towards a BIG HIT on DVD, a tidy profit margin, and most importantly, an affirmation of the approach. So the sequel is officially safe (I was a little worried for a while).

Good news,
Chuck

HZ (and, to a lesser extent, JNH) trademarks!

-p

My favorite Batman story is from the novel, The Further Adventures of the Batman. Came out about the same time as the 89 movie. The story is Subway Jack by Joe R Lansdale. Awesome Jack the Ripper type story.

I think there were actually two volumes of Batman stories published under the "Further Adventures" stories, right?

The second one had the penguin on the cover, I think.

Great short stories in there.

i just can't get enough of mignola's art.

good call, chuck.

Yeah, there was that. IIRC, there was a Joker collection, too...? I know Lansdale also wrote a full length Batman novel called Captured by the Engines, which has never been reprinted. I saw a copy at a used bookstore a few weeks back for $35.

Thanks for the info, primarily for the Watchmen info. I'd love a deluxe edition of that.

"Thanks for the info, primarily for the Watchmen info. I'd love a deluxe edition of that."

There was a nice deluxe hardcover edition of Watchmen that came out years ago. It was available thru Bud Plant. It had lots of extra goodies in it. I always meant to get one, but they disappeared too fast.

Now those things are worth quite a bit of dough.

JonZ, I believe that was a Graffiti Designs project. This Absolute version will be reprinting all of the goodies in there, plus add a new intro or something. I think it runs at $75, but should be discounted a few places. Well worth it, I believe.

Take care,
Chuck

I believe there were just 2 volumes. The first had a mixture of villians, the second focused on Penguin. The first one has a great Robin and Joker story, the Sound of one hand clapping.

Captured by the Engines is a good read. I still have the paperback.