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My Batman, baby
May. 18th, 2004 02:22 pmI finally caught up on my backlog of Entertainment Weeklys, and they had a nice sneak picture of the new Batman movie, with Christian Bale in the batsuit perched on top of a building. Now we're talking Batman, baby. That picture made me really, really happy, because of the suit. Nothing else, just the suit. That's a total Frank Miller Batman look, and it's what I've wanted to see for a while (instead we got increasingly gay-pornier batsuits and campier Batmans and Robins than the old sixties series, which is not my cup of bats).
Don't get me wrong, I love Christian Bale, but he never seemed like a Bruce Wayne or Batmany guy to me (though, neither did Michael Keaton and I loved him in the first movie, nor did George Clooney, whom I loathed in that incarnation). Val Kilmer always seemed the most Bruce-tastic of the movie guys, yet that whole movie was missing all the crucial elements of the story and the darkest qualities of what Bruce/Batman's psyche is tormented with, so... But I think in this case, the clothes make the batman -- CB's bod is of course pumped up as we know from American Psycho and Equilibrium, so he'll do the suit proud, but in the picture it looked like it fit, not in the physical sense of the word, but the more spiritual sense. I think -- I *hope* -- that this is going to be my true Batman, the one that comes closest to the Year One interpretation, to the past of the Dark Knight series (and maybe some of that future bleakness), to the soul of the comics, Miller or not. CB can do that miserable vigilante quality, I'm sure, and that rich guy about town Wayne schtick, but most important, I think, is that he can convey the sheer dogged determination that embodies Batman to me. That never say die quality that's fueled by rage and fear and more than a little self-absorption and self-hate.
And of course I may be wrong and it will bomb and then I'll be disappointed that so many comics can be turned into works of cinematic success except, of course, my one and only Batman. Here's a prayer to the muse of Miller influencing the filmmakers the way they say he has, and us getting a true Batman for the ages. The suit looks like a great start. And now I wonder if there are any good Batman icons out there, and how to find them...
Don't get me wrong, I love Christian Bale, but he never seemed like a Bruce Wayne or Batmany guy to me (though, neither did Michael Keaton and I loved him in the first movie, nor did George Clooney, whom I loathed in that incarnation). Val Kilmer always seemed the most Bruce-tastic of the movie guys, yet that whole movie was missing all the crucial elements of the story and the darkest qualities of what Bruce/Batman's psyche is tormented with, so... But I think in this case, the clothes make the batman -- CB's bod is of course pumped up as we know from American Psycho and Equilibrium, so he'll do the suit proud, but in the picture it looked like it fit, not in the physical sense of the word, but the more spiritual sense. I think -- I *hope* -- that this is going to be my true Batman, the one that comes closest to the Year One interpretation, to the past of the Dark Knight series (and maybe some of that future bleakness), to the soul of the comics, Miller or not. CB can do that miserable vigilante quality, I'm sure, and that rich guy about town Wayne schtick, but most important, I think, is that he can convey the sheer dogged determination that embodies Batman to me. That never say die quality that's fueled by rage and fear and more than a little self-absorption and self-hate.
And of course I may be wrong and it will bomb and then I'll be disappointed that so many comics can be turned into works of cinematic success except, of course, my one and only Batman. Here's a prayer to the muse of Miller influencing the filmmakers the way they say he has, and us getting a true Batman for the ages. The suit looks like a great start. And now I wonder if there are any good Batman icons out there, and how to find them...
