Batman reboot: Should it be based on realism, dark imagination, or silliness

[Llama_Shepherd]

It depends what you mean by lighthearted. Grant Morrison's Batman run is lighthearted, zany and entirely wacky.

But the main villain was a man who was evil for the sake of being evil. His entire cause was the perversion and corruption of virtue. He intended to disfigure Bruce, mentally and physically, to live as a slave of the Black Glove, after drugging him for five days, fracturing Bruce's psyche and torturing Alfred. leave Dick a vegetable, entombed in his own body, tortured by the memories of his formerly spectacular life. Damian would be corrupted after his valiant efforts at redemption. While the Wayne's would be remembered as drug addled swingers and Thomas was a wife beater and Martha cheated with Alfred. Joker dug up a corpse and danced with it, and disfigured his own face. And Pyg, don't get started with Pyg.

Having a light hearted Bat-Family and tone just makes the villains all the more horrifying.

[TruerToTheCore]

Originally Posted by Anno_Domini

Imo, it doesn't matter who plays Bruce Wayne/Batman; the look of someone smiling in that Batsuit in a live action film just looks off to me. It's fine in a cartoon because they will of course have some light-heatedness to it, but with Batman: TAS, it also worked. Again, in a live-action film, it doesn't, imo.

If you say so. Yes there is no way someone in a batsuit can smile and it doesn't look odd. No way!

[Anno_Domini]

Originally Posted by TruerToTheCore

If you say so. Yes there is no way someone in a batsuit can smile and it doesn't look odd. No way!

Loving how you're bringing sarcasm into it. Such a great way to continue a conversation.

[Artistsean]

To add a scaryness to Batman that he strikes in criminals should they
add into the film shots like horror movies do, where the character doesn't
see the bad guy behind him. A shot like a criminal robbing a house,
suddenly we see some shadowy Bat-like figure walk around in the
background and the robber has no clue and doesn't react. Like in the
creepy movie the Others or whatever it was called. Or a shot like a blurry
thing moves and the bad guy barely sees it and freaks out, spins around to
see what it was. Or the guy passes the screen and we see he walks right
past Batman and doesn't realize, or he opens the curtain and there is
Batman sneering at him, and he jumps back in fear. Just replace the serial
killer/monster with Batman. Sort of show that criminals are affraid of Batman
because he is scary, and maybe it would seem scary but then the audience
remembers he is the good guy, he is Batman.

[shauner111]

Originally Posted by Artistsean

To add a scaryness to Batman that he strikes in criminals should they
add into the film shots like horror movies do, where the character doesn't
see the bad guy behind him. A shot like a criminal robbing a house,
suddenly we see some shadowy Bat-like figure walk around in the
background and the robber has no clue and doesn't react. Like in the
creepy movie the Others or whatever it was called. Or a shot like a blurry
thing moves and the bad guy barely sees it and freaks out, spins around to
see what it was. Or the guy passes the screen and we see he walks right
past Batman and doesn't realize, or he opens the curtain and there is
Batman sneering at him, and he jumps back in fear. Just replace the serial
killer/monster with Batman. Sort of show that criminals are affraid of Batman
because he is scary, and maybe it would seem scary but then the audience
remembers he is the good guy, he is Batman.

We got HINTS of that in Batman Begins but i agree with you. They should totally do this and go all out with it. Horror style.

[Anno_Domini]

Hints of it in TDKR as well.

I would think those two spots of Batman attacking Bane's guys before he fought Bane in the sewers had a hint of Batman being this scary figure.

[shauner111]

Yeah and the first meeting between Scarecrow and Batman was like that. I love that scene. I love the image of Batman in the backround slowly kneeling down, you just see this figure with ears blend in with the darkness and nobody knows anything. Perfect.

[Brain Damage]

Originally Posted by Anno_Domini

Hints of it in TDKR as well.

I would think those two spots of Batman attacking Bane's guys before he fought Bane in the sewers had a hint of Batman being this scary figure.

I think you're right, but the effect could have been much stronger. The montage feel of that sequence really detracted from it for me.

[spidermanJLA!~]

Originally Posted by Anno_Domini

Hints of it in TDKR as well.

I would think those two spots of Batman attacking Bane's guys before he fought Bane in the sewers had a hint of Batman being this scary figure.

I loved that strobe gunshot scene in TDKR, before he went against Bane.

[Anno_Domini]

Originally Posted by shauner111

Yeah and the first meeting between Scarecrow and Batman was like that. I love that scene. I love the image of Batman in the backround slowly kneeling down, you just see this figure with ears blend in with the darkness and nobody knows anything. Perfect.

Yah, Batman Begins was at its best with trying to make Batman this shadowy figure in the night and while TDK felt like it strayed from that idea a bit, TDKR tried to show it once more. I like this full circle moment with that with Batman being this legend now and being more in the shadows in the third film.

Originally Posted by Brain Damage

I think you're right, but the effect could have been much stronger. The montage feel of that sequence really detracted from it for me.

I don't know, I felt the montage was perfect. It showed Batman using the darkness as his tactic once more to quickly take out those thugs and a montage, imo, was all that was needed since those thugs wasn't what Batman was after, it was Bane.

Originally Posted by spidermanJLA!~

I loved that strobe gunshot scene in TDKR, before he went against Bane.

[spidermanJLA!~]

Originally Posted by shauner111

Yeah and the first meeting between Scarecrow and Batman was like that. I love that scene. I love the image of Batman in the backround slowly kneeling down, you just see this figure with ears blend in with the darkness and nobody knows anything. Perfect.

I love that scene as well.

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

[Rodrigo90]

I loved the part where Batman slams the guys head against the mirror. You just see his hand and the guys face, full of terror. That was pure TDKReturns

[Brain Damage]

Originally Posted by Anno_Domini

I don't know, I felt the montage was perfect. It showed Batman using the darkness as his tactic once more to quickly take out those thugs and a montage, imo, was all that was needed since those thugs wasn't what Batman was after, it was Bane.

Y'know, I just watched that scene on YouTube and it was a lot better than I remember it, especially the continuity of the editing. Statement retracted.

[Artistsean]

Oops, I meant the Strangers horror movie starring Liv Tyler.
I think it would be fun if they applied those Horror movie aspects to Batman. How he would be moving around in the darkness right behind some criminal and they don't even know it. Or how they are passing by all these things and don't realize they passed right by him, or things seem real quite and suddenly he leaps out and attacks them. It would be great because it would be scary but then you know Batman is good so your not afraid of him. Plus there wont be all the blood and or killing and the typical horror slasher stuff.

[TheWatcher]

I love the scary idea.

I want the first movie of the reboot to be inspired by the Kane/Finger "Bat-Man". He should be a mystery and an enigma.

[Anno_Domini]

Originally Posted by TheWatcher

I love the scary idea.

I want the first movie of the reboot to be inspired by the Kane/Finger "Bat-Man". He should be a mystery and an enigma.

The ironic thing is that I think the next Batman film needs to also have this guy as the villain

[TheWatcher]

Gasp! A broken link! What a dastardly foe!

Just kidding, I like Riddler as a side villain, but not as the main bad.

[Anno_Domini]

The picture's not showing up! Damnit all to hell.

But, yah, I was referring to Riddler, hah.

[BlueLightning]

Riddler FTW!

[PB210]

Originally Posted by shauner111

Yes the show was true to some comics at the time but the tone wasn't the true original depiction of Batman. So it's a weird thing. The silver-age is one thing but that kind of goofiness we got on the show was a far cry from the first few years of his inception.

Neither were the sci-fi stories and team-ups with various superheroes. It all happened and it's cool but Batman was meant to be a dark, tragic, serious character who battles dark criminals in Gotham City. That's why people ignore the fact that West might have been close to certain comics. They may see the source material as ridiculous.

"Neither were the sci-fi stories and team-ups with various superheroes".

On the actual Adam West TV show, he only met the Green Hornet and Kato, who only marginally, if at all, belong to the genre (they predate Superman and Zatara by two years or so). As noted, the Green Hornet TV show stayed true to the tone of the radio show. In any event, an en masse meetup did not occur till those two 1979 specials.

[lordofthenerds]

I chose 'realism', but looking over the poll again I would have voted both A and B. It shouldn't be completely confined to the limits of the real world.

[Doc Ock]

Even though I voted for A and B I love the Dark Imagination idea, the likes of Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Man-Bat, the Lazarus Pit and so much more is a big part of why I love the Batman mythos. IMO screw realism!

I enjoyed Nolan's trilogy, but I don't want to see Batman that way on film for a long time. Bring up the dark fantasy and sci-fi elements!

[Anno_Domini]

Originally Posted by Doc Ock

Even though I voted for A and B I love the Dark Imagination idea, the likes of Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Man-Bat, the Lazarus Pit and so much more is a big part of why I love the Batman mythos. IMO screw realism!

I enjoyed Nolan's trilogy, but I don't want to see Batman that way on film for a long time. Bring up the dark fantasy and sci-fi elements!

Imo, Nolan's trilogy is obviously something truly special, but that should be the last time we see something like that when depicting Batman. Bring in a Batman that doesn't retire after he accomplishes certain tasks, but I do think there should indeed be some realism even while using fantasy or sci-fi elements. Take The Amazing Spider-Man if you will as Marc Webb at least acknowledged and tried to have some reality based even in his world of giant lizards as there is some real world common sense added to that. Such as if you use Mr. Freeze or Clayface, there should at least be some realism to the plausibility of how these two became who they are.

[Destructus86]

The next film NEEDS layers of gothic undertone for sure.

[Rodrigo90]

As I said, I want all DC films to look like MOS...realistic and stylized.