Interesting Story Arc/Themes Between "Batman '89" and "Batman Forever"

[TMC1982]

I found this on the IMDb message boards concerning the linking narrative between the two Tim Burton Batman films and "Batman Forever":

Part I. The Batman and Joker fight, Bruce Wayne is violent, and attempting to avenge his parents, in the climax of this fight, he realized his archnemesis is actually the same man who killed his parents all those years ago. He gets his revenge.

Part II. He's consumed, he's killed Jack Napier, but that isn't enough, he becomes more violent, more depressed, he kills people and clearly enjoys it, he puts a bomb in a guys pants and laughs, he turns his car around to set a guy on fire. He's more disturbed than he was in in the first act, he sees some hope in Selina Kyle. But it seems to be something of a false hope as she is even more far gone than he is.

Part III. Now, I know that I will get flack for this. But there is a line from Forever which implies it at least exists in the same universe as the Burton movies, in this scene, Bruce tells Grayson not to kill Harvey Dent, because he will be consumed by anger and revenge, and that killing Harvey won't solve anything. Now, if we operate under the assumption that this is the same Bruce as before, forgetting for the moment that it is not Michael Keaton in the suit, we realize why Bruce is saying this. He's followed down that exact path, he killed the man who killed his parents, and was later nearly consumed by a combination of depression and revenge.

Also, all of the women in Bruce's life fit into this trilogy.

Vicki Vale is the last hope Bruce has for a normal life, she is human, she suffers from no signs of mental illness. She is like an anchor, with which Bruce can pull himself back. But it doesn't work, when Jack is dead, Bruce can't give up, he is consumed, leading to their breakup.

Selina Kyle is Bruce's counterpart at the exact moment that Bruce is at his weakest, and is at his most disturbed. He tries to reach out to her at the end, bringing her back as he begins to delve into his recovery in part III.

Dr. Chase Meridian is basically, an agent of his recovery, she is a doctor after all.

Again, it seems to me that this is the same kind of man, if for no other reason that they share the same taste in women:
All of Bruce Wayne's girlfriends through Forever were blonde women.

I thought that Nicole Kidman was more of a redhead when compared to Kim Basinger and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Continuing...:

Batman & Robin is the second part of Joel Schumacher's intended trilogy. Batman Triumphant would have justified B&R, as it would fling Batman from his comfortable life in the spotlight back into the shadows to battle The Scarecrow, a villain less flamboyant and more psychologically threatening than those he was facing in the present. Much like the transition from the lighter comics of the 1950s-1960s to the edgier detective stories of the 1970s-1980s, Triumphant would have been a harsh wake up call for the Caped Crusader to once again be the Dark Knight.

 

[Cain]

Not to brag about the knowledge of us SHH batfans but this is extremely old news around these parts. It's funny though how many people have owned these movies for years and never noticed the obvious character arc. Everytime I bring it up people get flabbergasted and are like "Oh I've never viewed it that way before, very interesting."

BATMAN = Ascension

Batman Returns = Descent

Batman Forever = Redemption

and to think there are people that still say those movies were not about Bruce Wayne/Batman talk about being a superficial movie viewer.

 

[Bat Attack]

Not to brag about the knowledge of us SHH batfans but this is extremely old news around these parts. It's funny though how many people have owned these movies for years and never noticed the obvious character arc. Everytime I bring it up people get flabbergasted and are like "Oh I've never viewed it that way before, very interesting."

BATMAN = Ascension

Batman Returns = Descent

Batman Forever = Redemption

and to think there are people that still say those movies were not about Bruce Wayne/Batman talk about being a superficial movie viewer.

Perfect analogies.

 

[I Am The Knight]

Omg!

 

[Kevin Roegele]

"But there is a line from Forever which implies it at least exists in the same universe as the Burton movies, in this scene, Bruce tells Grayson not to kill Harvey Dent, because he will be consumed by anger and revenge, and that killing Harvey won't solve anything. Now, if we operate under the assumption that this is the same Bruce as before, forgetting for the moment that it is not Michael Keaton in the suit, we realize why Bruce is saying this. He's followed down that exact path, he killed the man who killed his parents, and was later nearly consumed by a combination of depression and revenge."


This made me chuckle. There is no implication that's it's the same universe as Burton's movies, it is the same universe. Alfred and Gordon are played by the same actors. We see Jack Napier, albeit in smoke, shooting the Waynes. We have Catwoman alluded to.

 

[Cain]

"But there is a line from Forever which implies it at least exists in the same universe as the Burton movies, in this scene, Bruce tells Grayson not to kill Harvey Dent, because he will be consumed by anger and revenge, and that killing Harvey won't solve anything. Now, if we operate under the assumption that this is the same Bruce as before, forgetting for the moment that it is not Michael Keaton in the suit, we realize why Bruce is saying this. He's followed down that exact path, he killed the man who killed his parents, and was later nearly consumed by a combination of depression and revenge."


This made me chuckle. There is no implication that's it's the same universe as Burton's movies, it is the same universe. Alfred and Gordon are played by the same actors. We see Jack Napier, albeit in smoke, shooting the Waynes. We have Catwoman alluded to.

Yeah people think that just cause BF is a little lighter it's a new continuity when it's just a sequel. Batman is still the same guy from Burton's movies despite the superficial changes which happened cause they were studio mandated since they fired Burton.