Hi everyone, I was just wondering if the "realism" in this movie series should be atken down a notch. You see, the other day a friend and I got into a debate about what the Riddler's look should be. I wanted the man to have black slacks, a green blazer, and a question mark lapel pin but that would be too "supervillain" for Nolan's films. Also, there's the thing about making the villains "realistic". I've heard a suggestion about Mr. Freeze locking people in a meat locker, which takes away a good amount of appeal to the charcater in my opinion. By the looks of it Batman himself is too unrealistic for these films (a man dresses up as a giant bat and fights criminals...come on). So what do you guys think? How realistic can we go before it becomes too realistic? Can it become too realistic?
You seem like a guy who takes himself too seriously. My diagnosis. You need to lighten up.
Sorry; I just couldn't resist.
Realism in the Batman films is actually a symbiotic relationship with fantasy. Batman is a figment of the imagination, yet people who invest themselves in the film appreciate his reality in that world. The same goes for the villains and the the story arcs. Nolan uses elements within modern reality to heighten the fantasy and further blur the line between "what is" and "what is imagined." If you're not thinking about either/or during the film, he has properly fulfilled his job.
Too realistic? Hmm, the last film was basically Batman in a mature cop-drama where everybody had an angle or at the very least, their character's had a purpose. If TDK is guilty of being
too realistic, Tim Burton's first film would almost certainly be guilty of serving as
too unrealistic. I do not see either film as such. It was nice to see comic book source material treated like it was worthy of the silver screen. It rarely happens.
Personally, I care less about Nygma's appearance, and more about his story arc and involvement as the villain. Part of a joyful experience to me would be having Nygma as a riddle himself. . .a la . . . not knowing who he is, but seeing his handiwork all over Gotham. Batman's greatest challenge would be to find and capture a villain who allegedly doesn't exist while being pursued as a wanted cop-killing, criminal. The mindset is sort of like one part Kurosawa's internal conflict of 'Seven Samurai', and one part controlled malevolence of Nygma himself when he's finally revealed. Not seeing him, but understanding his impact on the events that are happening could possibly lead to a most memorable climax. . . . especially if someone with an axe to grind (Earle from Begins), hires, say Deadshot, to take out Wayne. If Bruce/Batman had both personas being pursued while having to find someone like Nygma, that would be something that we've never seen before on film.