Great post.
Totally - tones shift and times change and the minute a comedy version breaks bank, watch others follow suit... I think the main thing here is about finding an audience - for me, I loved iron man and the first phase of marvel then I lost interest as it all started to seem the same and blend, then black panther came out and it was different and I enjoyed that, ant man too, to an an extent but, yeah the market is saturated.. Snyder tried to be different and it didn't sit well with me - but The Batman, it seems so different to what is on offer right now.. in that its a detective movie involving a comic book character..
will movies shift to follow this? I'm sure many will... then will we get bored of this and want something fantastical?
As you rightly said, Keaton coming back will be so interesting... as I was so stoked to see it, then is aw The Batman and my fickle mind was like, Keaton who? But I am interested to see a Burton inspired batgirl... which I hope it is.
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Like I said in my last two posts, Batman has basically entered that same general field of history that James Bond has been occupying in for decades now. And like Bond, there's bound to be lows and highs that come along over various eras- along with adjustments in genre and tonality to compliment the tastes and strengths of the incumbent actor and director of that era.
At the end of the day, there's no pleasing everyone. That's only going to continue being the case for the franchise in the long haul. For example, I always personally find myself feeling a bit perplexed when people mention how they want to see more fantastical Batman films and how it's only ever been gritty and realistic since Nolan, as if there weren't just several live-action films starring Batman that had him fighting against Superman and multiple sorts of super-powered aliens alongside Wonder Woman or Aquaman.
It's why I really hope that WB and DC take advantage of the Post-Flash setup of Keaton as the new Bruce Wayne/Batman in the DCEU. Even if he's not the main protagonist anymore, there's a treasure trove of characters and parts of the mythology of Batman that they can adapt and focus on that could scratch that itch for fans who want something other than what Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson are coming up with in their new BatVerse.
Hell, if I'm being totally honest? There's never going to be a better opportunity than with Keaton's semi-retired Bruce to do a deep adaptation and exploration of the collective Batfamily and give those characters chances to be in the limelight. And if you're exploring characters like Nightwing, Batgirl or Red Robin in the new DCEU Gotham, why not also take the chance to pit them alongside other renowned Batman villains that aren't likely to star as a main villain in a main Batman film or won't fit in the world Reeves is making?
Similarities are inevitable when you have so many different iterations of Batman in live action, so those things don't really bother me. In fact, I see it more as a compliment to what's been done with the character already, and it's a testament to how many things about the character and his world have become iconic. The stuff that may feel familiar is a hallmark of good storytelling when it comes to Batman, if you ask me.
As for comparisons, they're inevitable also for the same reason. I will fully admit, I'm a bit on the defense of the Nolan trilogy right now because of the whole "recency bias" thing, and it gets extremely annoying trying to argue points with people (mostly younger people) who try to claim something isn't really a Batman film for whatever BS reason while completely exposing how little they know about Batman or, really, filmmaking in general. But when you set that aside, and i try my best to, comparisons will always be made regardless. As a big Batman fan, I try to filter it out the best I can and embrace what's in front of me. So long as it's good, I mean.
It's weird for me. I very much grew up with the Nolan trilogy and while I never stopped liking the Burton films and Batman Forever, I do think there was probably a period where I felt like Nolan could do no wrong and that his films absolutely trounced on what came before. As I've gotten older, I've become more open minded to acknowledging the shortcomings of the TDK trilogy and appreciating what all the various incarnations we've seen in live action up to now have gotten right in one way or another.
For example, take Batman Returns. It's a nutty film and one that by traditional standards of measurement, really feels unfaithful to the source material. Especially compared to what Nolan and Reeves have both accomplished with their films. Yet as time's gone on, I keep coming back to that film and finding new things to appreciate about it and how idiosyncratic a take on Batman it is.
Bruce might be at his worst murdering people all over the film, but moments like his first reaction to seeing Penguin on the news and empathizing with his desire to find his parents, his guilt after reading the archived newspaper in the Batcave upon realizing that he was right to be suspicious or the silent patrolling at night through the snow-laden streets in the Batmobile all
stick with me and feel quintessentially Batman in a visual and emotive sense.
So if there's an itch in some fans to knock Nolan's films down a peg as they first gush over what Reeves is doing with The Batman now, I get both sides of the conundrum. I love what Nolan did with The Dark Knight. My memories of seeing it at a midnight premiere opening night in 2008 are something I hold very close to my heart. But the film isn't perfect and for whatever uncalled for scrutiny that it takes now, I feel pretty confident in feeling that Nolan and the film can both weather those remarks and that the winds will shift again in a few years and people will continue to look back on the film as fondly as ever.
Also glad he loved it.
