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The Dark Knight The Dark Knight General Discussion Thread

Look, I think the reality is that Gunn is a passionate comic book fan, and we all know that comic book fans sometimes have takes that we just don't agree with. Despite how much I disagree with him on Nolan and Burtons films, I still think he's proven to be the best person to lead the new DCU. I loved his Superman film, so he's got my trust. Regardless of whether we agree on every iteration lol.
 
Honestly, I don't think he changed.
These opinions seem to me perfectly in line with the Gunn we know today. I can well imagine that the guy who made films like GOTG and TSS might be bored by Batman '89 and prefer the darkness and wildness of its sequel, or be a little cold to the seriousness of Nolan's films.
I just think that, given his position, he'll show these opinions off a little less and in a less edgy way.

As for Batman, the more I think about it, the more I can imagine Gunn actually going for a version in the vein of Affleck's, a massive guy obsessed with vengeance... but with the huge difference being the response of those around him, being lighter characters like Superman or the Bat-Family. I can see him ironizing Batman without the character himself being ironic, if that makes sense.
Not saying that's my ideal though... but I'm more and more curious about what he got in my mind.
 
Honestly, I don't think he changed.
These opinions seem to me perfectly in line with the Gunn we know today. I can well imagine that the guy who made films like GOTG and TSS might be bored by Batman '89 and prefer the darkness and wildness of its sequel, or be a little cold to the seriousness of Nolan's films.
I just think that, given his position, he'll show these opinions off a little less and in a less edgy way.
I think Gunn has always enjoyed being a bit prickly and maybe a bit edgy in his 'hot takes'. I like the guy, but I see that as a symptom of him being a 'terminally online' type.

I would personally like him to understand that there's room for a lot of differences in this character's interpretations - and it's odd to me that he'd lament Nolan's take when the one he currently supports - Reeves' - is not all that different.
As for Batman, the more I think about it, the more I can imagine Gunn actually going for a version in the vein of Affleck's, a massive guy obsessed with vengeance... but with the huge difference being the response of those around him, being lighter characters like Superman or the Bat-Family. I can see him ironizing Batman without the character himself being ironic, if that makes sense.
Not saying that's my ideal though... but I'm more and more curious about what he got in my mind.
I could also see Gunn feeling that Affleck's Batman on paper and aesthetically is a good starting point for his - all it needs some tweaking to make what he sees as an accurate, definitive Batman. No killing, less bitter, etc. And like you said, with a surrounding group around him to help ground and sand him down when needed.

Gunn also likely sees making the DCU Batman as a pretty simple thing; a Batman who is not conflicted on his goals and knows what he's doing, blue/grey suit, fleshed out Bat-Cave w/ a giant penny and dinosaur, a decent Robin, villains that are fantastical w/ no realism compromises, etc.

It kinda is that simple, too.
 
Honestly, I don't think he changed.
These opinions seem to me perfectly in line with the Gunn we know today. I can well imagine that the guy who made films like GOTG and TSS might be bored by Batman '89 and prefer the darkness and wildness of its sequel, or be a little cold to the seriousness of Nolan's films.
I just think that, given his position, he'll show these opinions off a little less and in a less edgy way.

I was thinking the exact same thing

Gunn is very PR conscious now. In addition to his current position, I think (temporarily) losing his job with GOTG, particularly the reasons why he lost said job, played a part as well.
 
Personally I couldn't give a shiny s*** what Gunn thinks about Batman movies. He would probably criticize Mask of the Phantasm for being too serious, romance heavy and making up a serious love interest that never came from the comics.
 
I would personally like him to understand that there's room for a lot of differences in this character's interpretations - and it's odd to me that he'd lament Nolan's take when the one he currently supports - Reeves' - is not all that different.
They're very different. I love them both, btw. And Tim Burton's Batman, too.
I could also see Gunn feeling that Affleck's Batman on paper and aesthetically is a good starting point for his - all it needs some tweaking to make what he sees as an accurate, definitive Batman. No killing, less bitter, etc. And like you said, with a surrounding group around him to help ground and sand him down when needed.

Gunn also likely sees making the DCU Batman as a pretty simple thing; a Batman who is not conflicted on his goals and knows what he's doing, blue/grey suit, fleshed out Bat-Cave w/ a giant penny and dinosaur, a decent Robin, villains that are fantastical w/ no realism compromises, etc.

It kinda is that simple, too.
I wouldn't make such baseless assumptions, either.

Nolan also openly said that he didn't much care about Batman Returns, which I happen to love.

Doesn't really change my opinion on Nolan.

People / filmmakers I respect don't need to have the same opinions as I on movies.
 
They're very different. I love them both, btw. And Tim Burton's Batman, too.

I wouldn't make such baseless assumptions, either.

Nolan also openly said that he didn't much care about Batman Returns, which I happen to love.

Doesn't really change my opinion on Nolan.

People / filmmakers I respect don't need to have the same opinions as I on movies.
Yeah, I mean, you should see Tarantino's favourite films.
 
While a filmmaker's tastes shouldn't matter in appreciating or not his work, Tarantino's dislike of Fire Walk With Me will never be forgotten... or forgiven. :o

Speaking of tastes, we have this online show here where filmmakers and actors are invited in a video store to talk about the films that have touched them. It's always very interesting, and the latest episode with Gunn sheds light on some of his directorial choices (especially on Superman) or writing habits (when he talks about his childhood).



If you don't know this series yet, I highly recommend it!
Lots of deep dives with a lot of great guests like Nolan, Villeneuve, Cronenberg, Gilliam, etc.
Here's the playlist : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6yqY0TQJgwcSGYD6a2P4YgpHIp-HCzZn
 
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I stirred the pot a bit by bringing up those comments. :horn: But love the convo.

I saw a new interview today with Gunn about Superman where the interviewer talks about how the movie is unabashedly comic booky, and Gunn says he finds it pretentious when comic book films shy away from that. I liked Superman btw, I think there’s a chance I’ll like it even more on a second viewing. But Gunn does make me roll my eyes sometimes. IMO being a gatekeepy comic book fan, snubbing your nose at massive films that got millions of people excited about the character is what ends up feeling even more pretentious. Just had to say it. I just never care for filmmakers bashing other filmmakers. I don’t like it when Tarantino does it either, and I love Tarantino. Nolan made a dry cheeky comment about Returns once, that’s true. But he also always called Burton’s first film visionary and brilliant. That’s the key— he may not even be the biggest fan of Batman 89, but he still understood its importance.

I liked Superman and I dig the Guardians films, so obviously it doesn’t matter and it’s natural for different filmmakers to like different things. But I do think it’s an interesting thing here, because the whole premise of Donner’s Superman movie was the verisimilitude- bringing Superman into our world, ‘You’ll believe a man can fly’, etc. Then Nolan emulated that with his Batman films- with a character honestly even more naturally suited for that type of cinematic representation. So you have all that history with two iconic versions of the characters following that tradition, and now you have the creative figurehead of DC doing the polar opposite- we jump into a world full of metahumans and it’s just Tuesday for the people in this universe. And you absolutely feel the difference in the two approaches. I accept that both are valid. Always have. But I also am aware at the end of the day, which one always has the potential to resonate with me more. It’s not just about “I want my superheroes to be REALISTIC dammit!”— nah, it’s because the whole style of filmmaking is different, and usually more emotionally engrossing for me. Maybe it’s just because I came to these characters through movies and TV first and he clearly was reading comics as a kid. Regardless, we would not be where we are now with the “anything goes” state of this genre that Gunn has made a career playing in without all the key films that paved the way.

Like I said though, ever since Snyder’s universe took off, I’ve been thinking that DC desperately needs a new visionary will try something new and not feel beholden to what worked in the past. So we got that and I think Gunn seems to be the guy for the job, to a T. For better or worse.
 
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I stirred the pot a bit by bringing up those comments. :horn: But love the convo.

I saw a new interview today with Gunn about Superman where the interviewer talks about how the movie is unabashedly comic booky, and Gunn says he finds it pretentious when comic book films shy away from that. I liked Superman btw, I think there’s a chance I’ll like it even more on a second viewing. But Gunn does make me roll my eyes sometimes. IMO being a gatekeepy comic book fan, snubbing your nose at massive films that got millions of people excited about the character is what ends up feeling even more pretentious. Just had to say it. I just never care for filmmakers bashing other filmmakers. I don’t like it when Tarantino does it either, and I love Tarantino. Nolan made a dry cheeky comment about Returns once, that’s true. But he also always called Burton’s first film visionary and brilliant. That’s the key— he may not even be the biggest fan of Batman 89, but he still understood its importance.

I liked Superman for the record and I dig the Guardians films, so obviously it doesn’t matter and it’s natural for different filmmakers to like different things. But I do think it’s an interesting thing here, because the whole premise of Donner’s Superman movie was the verisimilitude- bringing Superman into our world, ‘You’ll believe a man can fly’, etc. Then Nolan emulated that with his Batman films- with a character honestly even more naturally suited for that type of cinematic representation. So you have all that history with two iconic versions of the characters following that tradition, and now you have the creative figurehead of DC doing the polar opposite- we jump into a world full of metahumans and it’s just Tuesday for the people in this universe. And you absolutely feel the difference in the two approaches. I accept that both are valid. Always have. But I also am aware at the end of the day, which one always has the potential to resonate with me more. It’s not just about “I want my superheroes to be REALISTIC dammit!”— nah, it’s because the whole style of filmmaking is different, and usually more emotionally engrossing for me. Maybe it’s just because I came to these characters through movies and TV first and he clearly was reading comics as a kid. Regardless, we would not be where we are now with the “anything goes” state of this genre that Gunn has made a career playing in without all the key films that paved the way.

Like I said though, ever since Snyder’s universe took off, I’ve been thinking that DC desperately needs a new visionary will try something new and not feel beholden to what worked in the past. So we got that and I think Gunn seems to be the guy for the job, to a T. For better or worse.
Okay, yeah, as much as i've been a supporter of Gunns, I can't agree with this take here at all. I think all filmmakers have the right to do their own spin or take on the material. It's what helps separate it from past iterations! The most important thing is to respect the source material, but so long as you do that, A filmmaker should always bring something fresh and new along with it.
 

Oof. I just recently splurged on those collector's versions too. Think I'll have to draw the line here. I already own these movies 4x over lol. They'd probably have my money if there were any new retrospective special features. Looks pretty nice though.
 

Oof. I just recently splurged on those collector's versions too. Think I'll have to draw the line here. I already own these movies 4x over lol. They'd probably have my money if there were any new retrospective special features. Looks pretty nice though.
I'm gonna grab it honestly lol. I didn't get the collectors versions you mentioned, though I came close to. But I'll definitely end up grabbing this. I own them on 4k and Blu ray, but I love these films so much I don't mind spending money one last time on them lol.
 
I'm gonna grab it honestly lol. I didn't get the collectors versions you mentioned, though I came close to. But I'll definitely end up grabbing this. I own them on 4k and Blu ray, but I love these films so much I don't mind spending money one last time on them lol.

It’s a really nice looking set! Feels like a nice continuation of the first collector's Blu ray set. Gotta imagine these movies must be good sellers for WB or they wouldn't double and triple dipping.
 
Bank Robber 3.0 announced... HT really loves making Ledger Joker figures. :hehe:

If I'm getting it, I'll wait for the sculpted hair version. Also, the smeared makeup is not screen accurate from the bank heist scene... :shrug:

 
"I believe what ever doesn't kill you simply makes you......stranger".
 


I gotta say, I know it’s petty to dig up old comments and I know Gunn seems like he’s changed a lot from the days he was constantly sh**posting online especially post-cancellation, but I can’t lie it does kinda bum me out a bit to know that the new architect of DC film has such low opinions of all bunch of my favorite DC films (and is so tragically incorrect :o ). The above NYT list shows that TDK is still to this day very commonly considered a classic, so yeah.

I do think DC needs a fresh voice badly, so maybe in a way it’s a good thing that he views things so differently, but I also hope he at least now recognizes the importance and significance of those films given that he’s inheriting a legacy that they helped build, at least cinematically. It’s subjective at the end of the day and I know both Burton and Nolan are miles away from his sensibilities, but you can still recognize and respect them without them being your favorites.

lol. Imagine hating on Elfman’s Batman theme. Even at the height of my anti-Burton days back in 07-10, I knew the Batman theme was iconic and amazing.

As for “Jack is only playing Jack in makeup”. That’s like saying RDJ only grew a goatee for Tony Stark. Sometimes the actor is so close to the character you don’t have to change much.
 
Okay, yeah, as much as i've been a supporter of Gunns, I can't agree with this take here at all. I think all filmmakers have the right to do their own spin or take on the material. It's what helps separate it from past iterations! The most important thing is to respect the source material, but so long as you do that, A filmmaker should always bring something fresh and new along with it.
I'm a huge fan of Gunn's and I don't agree with Gunn's take on Tim Burton's Batman at all. And that's perfectly fine, and doesn't matter in the slightest.
 
He’s completely wrong, but I enjoy unhinged takes with famous directors (see also Tarantino).

And to be fair; the James Gunn of today would probably be much kinder being on the other side of things. That was the angrier Gunn days.
 
He’s completely wrong, but I enjoy unhinged takes with famous directors (see also Tarantino).

And to be fair; the James Gunn of today would probably be much kinder being on the other side of things. That was the angrier Gunn days.

One would hope, especially being that he just made a movie preaching kindness! :eheh:

But yeah, saying B&R is better than 89...it made me look at the changes to the ending of The Flash a tad differently. Lol.
 

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