Saw The Dark Knight last night...

Batman the movie didn't start the current genre of superhero films. What other similar-type films came out in that era? Ditto for Superman, which I still consider maybe the best superhero (the term "comic book movie" has too many bad connotations) film of all time. Next to Batman Begins, which was more about an edgy - almost crazy, certainly obsessed - guy who happened to put on a costume in the second half of the movie.

And of course, Batman and Robin killed the superhero movie. And coming a year after the abomination that was Independence Day and in the same year as the utter embarrassment that was The Lost World, the whole fantasy genre was in big trouble.

It frankly took the pre-release hype for Phantom menace to remind studios that fantasy films still had a place. Who was to know it would be helped by the superior first Matrix movie in reviving the genre?

In the wake of studios wanting their own piece of the geek pie, Lord of the Rings got greenlit, X-Men finally went into production fullbore, and now we have these great summers of enjoyable fantasy films instead of the tripe we were fed through much of the 1990s.

So . . . it's likely more accurate to say that X-Men (released in 2000) revived the superhero film, and the first Spider-Man movie really kicked the whole superhero movie era into overdrive.

As for the Joker . . . . reprints of The Killing Joke are available at your corner bookstore. I recommend it highly. And not a BS recommendation like those comic book catalogs when the first batman film was coming out in 1989 gave every expensive Batman book "Highest Possible Recommendation!!" status. I found out that was a load when I bought "greatest Batman stories ever told."

Anyway, Joker fans should buy Killing Joke, written by Alan Moore when h was at the height of his godlike powers at DC. Perhaps the best Joker story ever. And while Joker notes that his past is "multiple choice," this one is pretty definitive.

He's a failed comedian, true. Who teetered toward insanity when his pregnant wife died in a freak home accident, then lost it after falling into chemicals that ravaged his face. He's not funny unless high body counts amuse you. He's no comedian unless you think indiscriminate killing is a joke. Dude's best depictions have shown him to be a clever guy, who uses that cleverness to figure out ways to kill as many people as possible.

If this new film captures that, I'll be the guy in the back of the theater grinning and giggling with ghoulish delight.

The Burton Batmans were movies I enjoyed, and still enjoy. Jack makes me laugh even now, and DeVito's weird and unexpected take on the Penguin worked for me.

And the thing is, most press coverage at the time was all about how Burton was going for a grittier Batman, how people who remembered only the 1960s TV show (take a bow, DarkTower!) were going to be shocked. And it was hailed as adding a bit of "realism" to the "comic-book movie" genre. Aside, of course, from Joker shooting down the Batwing with a revolver.

They were very Burton, taking place in a realm he created, but still with some roots in the real. The press didn't know fully what to make of it, since all they really knew of Burton up to then was Beetlejuice.

 

I was about to post something else, but instead I will simply point out that Piotr nailed it. You are at the height of your own powers there, my friend.

 

Excellent post, Piotr, but since this is a message board I gotta disagree on two points...

1) "X-Men" was the movie that kicked the superhero genre into overdrive, not "Spider-Man". The film that really revived the genre was "Blade", which came out in 1998. It wasn't as big a success as X-Men and Spider-Man, but it did well enough on a modest budget to make studios think twice about scrapping superhero projects. "X-Men" was like the patient bloting upright in the hospital bed, but "Blade" was the patient slowly opening his eyes after being in a coma.
2) I kind of liked the part in "Batman" where the Joker shoots down the Batwing -- but only because the revolver was one of those giant long-barreled Bugs Bunny guns. It was just something I could see the Joker pulling out in the comics.
I will second, third, umpteenth your recommendation on "The Killing Joke", though. One of the best bat-stories ever written. Also helps that it was drawn by Brian Bolland, who is one of my favorite artists ever.

 

1.) Heath Ledger will win an Oscar. I'm calling my shot (bold, huh? Hahahahahaha). It will be just like Javier Bardem last year. Some performances are so beyond amazing, they're locks.

2.) I agree with some of you above. Batman Begins blows away the Tim Burton-Michael Keaton Batman. No contest.

3.) The thing I like is that the last movie (and this one from what I see in the previews) stays true to the comic - It's a dark comic. Batman is not some cute, happy, cheery, puppy-dog comic book character (gosh, my old comic book nerd in me is re-emerging). He has always been dark.

 

Of course, you're right. Batman in 1989 didn't start the "current" genre. But after Batman came out and made mucho bank, it seemed studios started going after properties to make into huge blockbuster movies - some comic book fare (The Punisher, Dick Tracy, TMNT), some TV shows/cartoons (Flintstones, Casper). I read an article, this is back in mid-90s I think, and it basically traced a lot of films like Spawn, The Phantom, The Shadow, The Crow, Judge Dredd, Steel, The Mask (these off the top of my head) back to the success Batman generated in 1989.

p.s. - great post, btw, piotr.

 

Overall Piotr that was a solid post, but I can't disagree more with you on these two points:

Independence Day was a great film and still holds up well 12 years later. That movie really launched Will Smith into another level. Sure, Bad Boys was a fun filled action flick, but once ID4 went wide, there was no stopping him.
Now, I know there were parts of that flick that sucked major ass (Jeff Goldblum’s father, anything with Jeff Goldblum’s boss, Vivica A Fox), but I dare you to find me a movie that has come closer to making an alien invasion seem so real and so fun without boring the audience members to tears.
Oh, and by the way, that film made $306 million on a $75 million budget. Safe to say I’m not the only one who enjoyed it.

X-Men may have made studio execs more comfortable with the idea of superhero movies, but Spider-Man takes the cake on this one. Before that movie was made, comic book films rarely if ever struck accord with such a piece of mainstream media. Spider-man opened doors never before thought possible with its massive opening and without it, there’d be no Hulk movie, no Hulk sequel, no Superman Returns, no Iron Man, and no revival of the Batman franchise.
But, if you want to get technical, Meteor Man came out before Spider-man, so I could you can say that had an effect as well.

 

I'm an Adam West Batman fan, so the campier the better ... thus, the Jack Nicholson Joker will always be a winner for me.

And by the way, Dark Tower, it was 'where does he get those wonderful toys.'

 

I think it has to do with the fact that a great comic book ("Watchmen" for instance) is great in part because each frame has small details that would be impossible to capture in a movie setting.

 

If movies based on comic books tend not to do well, could someone explain the Spider-Man series to me?

 

So apparently, The Dark Knight has joined up with ESPN to bring us the trailer every commercial break. Which, you know, doesn't get OLD or anything...

Anyway, I haven't seen any of the Batman movies (not a big fan of comic books, even though I was dragged to see Spiderman 2 and I'll admit it didn't make me want to gouge my eyes out) but this one has enough intrigue to it, looks like it might have an actual storyline and could be a passable movie. I may actually part with my cash bucks this weekend and go see it.

For those of you who are hardcore Batman fans, which movies would you recommend I see before this one? (This is especially directed at those of you who have seen this movie already.) Are there any parts of the storyline I might not understand if I haven't seen any of the movies that came before it?

 

Batman Begins would be a good way to start.