GOOD NEW MOVIE: THE BATMAN (2022)

The Batman in a contemplative mood

THE BATMAN (2022). Director: Matt Reeves. 

In a Gotham City wracked by corruption and vice, the determined Batman tracks down a serial killer whose victims include the mayor. That's the essentials of the plot of this movie, which turns out to be far better and more entertaining than I would have imagined. Effectively directed by Matt Reeves, The Batman boasts a terrific look -- thanks to cinematographer Greig Fraser and some excellent art direction -- and despite a few variations manages to get into the spirt of the comic books. Michael Giacchino has also contributed a creepy score that adds immeasurably to the picture.

Pattinson as Bruce Wayne

And then there's Robert Pattinson, who plays the Batman and Bruce Wayne and is incredibly intense in the part. One could argue that Pattinson makes absolutely no distinction between Bats and Bruce -- in the comics Wayne did his best to act like a frivolous playboy to keep people from suspecting the truth -- but The Batman makes it clear that Batman is the real person and Bruce is the phony identity. In any case, Pattinson's performance works beautifully. In this movie Batman is so grim that he often scares the very people that he's just saved (as often happened in the comics). 

Pattinson with Zoe Kravitz

There are other good performances as well. Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle (Catwoman); Andy Serkis as Alfred the butler; Paul Dano (of Prisoners) as the Riddler; Jeffrey Wright (of Casino Royale) as Lt. James Gordon; and John Turturro as Carmine Falcone. Colin Farrell makes a weird, unrecognizable Penguin. The film has a deliberate pace -- and one too many anti-climaxes -- but it held my attention, and I have to say I was delighted to see not a trace of camp. Matt Reeves also directed Cloverfield. 

Verdict: The Dark Knight done right. *** 1/4. 

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE FLASHPOINT PARADOX

Eboard vs Barry: Reverse-Flash tries to kill the Flash

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE FLASHPOINT PARADOX (2013 video animated feature). Director: Jay Oliva.

Based on a DC Comics mini-series entitled Flashpoint, this shows what unexpectedly happens when super-speedster the Flash (Barry Allen) goes back in time to prevent his mother's murder at the hands of his nemesis from the future, the Reverse-Flash (Eboard Thane). He has many more years with his mother, but the rippling effect creates a new reality in which Atlantis [ruled by Aquaman] is at war with the Amazons headed by Wonder Woman, with the whole world being slowly decimated by the violent conflict. In this new reality, Bruce Wayne was killed as a boy and it is his father, Thomas Wayne, who is a grizzled, ruthless and middle-aged Batman. And there are other changes as well.  Frankly this adaptation gets a little confusing even if you've read the comics [apparently Aquaman and WW simply have an affair in this version while in the comics they nearly get married], but it has enough exciting moments to hold your attention. Some of the faces look a little too much like what you'd see in anime, and Cary Elwes is perhaps not the best choice to do the voice for Aquaman. C. Thomas Howell is fine as Reverse-Flash, however, as is Justin Chambers as Barry Allen and Kevin McKidd as Batman. One of the most magical moments has the Flash happily traveling at high speed, flying really, across the city at the end.

Verdict: For comics, super-hero and animation fans. ***.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

Tom Hardy as Bane and Christian Bale as Batman

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012). Director: Christopher Nolan.

"You're not living. You're just waiting -- waiting for things to go bad again."

This is the sequel to The Dark Knight and the third in a trilogy of films made by Christopher Nolan about Batman, and probably the worst of the three. Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale) has been laying low since the events of The Dark Knight but has to come out of retirement to take on the threat of Bane (Tom Hardy), a grotesque killer that he thinks is the son of old enemy Ras Al Ghul. Bane not only manages to kidnap and imprison Batman in a hole called the Pit, but takes over Manhattan Island -- uh, I mean Gotham -- and holds everyone hostage with a nuclear bomb that is going to go off eventually whether he detonates it or not. [This leads to a mini-revolution that makes Occupy Wall Street look like a walk in the park.] This a perfectly workable plot and this might have amounted to a thrilling movie if Nolan was content to make a satisfying and exciting action film with good characterizations and acting [which this has for the most part]. Instead Nolan drags his meandering movie out for nearly three hours, has lots and lots of talking and brooding, and fails to craft one single memorable set piece throughout the entire movie -- yes, there is not one really memorable sequence. The Dark Knight, which started out very badly, eventually became compelling and entertaining, but The Dark Knight Rises never really amounts to much despite all the busyness and the pretentious stabs at profundity. Even the Batman comic books have had more meaningful stories than this. Worse, The Dark Knight Rises isn't especially well directed, edited or photographed, and at times you get the impression that the music [Hans Zimmer], as is often the case, is doing most of the work [at keeping the audience awake, for one thing], although even the score is nothing special.

There are some good things, however. There is an unexpected development late in the picture regarding one of the characters which I found to be a genuine surprise [and which I should have seen coming]. The acting is quite good, with Bale making an effective caped crusader, and Michael Caine a strong and sympathetic Alfred. I don't know what to make of the weird voice Tom Hardy uses in his turn as Bane [which could be his normal voice, of course] but it doesn't seem to suit the character. Anne Hathaway is good as Selina Kyle [never referred to as the Catwoman, although that's who she is], although her character is pretty unlikable, and Marion Cotillard [Nine] really scores as Miranda, who is involved in Wayne industries and dallies with Brucie Boy in the bedroom. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is fine as the cop, Blake, who sort of functions as an uncostumed Robin, and there are satisfactory turns from Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Matthew Modine, and others.

Verdict: Pick up a good Batman comic book instead. **.

BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD

BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD  (2010). Director: Brandon Vietti.

Years ago, after the original Robin, Dick Grayson, became an adult and changed his name to Nightwing, DC Comics decided to give Batman/Bruce Wayne a new boy partner in the person of one Jason Todd, who became the new Robin. Only a year or two after introducing the character, the powers-that-be at DC completely changed his origin, in effect creating an entirely different character who never caught on with fans. These same fans also preferred the darker version of Batman, who worked best alone, so Jason Todd was killed off in an effective story arc called "A Death in the Family." Decades later Batman discovered that Jason was alive, but he had become a grim crusader -- Red Hood -- who had no problem murdering his opponents, and even tried to kill Batman. The whole story is told in this entertaining animated feature which features excellent voice performances from Bruce Greenwood as Batman and John Di Maggio as the Joker. Neil Patrick Harris, Jensen Ackles, and Jason Isaacs are also swell as, respectively, Nightwing, Jason Todd, and Bat-opponent Ra's Al Ghul. With fluid animation and a surprisingly moving wind-up, this is actually better than the live-action Batman movies, including Tim Burton's Batman and The Dark Night.

Verdict: One of the most interesting Batman stories ever. ***1/2.

BATMAN (1989)

BATMAN (1989). Director: Tim Burton.

"I am the world's first fully-functioning homicidal artist." -- The Joker.

In Gotham City there are rumors of a bat-like creature preying on criminals. A mobster named Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson) falls into a vat of chemicals while battling this creature -- Batman (Michael Keaton) -- and turns into the grotesque Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker, who causes numerous deaths by poisoning various cosmetics and household supplies. Batman must then stop his nemesis from not only slaughtering thousands of Gothamites at a celebration, but must rescue his lady love, reporter Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) from the Joker at a climax in a cathedral. Batman, whose human dramatics are awkwardly written and played, is more a campy black comedy than anything else, and is a bit slow and dull to boot. The movie is overlong and over-produced, although it gets points for its striking scenic design if little else. Keaton is miscast, and Nicholson walks off with the movie, although his psychotic Joker is never really scary. There are some moments that are dumber than anything in the old Batman serials. The climax, which may or may not have been intended as a homage to Vertigo's bell tower sequence, is stretched out to a tedious degree. Jack Palance and Michael Gough are good as hoodlum Grissom and Alfred the butler, respectively.

Verdict: All too typical of movies that pay more attention to production design and FX than they do to story and character. **.

BATMAN AND ROBIN (1949)

BATMAN AND ROBIN 1949 15-chapter Columbia serial. Director: Spencer Bennet. 

Batman (Robert Lowery) and Robin (John Duncan) cross wits and figurative swords with a criminal mastermind known only as the Wizard. The suspects for his real identity are numerous: the grumpy old Professor Hammil (William Fawcett) who seems to be crippled but can attach himself to a certain energy device; Dunn, the skulking private eye (Michael Whalen); radio announcer Barry Brown (Rick Vallin), who always seems to know what everyone is up to ahead of time; or Carter (Leonard Penn), Hammil's unctuous butler. [The Wizard's voice appears to be dubbed by Gerald Mohr.] The relatively colorless Jane Adams plays photographer Vicki Vale, who has a crooked brother named Jimmy. Lyle Talbot plays Commissioner Gordon. The Wizard employs such devices as a remote control machine that can stop cars and trains in their tracks, and another machine that turns him invisible to wreak more havoc. Robert Lowery makes an okay Batman/Bruce Wayne, and 26-year-old John Duncan is fine and credible as an adult Robin. The near-operatic theme music is also quite memorable. 

Verdict: Suspenseful and fun. ***.

BATMAN SERIAL

BATMAN (15-chapter Columbia serial/1943). Director: Lambert Hillyer. 

"Don't be absurd! That simpering idiot could never be the Batman!" -- Dr. Daka. 

"Another Batman killed, eh? I hope that is the last of them." -- Ditto. 

Batman (Lewis Wilson) and Robin (Douglas Croft) tangle with the members of the League of the New Order, who are after supplies of radium for their special gun -- and worse -- an atom disintegrator. The League consists of American traitors being led by Japanese spy Dr. Tito Daka (J. Carrol Naish), who has a brain machine that turns men -- and women -- into slaves, as well as two pet gators [Nojo-nojo and Soko-soko] waiting hungrily beneath a trap door in his interesting headquarters (which is located inside a chamber of horrors). The league has a getaway car that cleverly changes color via the use of a special gas, and at one point Daka employs poisoned cigarettes to off some of his enemies. An amusing scene has a Japanese man in suspended animation arrive in a case to deliver a brief message and then die. Bruce Wayne's friend Linda Page (Shirley Patterson) gets involved when her wrongly accused Uncle Marty (Gus Glassmire) gets out of jail and becomes one of Daka's first mind-slaves. The Batman -- the article is always used in classic fashion -- works out of a "Bat's Cave" and leaves a bat insignia on the foreheads of thugs in the manner of pulp [and serial hero] the Spider. Wilson and Croft are fine as Bruce/Batman and Dick/Robin, and William Austin is excellent and amusing as their plucky butler Alfred. Charles Middleton -- Ming the Merciless himself -- shows up in a sympathetic role of the old miner, Ken Colton, illustrating Middleton's versatility. Shirley Patterson is swell; under the name Shawn Smith she appeared in such nifty items as It, The Terror from Beyond Space, World Without End and The Land Unknown. While it may not be considered his best performance and he is hardly Japanese, J. Carrol Naish is terrific as Daka and seems to be having a lot of fun as well. The fisticuffs in the film don't compare to the well-choreographed fight scenes in Republic's cliffhangers, but they get better as the serial proceeds. There are some nifty cliffhangers, including a descending freight elevator in chapter 7, and closing walls with spikes -- even as Linda faces a mind-blowout -- in chapter 13. Lee Zahler's dramatic theme music is also memorable. The "Bat's Cave" of this serial was later carried over and put in the comics, as was the secret entrance to it inside a grandfather's clock. Alfred in the comics was made thinner to look more like William Austin. 

Verdict: Fast-paced and atmospheric for the most part, this captures some of the flavor of the comics of the period. ***.

THE DARK KNIGHT

THE DARK KNIGHT (2008). Director: Christopher Nolan.

During the first half of this very long movie I was thinking how much more entertaining the average cliffhanger serial from the forties is than The Dark Knight. With low-budgets and decidedly low-tech, those old serials had better-choreographed fight and action scenes than this movie does. The Dark Knight is slow and disjointed, badly-edited or badly-written or both -- and director Christopher Nolan isn't much help -- but luckily the movie picks up tremendously in the second half and sends the audience home fairly happy. I don't mind that The Dark Knight is intense and serious (if not exactly intellectual) but I wish it had been more fun and had a few more thrilling action sequences. The only thing that comes close is when Batman saves a woman who's been shoved off of a building, but this doesn't last very long. There's nothing in here like the climax of the otherwise moronic Batman and Robin with George Clooney.

Still the movie is saved by two excellent sequences late in the picture. In the first The Joker plants bombs on two ferries -- one with innocent Gotham citizens aboard, the other with criminals -- and tells each ferry that they can save themselves by using a switch to blow up the other ferry before midnight. Diabolical. (Although it seems odd that no one on the non-criminal ferry reminds the other passengers that there are also cops and guards on board the ferry with the crooks.) The other memorable sequence is a suspenseful climax with Two-Face, Batman, Jim Gordon, and his family where Two-Face holds a gun to Gordon's terrified little boy as The Batman waits to make his move.

The most dynamic performance in the film comes not from The Batman's Christian Bale (who's fine) or The Joker's Heath Ledger (who's vastly over-rated) but from the Harvey Dent/Two-Face of Aaron Eckhart. Ledger tries too hard for a more subdued Jim Carrey kind of approach, over-using those flicks of the tongue; he's not bad, just not that memorable. I was more impressed with Michael Caine's Alfred, as well as Morgan Freeman as Lucius, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon, and Eric Roberts as hood Moroni. Maggie Gyllenhaal is interesting casting in that she's not the "babe" you would think they'd cast in a movie like this, but she's undeniably effective in her own quiet way.

Although too long and slow, The Dark Knight has some good effects and amusing, even moving and surprising moments, to make it a good, if highly imperfect Batman epic. I have to say that it isn't quite as mindless as those great old serials, or at least it attempts to have a little more on its mind.

Verdict: You can't keep a good bat down. ***.

THE BATMAN VS DRACULA

THE BATMAN VS DRACULA (2005). Director: Michael Goguen.

This is a feature-length animated film using the latest incarnation of The Batman from the WB's recent cartoon series. Bruce Wayne is no longer a pretty boy, but attractive in an average way. Butler Alfred Pennysworth is a bit on the uppity side. Although updated versions of both The Penguin and The Joker take part in the action, Batman's main adversary is no less than Dracula himself, whose remains somehow wound up in an underground cavern of Gotham cemetery. [Dracula is voiced none too well by actor Peter Stormare; Rino Romano is fine as Batman/Bruce.] Reporter Vicky Vale is the love interest and damsel in distress. While this has some exciting scenes and some fluid animation, it's still a fairly standard comic book adventure.

Verdict: For fans of The Batman only. **1/2.