For me, Batman is the quintessential fantasy.
When i discovered comic books, Batman was my first. It was Frank Miller. And it was the Dark Night. And the art was beautiful. Like nothing i had seen. Rough and angular and harsh. And the story line reintroduced Batman as a psychotic vigilante. Just a titch away from the anarchy of the Joker. And the reality we see is that Batman and Joker are just the same. And they need each other.
So my rant ... i can appreciate many forms of Batman over the years. Adam West, super gay and campy. Michael Keaton with his less then broad shoulders but uncanny ability to capture the psychosis of Bruce Wayne to match the psychosis of Jack Nicholson. But Christian Bale's intensity rang the most true for me. The psychosis bubbling under the surface. The brute force and driven need to right wrongs.
And as a side note, no one can ever, ever touch Heath Ledger's Joker. Ever. EVER. He was the Joker. Period. End if story.
But to my rant ... The new Batman , the older Batman, that faces off against Superman (a story line i never got into, btw) is Ben Affleck. i die a little inside each time i say that.
It isn't like when Keaton donned the cape. It was odd to think of. But nothing on film had been established yet. The only comparison was Burt Ward and pow zoom zing. And he pulled it off. But it was taken to the next level by Bale.
And Affleck sucks. Not one movie of his have i liked - well as a leading man. A horrible actor.
No intensity. Nothing boiling under the surface. No depth. Which means one thing ... This incarnation of Batman will be the worst. Flat. Much like Superman and his apple pie goodness that i never got into. No amount of cgi, dark broodiness brought to the script, advertising or a flat cheated Wonder Woman will make him better.
The only redeeming thing i can say is ... Thank God for reboots!
I love reading your blogs, your rants, thoughts, musings, and ramblings.... so much is said between the words that you either intend or not to share... it's as if I'm opening a present every time I read them. The gift, being able to know you just a bit more.
ReplyDeleteI agree Affleck sucks hairy smelly stinky wrinkly balls. He has no on screen charisma to draw anyone in... no personality to like nor dislike, he's bland.
I have to disagree with the apple pie goodness of superman being flat but that's simply a personal taste... not a fact. I quite enjoy the goody, integral, boy scout super hero... why? because in My own life, no man, and I do mean no man, has ever been that. No man has loved deep enough to 'fly around earth making time go backwards' to save Me. (ok ok that whole thing is so unbelievably impossible and flawed about the movies... but it serves the point)
I've met brooding men, men with 'hero' complexes, men who struggle with inner demons and turmoil, men who all in all are psychotic with good intentions. Now, I love these men. I am fascinated by them, in a psychological way, and in the way every woman is naturally drawn to the 'bad boy'.
I've never met, however, a man who honest to goodness was a good boy. I suppose that's because as humans we are never really good. We are born depraved and must struggle to be good. So the fact that there's a super hero who was born good and stays true to that.... has always been a draw for Me.
I would like My desert to be a slice of homemade apple pie, alongside a sliver of dark, better than sex, chocolate cake.... A threesome, Superman, Batman, and Me... lol.
And now, all I can imagine is you, in a batsuit, standing broodingly on My balcony, hand extended. Do I dare? MMM, I think I do :)