[That_Guy]

Batman and Robin makes Batman Forever look Oscar worthy.

I had a Batman marathon during the Christmas break but intentionally left out this one.

[Chinpool]

Originally Posted by pixelburp

The funny thing is, if indeed Warner ar going to reboot the franchise again when Nolan moves on to other projects, I can very easily see the tone of the films deliberately shifting back towards the campy end of the spectrum, perhaps even towards the "Batman & Robin" end at worst.

They're not likely to go with another origin story (although the new Spiderman movie is disproving that theory), and bar picking up the Nolanverse from the end of DKR, the only option would be to try another tone / vision. After the dark, 'realistic', adult take on the comics Nolan took, the natural choice would be to go with something a bit more family-friendly...

NO!NO!!! The only family friendly batman that worked was the 66 one (purely for hilarity and ridiculousness). Batman isnt a family friendly character. He hasnt been for the best part of 4 decades now.

[Mark Hamill]

Originally Posted by sxt

Michael Keaton > all other people that have played batman

Kevin Conroy>Michael Keaton>Diedrich Bader>Adam West>>>all other people who have played batman.

[The King of Moo]

Originally Posted by The Great Chinholio

NO!NO!!! The only family friendly batman that worked was the 66 one (purely for hilarity and ridiculousness). Batman isnt a family friendly character. He hasnt been for the best part of 4 decades now.

In fairness, I think Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the cartoon, was a hell of a lot fun, and full of lots of silly 70s style comic craziness, while still feeling Batmanny enough for me, and simultaneously family-friendly.
I don't see that tone translating too well to film though, and I think Warner Bros will avoid anything too campy after Batman & Robin.
It was the first time as a typically uncritical kid that I knew that despite the presence of Batman and lots of special effects, I knew a blockbuster was crap.

[Mark Hamill]

Originally Posted by The Great Chinholio

NO!NO!!! The only family friendly batman that worked was the 66 one (purely for hilarity and ridiculousness). Batman isnt a family friendly character. He hasnt been for the best part of 4 decades now.

Have you heard of Batman: The Brave and the Bold? I have no problem with a more family friendly version of Batman as long as its not insultingly stupid. Batman TBATB was a fantastic show made by people who appreciated the source material, episode "Chill of the Night" is up there with the best of the Animated Series.

[Galvasean]

Didn't zack Snyder acquire the rights to The Dark Knight Returns a while back. I could imagine Hollywood cynically cashing in by making TDKRe a couple of years after TFKRi.

[Chinpool]

I know TBATB but as Moo said it wouldnt translate to a film well.
What would be wrong with the standard batman universe on film? Still dark but not as grounded in realism like Nolans films. Think Arkham Asylum (game or comic) in film terms

[Mark Hamill]

Originally Posted by The Great Chinholio

I know TBATB but as Moo said it wouldnt translate to a film well.
What would be wrong with the standard batman universe on film? Still dark but not as grounded in realism like Nolans films. Think Arkham Asylum (game or comic) in film terms

Split the difference and use the animated series style: family friendly but dark, super-powered villains but with deep, well written storylines.

[Galvasean]

TAS was so well written I found myself feeling empathy for Clayface - a big brown shape shifting man of putty! Obviously, not a character very grounded in reality, but handled with enough sincerity to suspend disbelief.

[DirkVoodoo]

Batman and Batman returns may not be perfect, in fact you could argue that being influenced by the killing joke and the dark knight returns, it could have been better, but he certainly tapped into the darker and more sinister aspect of Batman that wouldn't have been known to the wider audience weened on West's series. Nolan may have raised the bar, but Burton set the tone for what people wanted to see on screen.

Plus, I really think that the Gothic influence evident in Gotham (somewhat lampooned and sullied in the later movies) far surpassed "Batman goes to Chicago" that we saw in the Dark Knight. Hopefully a post Nolan Batman will incorporate some of this and allow for some of the more outlandish rogues to feature.

I agree with all the animated series comments, there was a series that rarely faltered (I also liked Batman Beyond an awful lot and think a live action adaptation done right could be fantastic, let Bale age himself 50 years for the part!) and so many excellent interpretations of characters (Mr. Freeze, Clayface, Scarface and of course Joker) that could fit into a more comic-book setting.

Anyway, I loved BR: Great performances from the supporting cast, Christopher Walken's Max Shrek (who I never appreciated when I was younger) was class and some of the set designs were fantastic (the zoo, downtown Gotham). Plus it spawned an awesome SNES game that I could never beat:

"Women. Nothing surprises me, Chip, except your late mother. Who'd have thought Selina had a brain to damage. Bottom line, she tries to blackmail me, I'll drop her out a higher window. Meantime, I got better fish to fry."

[DirkVoodoo]

Originally Posted by Galvasean

TAS was so well written I found myself feeling empathy for Clayface - a big brown shape shifting man of putty! Obviously, not a character very grounded in reality, but handled with enough sincerity to suspend disbelief.

Gah, beat me to it! I remember saturday morning they used to show TAS and that being a two parter was split over a week. One of the best episodes ever and a stunning piece of tv. Even more stunning to think it's a kids cartoon. What do they watch now? Pokemon?

[DirkVoodoo]

Originally Posted by That_Guy

Batman and Robin makes Batman Forever look Oscar worthy.

I had a Batman marathon during the Christmas break but intentionally left out this one.

The last few miles are the ones that break you. You didn't finish your marathon unless you SUFFERED all the way to the end!

[Chinpool]

Originally Posted by DirkVoodoo

Gah, beat me to it! I remember saturday morning they used to show TAS and that being a two parter was split over a week. One of the best episodes ever and a stunning piece of tv. Even more stunning to think it's a kids cartoon. What do they watch now? Pokemon?

Ben 10 from what ive seen

[krudler]

I think Gotham looked much better in Batman Begins than TDK, in Begins it was a real world city but stylised, with the Narrows section, in TDK its just Chicago, the city itself should be a character in the film like in the Burton movies, the set design is outstanding in that.

[Darko]

Originally Posted by krudler

I think Gotham looked much better in Batman Begins than TDK, in Begins it was a real world city but stylised, with the Narrows section, in TDK its just Chicago, the city itself should be a character in the film like in the Burton movies, the set design is outstanding in that.

The problem with the use of Chicago in TDK is that there was no sense of visual continuity. Gotham just looked completely different and in TDK it was lacking in any real character.button recognized that Gotham is much more than a backdrop, it should be a character in its self and be a reflection on Batman's entire being.

much of the city that they used had been seen in past films. I was watching something recently, cant remember the film but it predates TDK and the location for the truck crash popped up.

The biggest issue with the two films and Gotham is the lack of continuity. The whole Arkham inmates being released and the release of the toxin was completely absent from TDK when it should have been an integral part of the plot.