The Dark Knight

[rwarn17588]

quote:Originally posted by joiei

I'll pass on this one.  They are trying to make batman something that he wasn't when i was a kid reading the comic books.  All of this dark subplot, it didn't happen then.  I don't really care about Heath Ledger being super in his role, it was not what Batman was about when I was a kid. Things were so much simpler then.

Hmmm. You're either long in the tooth, or you're a touch ignorant about Batman's history.

Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns," which serves as the template for the current dark and grim film, was published in 1986. So it ain't new.

Also, the Batman of the 1930s was a real beast. He'd kill people, shoot guns, and generally do the vicious vigilante bit decades before "Dirty Harry." Really unsettling stuff.

Batman admittedly turned campy in the 1950s and '60s, but started to turn back into the brooding Dark Knight again in the early 1970s.

Which isn't really a stretch. If your parents were shot the death in front of you as a child  and you vowed to devote the rest of your life to terrorizing criminals, you've got some issues.

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by joiei

I'll pass on this one.  They are trying to make batman something that he wasn't when i was a kid reading the comic books.  All of this dark subplot, it didn't happen then.  I don't really care about Heath Ledger being super in his role, it was not what Batman was about when I was a kid. Things were so much simpler then.

Like Rwarn mentioned above, Batman has always been a dark character. Other than the parody that was the Adam West Batman, it has always been this way. When he first came out he used guns and was known for torture, assault and murder or criminals which he felt justified. You say things were simpler back then and I believe "Find a criminal and shoot him" is pretty simple.

I assume you know Superman isn't supposed to fly either, right?

[waterboy]

I was a Batman fan in the 50's/60's. He was a dark brooding figure. Even the comic itself was dark blues & blacks. His villains were creepy and his technology was cool. We all knew Superman could best the Batman, but he would pay a price for it, and the Batman was within the realm of possibility. Superman was not.

Didn't the original writer advise on this film?

[sgrizzle]

Bob Kane (the man credited with Batman's creation) consulted on the original Tim Burton picture but it was the creator of the Joker who consulted on this film.