Topic Video Question
Added 2022-03-08 02:06:00 +0000 UTCWhat is your favorite Batman film and why?
Comments
There is a tension in good Batman stories between whimsy and darkness. On one hand, he's in costume against costumed adversaries that commit themed crimes. On the other, he is a violent vigilante facing off against murderers. Mask of the Phantasm (1993) captures this tension better than any other Batman film to date. It walks that line between silly and serious perfectly, never the goofy 60s TV show, but also never the almost military feel of the Christopher Nolan trilogy. Importantly, Batman keeps his idealistic code against killing that the live-action movies typically omit. The voice acting -- especially Mark Hamill's Joker -- is also top-notch. Although I don't think it's the best film in which Batman appears, I think it's the best Batman film.
Derek H.
2022-03-08 15:14:58 +0000 UTCI haven't seen new The Batman yet, so I can't say anything about that film. My personal favourite is Tim Burton's Batman Returns. I really don't mind the films nearly caricaturesque style. While Michael Keaton is admittedly not the best Batman character ever in existence, I simply love the villains Dany deVito (Penguin) and Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) for their sheer crazyness. By this occasion I'd also like to mention the TV series Gotham which I think is undeservedly underappreciated. This series factually reconciled me with Batman lore which I always had some problems with because of its dark depressive undertone. Since watching the show, the actors Robert Owl Taylor and Cory Michael Smith completely own the characters Penguin and Enigma, respectively. At least that is how it is for me. Again, the villains are much more fun and appealing in this one than the character of Batman himself.
Laro
2022-03-08 11:21:13 +0000 UTCBatman (1989) - I find Jack Nicholson's joker is just so compelling to watch plus I think the Prince sound track really works for it and sets this one apart from the later films. I also think they really nail the Gotham vibe with the look and feel of the city.
Ross Skilton
2022-03-08 10:25:41 +0000 UTCFor all of its flaws, I have to go with The Dark Knight. I’m of the mind that no one has yet to capture the full complexity of Batman—the dark pathology of someone so scarred by the murder of his parents that he takes on the visage of a bat and devotes his life to fighting crime. Filmmakers are content to portray him as merely a man who channels his torment into superheroism ( I have not seen the new Batman). Nolan is no different. In Batman Begins, he exalts in the heroism of Batman. He’s presented as a holy redeemer, a dark angel that has come to cleanse Gotham City of crime, and to make Bruce Wayne whole again. He might as well be giving benediction to the city; no ambiguous elements to his nature are introduced. In The Dark Knight, Batman is more or less the same, and he remains that way. He has no arc, and Christian Bale flatly plays him as a dour man who is all business. But the film, of course, introduces the Joker, and while Nolan falters with Batman, he gets his greatest enemy incredibly right. Heath Ledger fulfills the terrifying promise of who the Joker is, giving him all the dark dimensions that previous iterations could only hint at. He’s a man in ghoulish makeup who gleefully murders for a punchline, a kamikaze psycho who believes in nothing but anarchy. He’s the most vital, full-blooded character in the trilogy, the only one to break free of Nolan’s rigid conception (characters don’t come off as real people in Nolan films so much as totems of a given philosophy, such as fear, pain, chance, and order). And he livens up Bale’s Batman, at least when they’re together. In the justly celebrated interrogation scene, we see the complex, yin-and-yang relationship between them laid bare. The Joker is determined to break Batman, to bring out the darkness that he knows is there. And for one thrilling moment, we see an aspect of Batman that no one’s dared to show, the worst of what he could be: a violent, fascist bully determined to make criminals feel his pain. Nolan, unfortunately, doesn’t follow through on this for the rest of the movie. Batman isn’t remotely tempted to go so dark in order to beat the Joker. But The Dark Knight remains the best Batman movie because it shows most clearly what the stakes would be for a city if it were terrorized by a psychopath in clown makeup and protected by a damaged man dressed as a bat. It makes what could be ridiculous into something that feels thrillingly real.
Bennett Oliver
2022-03-08 05:49:44 +0000 UTCBatman Returns. Outside of it being my favorite Batman film, it is also my favorite film from Tim Burton next to Sweeney Todd. Tonally it is as quirky as any Burton film gets while also finding a perfect balance of political satire and film noir. Danny DeVito's Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman are an excellent pairing as villains, given their impulsive, animalistic natures while also being victims of Gotham's ruling class. Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne's complicated relationship adds dimension to both characters. Additionally, it's just simply a beautiful film to look at from the dark blue cinematography to the gothic production design. And of course, who could forget Danny Elfman's iconic score!
Stephen
2022-03-08 03:24:18 +0000 UTCThe Dark Knight is the movie I enjoyed watching the most. I feel the essential conflict of Batman is the balance between chaos and order. The Joker representing chaos and Batman representing order. I wish there was a movie that more fully expressed the dynamic there. I was glad The Batman started introducing criticisms of the hero for being an ineffective fascistic entity. That's really the thing about Batman that should be his downfall. I don't think we've seen that fully articulated but The Dark Knight came the closest. It is like an anti action movie though. The best parts are the dialogue and the action scenes are bad.
Arthur Augustyn
2022-03-08 03:02:08 +0000 UTCProbably the 1989 Batman. It is by no means a masterpiece, but it’s the one I rewatch the most. I think Tim Burton’s visual style is a great match with Gotham and all of its characters, it feels more like a halloween/horror movie than any of the other films (excluding Batman 2 of course) and yet it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Danny Elfman’s score also adds so much to the esthetics of Gotham. Can’t imagine the movie without that sound.
Mees
2022-03-08 02:35:22 +0000 UTCMask of The Phantasm: When I close my eyes and think Batman Bruce Tim’s version is what comes to mind. It’s just a combo of everything that makes Batman great. The playfulness, the pastiche, the moodiness. This takes all of that and makes it just sooo cinematic. Its just so awesome aesthetically. It’s like a Warner Bros gangster movie mixed with a Warner Bros looney toon cartoon, and then a little German expressionism to boot. All of the things that make Bruce Wayne tick, his weird hang ups, his past is weaved in such a resonant way. The phantasm is such a great foil for him, Mark Hamel is always awesome as the Joker, But the icing on the cake is the Shirley Walker score it makes this hour 15 quaint little thing feel so grandiose and epic.
jared Clarke
2022-03-08 02:25:22 +0000 UTCArkham City because I can play it and the combat is amazing.
Wolfman Brandon
2022-03-08 02:21:21 +0000 UTC
