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Batman and robin now?
At 14, I knew Batman Forever was fucking horrible, and at 16 I took my cousins to B&R, expecting a flop. I was astonished by the reality of how awful it actually was. It was a real stab in the heart for someone who grew up with Burton's films, which though disappointing in retrospect, were pretty much my favorite movies as a kid. They relied too heavily on visual effects, and were pretty thin in story, but in 1989 it was a pretty goddamn cool thing to see such a dark depiction of Batman on screen. And Batman Returns still packs a punch. Devito was perfect as the Penguin. Way, way, way too menacing and horrific for any child under 15 (seriously, I remember feeling my spine tingle in the theatre a bit when DeVito was giving his little speech to his penguins) but still a great performance..... but even Returns had a crap plot. Watch it today and tell me you feel differently.
Needless to say, I had given up on the hope of ever seeing a serious, realistic, quality Batman film in 95. Even when previews for Begins were coming up I held onto my doubts. I knee Nolan was damn good, and it features 2 of my favorite actors, but I was not convinced that it wouldn't suck until the credits rolled.
Christopher Nolan, you saved Batman, and gave hope to a jaded pessimist who thought his favorite American hero was dead.
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