[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

hmm. I know you're a much bigger DC fan than me, so that's probably why you're so upset about this stuff - or rather, why you're judging it more harshly.

I think JLA looks good. And I have no problem w/ "Icky Thump" haha.

And honestly, Meghan Fox really doesn't bother me. I know everyone is supposed to hate her, but I don't. I thought she was excellent in Jennifer's Body for one thing. And she worked out fine in the recent TMNT movies (which btw, I was like "OMG what are they doing casting her as April????" as TMNT is the big big big comic franchise for me that I've been obsessed w/ my whole life). So I don't know. If she is Poison Ivy - she is NOT who I would have cast (Amy Adams? Emma Stone? Uh, that redhead from Oculus maybe?) but I'm not really upset either. I'll still be interested to see how it works out.

On that note, I watched Dark Knight Rises over the weekend, which I hadn't yet. It was *good* but easily the weakest of the trilogy. I know you're a huge Bane fan. And Bane was good here and interesting, but eh, I just thought that the first two movies were so much... MORE.

Oh, and what was w/ JGL's character being "Robin" at the end? That was kind of shoe-horned no? Like, he wasn't Dick. But we were supposed to conclude he would be Robin? Was there some kind of plan for a Nightwing movie or something that never happened?

Ok, first off, I'm actually not really a Bane fan... not traditionally. I thought he was LAME-O in "Knightfall," and lame-o in most of the incarnations that followed. However, once The Dark Knight Rises came out, I developed a new respect for the character. Nolan's vision was the best thing that ever happened to Bane, and he's been "leveled-up" in the comics as a result.
Nolan had big shoes to fill when Ledger kicked the bucket (RIP), and he needed to bring in someone who posed an equal threat to that of the Joker. Nobody in the Batman universe can really compare to the Joker when it comes to menace and being a perfect psychological match for Batman, but Bane is as close as they come. He is, at least, a PHYSICAL match for Batman... but he's also supposed to be Batman's kind of equal opposite (a "there but for the grace of God goes Batman"), and he was never successfully executed that way in any media until ...Rises.
Nolan needed someone who was, like, BORN to play Bane, and he also needed to revamp the character to turn him into a thing that could conceivably exist in Nolan's hyperrealistic Batman world. He did an EXCELLENT job of this, and Tom Hardy was motherfucking BORN to play Bane, and to have that help launch his career.

So... long winded reply I know, but... I am a post-Nolan Bane fan. Not a "Bane fan." Y'know? The way Hardy carried himself in the movie was just perfect. He studied the vocal patterns of a famous British Gypsy barenuckle boxing champion who was a nasty piece of work, and he made all of his motions and vocal deliveries pitch perfect and loaded with AWESOME MENACE. Loved it!!

Regarding "Robin" ... the answer to all of your questions is "No."
Nolan never intended to bring Robin into his vision. He was adamant about it in fact. The little thing at the end was supposed to just be a kind of inside joke -- a mini meta-moment for fans to giggle about, but nooo!! Everyone had to start speculating about whether JGL was going to be Robin in a solo movie or some shit. Jesus, there has never been a Robin whose name was actually "Robin," for fuck's sake, but people missed that. It was an attempt at knowing humor, that's all.

It's been a while since I've seen the film, but it's the only film in recent memory that I have paid to see twice in the theater. Initially, I liked it more than Batman Begins. But now, I see Batman Begins and TDKR sad beung irrevocably connected. The films need each other. The Dark Knight is clearly the best of the bunch and one of the best goddamn movies ever made if you ask me (or, say, the Internet), and it stands alone. The other two are equally good in my mind.

There was a TON going on in TDKR ... there was obviously a bit of Knightfall, a bit of Dark Knight Returns, and a shitload of No Man's Land. These are three of the most crucial Batman stories of all time. But I don't know how much of the comics you've read so I don't know if it will matter to you.

Anyway, if im a fan of any particular Batman character other than Batman is Joker. He's the perfect villain. Fuck Hannibal Lecter, and fuck the dude from Die Hard and fuck Dr. No. The Joker is archetypal and primal and primordial -- a character without a sub-plot (unless you take the non-canon "origin" stories seriously, which you shouldn't), who solely exists to be the ultimate foil for the ultimate human hero.

The fact that Nolan successfully pulled off (check it): Ra's Al fucking Ghul, Scarecrow, Carmine "the Roman" Falcone, Harvey Dent AND Twi-Face, the BEST JOKER EVER, Talia Al Ghul, BANE and fucking redeemed Catwoman is nothing short of remarkable. Best movie trilogy of all time. Best.

What were we talking about again? Oh yeah, Megan Fox and stupid Gotham City Sirens. WHY IS THAT EVEN AN IDEA?! What do you think the chances are that it will be well-liked and commercially successful? I say there is no chance, goddamnit, and the fact that they're readying this abomination before they even have a Batman movie firmed up is just ABSURD. Affleck wants to quit, why are they fucking doing this? To cash in on a trend obviously. It's not even based on anything.