![]() When they take the mask off, you can see them mining for substance in real time. The two of them both seem to be fully committed to the wavelengths of the movies they’re in, and these movies share a certain dreary worldview. Now, though, Pattinson offers some stiff competition on a relative scale. If I had to pick one performance from all of those, the trophy goes to Bale by a mile, if only because his brand of intense screen presence always dominates the frame. Meanwhile, Affleck and Bale don’t strike me as the types of people who like to have their meticulous work compared to anyone in the same frame. Then again, it’s hard to imagine that Clooney and Kilmer (who has limited speech abilities) would want to wade back into a franchise that tarnished both of their careers and didn’t give them much to do as actors. Is it any surprise that, of the other Burton-Schumacher Batmen, it’s only Keaton who has been asked back into the fold? He might not be the best big screen Batman, but he set a high standard and a unique worldview that no other contemporary performer has been able to quite match.ĮRIC KOHN: No, it’s not a surprise that Keaton has been invited back into the Batman EU for the multiverse plot of “The Flash,” though given the deft manner in which “Spider-Man: No Way Home” addressed the range of actors who played the web-slinger by putting them all back to work, I wouldn’t be surprised if the DC team is kicking themselves over not coming up with this concept first. “Batman Returns” ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection It’s, to use an often overused term, iconic. (Small moment to stop and ponder the unquestionably funniest scene in any Batman movie.) Keaton offered a combination of superheroic standoffishness and hard-won “wait, he’s into bats?” winking that the latest iterations have mostly forgotten. If he looks a little bemused during the more serious elements of the film (which is also, somehow, one of the more cartoonish modern entries in Batman lore), that checks out if Keaton is amused, we all can be. Being known for his comedy chops may have been initially seen as a black mark against Keaton, but it automatically builds in a new layer to the whole thing. Burton’s film was, at the time, dinged for being too dark, but Keaton (and top-billed co-star Jack Nicholson) added real humor to the thing. Keaton wasn’t a popular choice for the role, given that his then-current Hollywood brand was mostly “funny guy,” but the heat off of Burton’s 1988 “Beetlejuice,” which saw Keaton basically playing a superhero villain in a haunted house comedy freakfest, helped shift what the industry thought he was capable of.Īnd Keaton is indeed very capable in the role, moving between playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne and moody superhero Batman with relative ease. Perhaps that’s why when I think “movie Batman,” it’s Michael Keaton who still springs to mind, even after decades of brand-new Batmen lighting up the big screen. ![]() KATE ERBLAND: It’s possible I am misremembering this clearly essential part of my own childhood, but stuck inside my brain is a distinct memory of going to see Burton’s 1989 “Batman” - 126 minutes, a very dark PG-13 outing - as a small child. ![]() And, with yet another Batman poised to swoop into theaters, it’s time to consider the inevitable question: which is the best big screen Batman, and why? Ahead, IndieWire’s own film team attempts to come to a reasonable answer. “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” Warner Bros/DC Comics/Kobal/REX/ShutterstockĮxisting both firmly inside the well-trod Batman we already know (orphaned, goth, haunted, very angry indeed) and outside the confines of the DCEU (no, The Flash and Wonder Woman never show up better yet, there’s not a single moment in this grim crime epic where there’s even the possibility that they might), Reeves’ take on the crime-fighting superhero might not be reinventing the wheel, but that’s never been the point of the Batman mythos.īut no matter the seeming repetitiveness of the beloved character’s cinematic oeuvre, at least each actor who has taken up the latex suit has brought their own bent to the material. Affleck’s Batman has never gotten his very solo outing, but with the long-awaited release of Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” a whole new Bruce Wayne gets to spread his wings: Robert Pattinson. ‘The Penguin’ Teaser: Colin Farrell Is a Mob Boss Bent on Revenge in ‘Batman’ SpinoffĮnter: Batfleck (Ben Affleck), who took up the mantle for a pair of films (“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” “Justice League”) and seemingly endless cameos in other DC outings, even prepping his own standalone film, which never quite took flight.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |