since i mentioned spiderman 2....

[The Reverend Dark Angel]

I love Warner Brothers... they always get a good thing and turn it into crap.

Batman was a great film. It was opening the doors for the darker hero to emerge.

Batman Returns was where WB started its decline. It was aimed more at a teenage audience (lower teens) and given a sexy character to appeal to the hormonally challenged (Which I was a part of at the time) and the adults.

Batman Forever was the turning point. No longer was Batman a dark natured hero, he was now a kid friendly smiling jack in the box in a rubber suit. Too many villians, too many lights, too much crap.

Batman and Robin was where they sunk themselves. Complete shambles. The only thing that was right with this movie was the credits.

Now Burton took on the first two, and as good a director as Burton is I don't think he was really the right choice from the get go. Shumacher handled the next two, but I don't believe that he is to blame for their demise. Yeah the nipples on the batsuit controversay (Why it was I don't know) was a little ridiculous, but hey, everyone wants to add their own flavor to an age old character. But Shumacher is actually in tune with dark natured films (The Lost Boys, 8mm, Phone Booth). I think WB just wanted the wide audience of babbling kids foaming at the mouth with over the top cheap effects and happy go lucky characters. They should look into Alex Proyas.

Now we have Batman Beginnings, taking a year one approach to the whole deal. Christian Bale is playing Bruce Wayne/Batman which is a make or break deal. I've seen some screenshots and this movie seems to be sitting on the fence in terms of light and dark. I doubt that it will be what it needs to be in order to bring Batman back to just being flat out dark and cool. But we still hope.

Now fixing Batman...

Step One: Tell everyone to forget what came before.

Step Two: Take Batman back to being an Urban Myth. Let us see him as an audience from time to time in full clear view, but for the most part keep him in shadow. Don't make him the center point of the movie and definately just leave Gotham to believing that he exists but not entirely knowing that he does.

Step Three: Gotham City needs to get away from the old structures and large monuments on every corner and take on a city feel, like Hong Kong or something.

Step Four: Give Bruce Wayne some damn screen time as a millionaire playboy and veer away from him constantly obsessing over his parents murder when he was 8. We should see him as a visionary in business as well as a slut.

Step Five: Choose the villian carefully. If you want great effects go for Manbat, that story basically writes itself. If you want sleek and sexy do Catwoman again, minus Halle Berry and stupid looking costume. Kate Beckinsale or Olivia Wilde would make a great Catwoman.

Step Six: Keep it younger. We don't want 40 year old Bruce Wayne and Batman with Back Ache. Batman in his mid to late 20's is a good place to start.

Step Seven: Atomosphere, it's a dark movie, keep it that way.

Step Eight: Return the mystery to the movie. Don't reveal why things happened at the beginning of the damn movie, suspense holds attention.

Step Nine: Commishiner James Gordon is skinny and old, like Alan Alda. Introduce Harvey Bullock for the Hard Ass Tough as Nails character and Lt. Montoya for the Logical Empowered Woman character. Find a better Alfred, someone British with quick wit and charm and who doesn't display all of Batman's info on CD's.

Step Ten: Costuming, Batman's costume should be more subtle. Kevlar vest underneath Nylon/Cotton uniform. Catwoman should be sleek and sexy, with a tail and cat like ears. Peguin should be dressed to impress, taking away from his horrid appearance. Joker should look distinguished in purple. Harvey Dent as Two Face should wear only half white and half black suits. etc...

That's my opinion of the Ten Quick Steps To Save Batman. Step Eleven is NO MORE SPINOFFS! But I figured that was obvious.

[SHATOUSHKA]

so i take it you watched the trailer? [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[SHATOUSHKA]

i agree about some of this... i definitely think
they should steer clear of all the glitz and flash,
just because you can have a great movie without it.
hahahaha... you mentioned the 'lights' and i
thought about 'batman and robin' and how there
was so many lights... kinda like a fucking theater
thing.. lmao

i liked the first batman because it was kept
simple. the later movies had too many villains
and it just wasn't necessary. i also think
it was a shame that they did what they did to
the joker... and i WISH they'd introduce
harley quinn... as long as its not some trash
like they did with other females in the batman
movies.

hmmmm... in fact... i think they could easily
do a joker/harley quinn movie and keep batman
in the shadows... which may make you happy and
make me happy... as long as it doesn't fall
back on the same old bs in the other movies.

i definitely think new direction is in order...
and i agree that its possible to fix this whole
batman establishment... to (at very least)
give some much needed credibility back to the
batman 'franchise'.

[The Reverend Dark Angel]

Batman
Wicked Night

Harleen Quinzel once had a bright and promising career as a Pyschologist. Until the death of The Joker sent her over the edge. After murdering one of her patients, her secretary, and vowing revenge on The Batman she was institutionalized at Belle Reve Asylum in Metropolis. She played their game, said all the right things but was still turned down for release. After killing three guards and five doctors she was able to escape the institution. Now in Gotham City a new player has emerged. A femme fatal calling herself Harley Quinn. She along with her band of Joker?s terrorize Gotham City in an effort to bring the Batman forth. While Commishiner James Gordon is having a difficult time keeping up with her criminal acts, the unknown factor, Batman, has begun his own hunt for Harley.

This is just a quick little possibility of the road that could be followed should Harley become a villian. I love Harley and think she would make a fantastic villian so long as she wasn?t the abused side kick of The Joker.

[SHATOUSHKA]

she's always been my favorite [img]smile.gif[/img]