I see BATS!!

This is a rather well delayed article. One that I wanted to write shortly after the watching movie. I was rather busy during that time and still am. So after a conversation with Lisa a.k.a Bohemian Hobo, I thought that I would just sit myself and finish this. So here it goes…About six months ago I watched a movie trailer depicting a caped crusader of the dark that I had been familiar with since I started my comic collection back in '86. Bonafide, intelligent, rich and nocturnal - The Dark Knight was my favourite hero. He did not have any special powers but he had an array of cool gadgets, a slick car, an awesome costume and a gothic lordiness to his poise. Some of my favourites were Frank Miller's Return of the Dark Knight, Alan Moore's Killing Joke, Starlin and O'Niel's Death in the Family, and let's not forget Morrison's ever infamous Arkham Asylum.

Finally a long awaited Batman movie with a sense of equilibrium was here and there I was on opening day at the cinema buying my tickets, popcorn and soda after a fast-food dinner.

It was a refreshing new look. Christian Bale with his somewhat mundane style and rather insipid smile played the Corinthian Bruce with just. A pale rich kid who witnesses the death of his parents as a child consequently maturing into a rueful adult. I like the path that Nolan and Goyer took with the sagely intellect Ra's Al-Ghul being a major influence in Bruce's life. This paves great possibilities for sequels.

Some may say that the first half of the movie was rather long and wearisome, not enough action and yet this is by far the best of the five Batman movies. I would like to set the record straight that first and foremost Batman Begins is not in anyway connected to the last four Batman movies. This is a whole new movie altogether. Tim Burton did his part and now it is time to place him on your trophy shelf alongside other great series like Alien, Star Wars and Star Trek. So you should expect the Joker to show-up grinning with malice in the sequel. My second point - this is not a Schwarzenegger movie. There is a storyline. In fact – I felt that this particular tale was more of an introduction to those of you who are unfamiliar with the Batman that comic book fans all over have grow to like in the last two decades.

There was no twist nor was there any real brilliance in the storyline and yet it was executed magnificently. The gadgets were way too cool and it felt like Goyer and Nolan may have pushed it just a tad bit much but they never crossed the line of impossible. They kept thing real in all its movie splendour. Casting Michael Caine as Alfred, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox and Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon was simply brilliant. These are actors that can take simple small character and elevate the entire movie to a whole different level

So, who were the mavericks behind this production?
Director Christopher Nolan and writer David S. Goyer. I can’t seem to pinpoint their motivation and most of their inspiration. It seems to me that they took on the job simply because it was Batman and though neither drew experience from comic book I was very impressed at how well they executed this project. Comic fans were entertained and this is an achievement simply because this is one very unforgiving audience.

There was one let down. One that I must voice as it was and is to me a huge influence to any good movie – Soundtrack. I missed Danny Elfman’s soundtrack. It was definitely the Batman soundtrack, and still is.

One review wrote: “This is a story of the Dark Knight, not the Caped Crusade"

"Why do we fall? So that we might better learn to pick ourselves up."

Superman Returns

It rather hard to believe that comics are actually making such an impact on the silver screen today and just about every comicbook character is making their mark in Hollywood. Since the 1978 release of Superman: The Movie, we have been most fortunate to see Batman, The X-Men, Constantine, DareDevil, Elektra, Flash as well as improved versions of the Hulk, Spiderman and Punisher. Even the less afluent comic titles such as Blade, Darkman and Dick Tracy saw themselves to the silver screen. This year alone we will be visited by Batman and The Fantastic Four. And if you can stomach the rather sick and sinister world of Frank Miller, dip you fingers into Sin City.

Of course, we have most certainly come a long way from the late Christopher Reeves and his infamous red underware. His four Superman movies made such a big impact in the late seventies and early eighties that almost every successful suicide jumpper was tagged "They believed they they could fly after watching Superman". Tabloids rioted against television and cinema influence on the public saying things like "It is not logical that a person can actuall fly like Superman" and "He wore a Superman outfit and jumped from the 22nd floor". So why didn't anybody put on the cowl and cape of Gotham's vigilante protector and say "I see BATS!!"

There was even a point in time when Hollywood avoided comicbook heroes as production cost was high and revenues were not justifiable. Of course Nicholas Hammond floating off the wall did not give credence to the term "Wall Crawler". Nevertheless technology made its impact with the release of X-Men in 2000 and gave Spiderman a second chance in 2002. Even their storylines are being adapted and Sin City made the boldest move by making a comic adaptation. They literally took the comicbooks and used it as the storyboard.

The Man of Steel is BACK!!

Superman is one of the most exploited comicbook character and it is only inevitable that someone is going to revive him sooner or later. Innitial talks in the mid-nineties had Nicholas Cage lined up as the next Man of Steel. I puked, I nearly choked to death when I read the article. Since then for almost a decade fans debated as to which actor would best fit the role.

As a kid, I watched episodes of the fifties television production of Superman when the slightly overweight George Reeves in his late thirties played the role. Then Christopher Reeves revived the characher from 1978 through 1987 and it entertained us for a decade. Then in 1993 television series took a turn an made a soap opera of the Man of Steel with Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher in the lead roles of Lois & Clark. It didn't end there. Smallville took over in 2001 showing unrecorded exploits of Clark Kent and Lex Luthor when they were still homeboys and in turn destroying the actual timeline and storyline created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. Even John Byrne's more human version in the six part comicbook series did not distort Clark Kent's history to such a catastrophical proportion. Last but not least let us not forget the countless animated series that followed all of these.

Next year we look forward to yet another Superman. Scheduled for release on June 30th, Superman Returns introduces Brandon Routh as the new Man of Steel, Kate Bosworth as Lios Lane and Kevin Spacey as his arch nemesis Lex Luthor. Hugh Jackman and James Marden from the X-Men have also been casted for the roles of Jonathan Kent and Richard White respectively. However, they were not the only ones roped in from the X-Men. Writer, director, producer Bryan Singer has also joined the team.

So far not much information has been released about this movie. However, what I did gather is that Superman had been away for several years and Lex Luthor has had the time to wreck havoc. Lois have moved on with her life leaving Clark in the distant memory of the past. The new costume does not have the same provocative red that it used to have. Creating a new image, presumably a more realistic and possibly darker side of Superman. His ever famous insignia is no longer a print on spandex. Of course it too has to follow the times, so it looks like Superman found a way to mould his "S" and used superglue to stick it on his chest. I would say that Brandon Routh has a hugh pair of shoes to fill seeing that this is not Superman's first appearance on the big screen. Also taking the role of Superman means having to live up to a standard and image set by the late Christopher Reeves whom many have accepted as a living version of Superman. Reeves is legendary for his charisma, his personal approach to acting and his resiliance when an accident left him paralyzed for life. Believe me a lot of people will be comparing the both of them.

Nevertheless, with a cast line up like this and Singer leading them, how not to anticipate this revival. I believe that Superman Returns would be a good movie to look forward to in 2006 and I say that Brandon Routh is a far better choice than the semi balding Nicholas Cage.

Live On Cape Crusader.

Return of The Shit

Thursday, 19th of May 2005.

Today was the official release of Star Wars Episode III: Return of the Sith.

After a rather Bollywood like approach towards the last Star Wars episode, I was hoping on the possibility that George Lucas was going through a phase after a very, very hard bump on his head.

Five years ago Episode I: The Phantom Menace got me all excited in anticipation to the completion of one of the greatest trilogy I had ever watched. Of course most of us already knew what the ending of this trilogy was going to be, but like most I too needed an excuse to waste some money at the cinemas buying tickets, popcorn, soda, a fastfood dinner after and like most Star Wars fans worldwide, I was planning to do this several times for each episode. So at 8am on the first day that tickets were available I was in line along with about sixty other Star Wars fans. We cheered when the cinema manager turned the lights on, we cheered when the shutters came up and we cheered when the trailer played on the video wall. Three days later the same group and more were waiting for the shutters to allow us entry to the long anticipated prequel of an epic trilogy that most of us grew up with. Darth Vader sat on the same row as I and two storm troopers sat somewhere in the back along side a small band of light saber waving Jedies. It was good and I am glad to say that my friends and I came out of the cinema feeling very good. There were new characters, new kinds of transports that sounded like an old Fort Model T and most gratifying was the new more menacing villain - Darth Maul. Qui Gon Jin was killed by Darth Maul. Obiwan Kenobi avenged him. The Naboo queen was saved. The battle scenes were great. Anakin was annoying and is obviously recognised by all, including Senator Palpatine and Queen Amidala. We enjoyed the movie. It was simple and amazing and corny and coy. Yes, we enjoyed the movie along with the company of 300 plus Starwars fans. It was Good.

2003 came and so did EP2. The well overated and over anticipated sequel was here after a long 2 years wait. Star Wars fans came out of the woodwork again resulting in soaring sales figures for movie tickets, popcorn, soda and fastfood. The anticipation alone was gnawing at us like raveneous sewer rats as advertisiments and movie trailers flashed across the big screen. Then the lights went out and so did the chattering. This was the moment we were all waititng for. Anakin was now grow up and is falling in love with Padme who didn't look as interesting as she did as the queen. The young Jedi learns rage with the death of his mother. He feels constrained by his mentor and the Jedi council. The empire sees a war coming but cannot seem to figure out what is happening. A battle scene where Yoda gets to show that "size matters not" and a warrior he is. Anakin has an emotional rift every five minutes in the movie. So many more characters were introduced and much more villains. Lots of cool robots, fighters, transports and large large technologically driven buildings. It was chaotic. Everybody on screen and off screen were confused. Then there was the Bollywood scene short of coconut trees.

2005 came and I was not every excited anymore. I cannot and will not forgive Lucas for allowing Anakin and Padme to roll down the grassy knoll with Hindustan influenced music in the background. However, everybody deserves a second chance and so I watched the trailer for the final installation. It was promising. It was promising. I might just forgive him if he delivers... might.

So the day came. I bought my tickets, a bag of popcorn, a cup of soda and I ate at McDonalds while waiting for showtime. When the words "A long, long time ago in a galaxy far away..." appeared on the screen, I felt a rush of anticipation in my viens and I was excited. There were more fighters, and more transports and now even more battleships. Anakin is now married to his childhood love and is now more than ever in emotional turmoil. Cancellor Palpatine turns pruny upon unleashing his powers. Mace Windu dies. The Jedies are assasinated. Anakin is knighted Darth Vader by Darth Sidious and both Darth Dokku and Darth Grievious dies. Too many Darth moments pass as Anakin slaughters young cute light saber weilding padawans. He then turns against his master and Anakin looses his arms and legs. Yoda, Obiwan and Organa go into exile. Yoda now has the secret to immortality. This was probably the story's draft - Anakin is in love, he is frustrated, now he is pissed, now he is Vader, now he is on the drakside, he slays young padawans, he slays defenceless bad breath ugly politicians, he looses his limbs, he dawns the black costume and he is Darth Vader as we all know him. Now add lots of CG, cool costumes, blasters, fighters, battleships, et-cetera, et-cetera, et-cetera. Send it to Post.

This was even more chaotic than the last. In the end, it felt like Lucas had diarrhoea and was rushing off to the toilet. I loved it and hated it at the same time.

Too much technology. That was the problem.

Lucas had too much to choose from and too much more that he could do. You know what made the first trilogy such an epic? A simple storyline, a corny script and character focus. Yes, character focus. There were just too many new faces, new toys and new places. Lucas was linking everything and anything that could be linked to the point that they did not make sense. Here were some of the things that did not make sense to me when I linked both trilogies:

• Did anyone realise Ben Kenobi did not recognise both C3PO and R2D2 in Episode 4? How could he when both the droids were there with him as Anakin grew into a Jedi and when he turned sides?
• What happened to the rocket boosters, little laser gun and all the other cool gadgets that were installed into R2D2? R2 did not have any of these in later years.
• What happen to all that technology that everyone had? Coruscant was a monument. It would take the detruction of a civilisation for them to have lost it.
• Did the Death Star really take that long to be built?
• Why did Jedies in the past have a better fashion statement?

So many questions I have but as Yoda said, "Clear you mind of questions."

All in all I did enjoy the movie. Really I did. Just not as part of a movie epic that begun almost 30 years ago. This trilogy was great... on its own. I think it would have been the epic movie we all envisioned if he focused on a smaller number of characters and not make this his ultimate showcase of movie technology. We already know what he can do and has done with ILM. Lucas should have just sat down and told this story as how he did back in 1977 - a simple story about a boy, growing up and facing the challenges of the world around him.

- 'nuff said -