Official Blog For Author Thomas McClurg

 

 

     I’ve been laboring over what to make my official first post about and with the arrival of The Dark Knight in theatres I planned on doing a review. Since I plan on doing other reviews in the future, it seemed like a logical place to start, however; after watching the movie and reading a number of other comments and reviews elsewhere, I realized it would be difficult to craft anything singular or unique from my own experience that might warrant any attention at all.

 

     Everything that could be said about it has pretty much already been said in the months of ultra hype leading up to its release along with the heaps of praise afterward. As for myself, I enjoyed it immensely, but it also got me thinking. What happens now?

 

As a fan of comic book movies in general there has been a disturbing trend in several excellent series to kick out a good first movie, an amazing second movie, and then have the third sink to epic lows.

 

     Take X-men for example. The first movie was good and helped spark the continuing comic book craze in Hollywood. When the second movie was released I was absolutely blown away. (The whole Nightcrawler thing was incredibly cool) To this day it is one of my favorite movies, and my expectations for the third movie rose to a stratospheric level. I don’t think I’ve ever been so frustratingly appalled with any other movie the way I was with the third X-men. If you are one of the few people who liked it, please let me know when the doctors figure out what’s wrong you. I kid, I kid…sort of. Anyway the damage has been done, any enjoyment the second movie affords me has been forever tainted by the sheer existence of the third movie. It is truly bittersweet.

 

     The same thing goes for spider man. The first was good. The second was amazing. (possibly the best superhero movie ever) The third…err wasn’t so good. Now I don’t think it was anywhere near as atrocious as the third x-men, but I know a lot of fans were disappointed.

 

     And now we have batman. The celebrated character has had a long and varied relationship with the movies spanning the spectrum from high camp, to Tim Burton dark, back to camp with George Clooney and the bat suit with nipples. (Seriously who thought that would be a good idea?) Aside from the animated version, I’ve seen every one and must say Nolan’s current incarnation is easily my favorite, but now that The Dark Knight has become the monumental smash hit we all knew it would be, what is to be done about the inevitable third film?

     

     At best it seems like the series is in for a step to the side, I’d even be happy with a movie in line with the first one, just to keep my hopes from getting to high, but if series like X-men and Spider man can drift so far off course are we to believe that this new batman is immune? Let’s hope so, until then here is some food for thought on The Dark Knight and its possible future.

 

     #1 Maintain a consistent tone –No more yo-yoing between dark and brooding to campy and cheerful. Nolan’s take, while definitely darker, has a more realistic feel than the gothic setting of Burton’s efforts. The formula works well and should be closely followed. With that as a starting point I believe it places some restrictions on item number two and that is…

 

     #2 Selecting the proper villains – Batman has faced off against a colorful, eclectic cast of antagonists in his career as a crime fighter, but let’s face it, some of them lend themselves more heavily to being either campy or dark. It should also be noted that each of Nolan’s Batman films have had two villains, a primary and secondary. Guessing he will stay true to form for the third installment. Let’s have a look.

 

     The Joker - has been both dark and campy in the comic book series. With Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker being what it is, I can’t see them recasting the role and bringing him back.

 

     Scarecrow - is obviously darker and was an excellent choice for the first film. Gone.

 

     Poison Ivy -  To unrealistic for Nolan’s universe.

 

     Mr. Freeze – Ditto for you, sorry.

 

     Two-face – Loved him in Dark Knight. His future is up in the air as his fate lying on the ground is left somewhat ambiguous, but for now I’m going to say no. (Though if they could work him in I’d be all for it.)

    

     Ra’s al Ghul -  Gone.

 

     Catwoman – An interesting choice. She straddles the fence between villain and anti-heroine, could possibly be added as a love interest for Bruce in the form of Selena Kyle to replace Rachel Dawes. As far as being to campy, the character was unfortunately butchered in the self titled Halle Berry flick which I thankfully never saw, (some movies you don’t need to see to know are awful) was more appropriately done in Batman Returns. Still I think a woman dressed in a skin tight cat outfit might be to far out of bounds for Nolan’s universe, also not grandiose enough in scope to be a follow up to The Joker. Just can’t see Catwoman being anything more than an intriguing nuisance to batman. Potential for the love interest angle though.

 

     Penguin – This is a tough one, but I want to say no for no particular reason. Can’t explain it, the thought just makes my forehead wrinkle.

 

     The Riddler- This is who I’ve got my money on and requires an explanation of its own. Apparently in the most recent batman comics, The Riddler functions as a sort of private detective. With batman now assumed to be a criminal, searching out his identity might become a bigger priority for the people of Gotham City. Enter the Riddler. His detective role coupled with his obsession for riddles, could lead him to fixate on discovering batman’s identity. Perhaps narrowing it down to a list of people he suspects and placing them in some insidious deathtraps his character is famous for as a sort of test. Racking up deaths in his pursuit of the answer, his methods could become increasingly criminal and blah blah blah. This appeals to me for several reasons. In both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, the problem is very macro focused. The former involving an entire city destroyed, the latter involving chaos and murder on a large scale. As a follow up I can see it being a major challenge to top the sadistic performance of the Joker in a way that is believable, which is why a scenario more micro focused on crimes personal or specifically relating to Batman and Bruce Wayne would be a graceful way to maintain the tone as well as open up rich story telling possibilities.

 

     Ventriloquist/Scarface – This is another good choice. A darker character featuring a villain who is either mentally deranged or has a possessed puppet. Lack of super powers makes him a good fit for the realistic universe of Nolan’s. Sadly I’m not all that familiar with how he interacted with Batman or what his crimes were, but from the little I do know, he might be a solid fit.

 

     There are numerous other villains and I wont go into them all, I chose to pick what I considered to be the most well known of Batman’s Rogue’s Gallery.

 

For now I’m going boldly with the Riddler and …someone else.

 

As for Robin fitting in, all I have to say is holy molten mountain of melting moth balls batman I just don’t see it…maybe next time.

 

So what do you think? Have a villain you think should be included in the discussion? I’d be curious to know your thoughts. Meanwhile ill be crossing my fingers until the next release.

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