From what I have seen so far looks pretty good with Christian Bale. Posters are already selling on Ebay and most toy stores have figures and vehicle toys available now even though the film isnt released yet.

Watched "Batman Returns" on TV with my daughter last night. I appreciate the Burton installments but am so ready for a "realistic" take on the character. I think this movie will kick much ass.

RubberBat and his SUV-Woodchipper mobile. :drunk: :drunk:

... granted, a muscle-bound non-actor fighting rubber-suit monsters from outer space in an alley for a minute and a half would make for a much better movie, but I guess we'll have to settle for this one. :rolleyes:

So long as I don't see a Bat-Credit card I'll be freakin happy.
The absence of nipples will be a plus as well.

A bat credit card might be neat for certain situations.

The batmobile looks just as weird in the toy store as the previews. An amardillo at a tractor pull.

The batmobile looks just as weird in the toy store as the previews. An amardillo at a tractor pull.
:lol: Perfect description Terry! Mind if I use it?

The "tractor pull" batmobile aside, I have a few concerns about this film:

1. In the trailers I've seen, there are a few shots that are copied directly from the first Tim Burton Batman. If this director doesn't have anything better to offer, why bother?

2. In my opinion, Michael Caine (who plays Alfred in this film, for those of you who don't already know this) lost his ability to turn in a believable performance somewhere around the time he started co-starring with Sandra Bulloch, Steven Seagal and Mike Myers.

3. I think they've changed too much of the backstory. Or am I the only person that missed that issue of the comic where Bruce Wayne goes to the Himalayas to get trained by Qui-Gon Jinn?

Other than that, it looks better than the last 3 Batman films. I guess we'll find out in June.

:lol: Perfect description Terry! Mind if I use it?

The "tractor pull" batmobile aside, I have a few concerns about this film:

1. In the trailers I've seen, there are a few shots that are copied directly from the first Tim Burton Batman. If this director doesn't have anything better to offer, why bother?

What shots? Just curious.

3. I think they've changed too much of the backstory. Or am I the only person that missed that issue of the comic where Bruce Wayne goes to the Himalayas to get trained by Qui-Gon Jinn?.

What backstory? That's a dramatic problem this movie is attempting to remedy. Bruce Wayne's entire life from the point that his parents are killed to the point that he dons the suit is pretty much entirely blank as far as the comics are concerned. If you're going to tell an origin story with a backstory - then tell the damned thing. Miller came the closest with BATMAN: YEAR ONE. Here, the writers have taken that concept and gone deeper with it.

What shots? Just curious.
It's been a while since I've seen the trailer, but I distinctly remember one shot of Batman coming through a skylight with the cape extended into batwings--which exactly duplicates the scene in Burton's 1989 Batman (Batman crashing through the skylight to save Vicki Vale from The Joker). Sorry, I can't remember the other shots at the moment; I just remember seeing that trailer during the Super Bowl and thinking there were a few shots that were taken directly from Burton's '89 Batman...I could be wrong.

What backstory? That's a dramatic problem this movie is attempting to remedy. Bruce Wayne's entire life from the point that his parents are killed to the point that he dons the suit is pretty much entirely blank as far as the comics are concerned. If you're going to tell an origin story with a backstory - then tellthe damned thing. Miller came the closest with BATMAN: YEAR ONE. Here, the writers have taken that concept and gone deeper with it.
You make a valid point here. But even in Miller's "Year One" it's implied that Bruce Wayne pretty much learned what he needed to learn on his own, and that even before the batsuit he was "testing the waters" by going out in disguise and testing his new skills/equipment in practical circumstances. And there have been flashback scenes in the comics that show a younger Bruce Wayne going to college to study criminal law, science, etc.. Nothing in Batman's history (that I'm aware of) has even suggested he enlisted assistance from a mentor of any kind, let alone some "Tibetan monk". It just struck me as being a little too far outside the boundaries of the character's history, vague as that history may be.

Then again, to be fair I suppose I'd have to admit this is really based only on an opinion I've formed after reading the comics I've read. I'm certainly no expert on Batman, and it's entirely possible this is simply a part of his educational background I hadn't considered.

At some point, either in the comics or one of the novels, it was mentioned that Bruce had traveled around the world training with the best people he could find.
I believe it was that Bruce left in his late teens and didn't return until his mid-twenties.

I wonder where Burton got the visual image of Batman crashing through a skylight with his cape extended into bat-wings? I don't think Burton was the first to use that image. And what a great image it is! ;)


And I don't think I've read a Batman comic since BATMAN: YEAR ONE, so I don't know if there has been much added by the comics in intervening years - but from what I have gleaned from previews and from reading a fairly detailed plot-synopsis, the whole "Tibetan Ninja" thing works visually, thematically and structurally in a very organic way - it explains the focus, the discipline, and the mission (not to mention the black "armor" of Batman's suit) and also sets up Bruce Wayne's initial encounter with Ra's Al Ghul - who plays an important role in the movie's second half. I really think fans and the general audience alike are going to be blown away by this movie.

that image of Bats coming thru the skylight was used in Batman Forever and in Batman and Robin. I think it was when Clooney came down on that dino in the beginning.
I can't recall it being used in Batman Returns, might have been though.

that image of Bats coming thru the skylight was used in Batman Forever and in Batman and Robin. I think it was when Clooney came down on that dino in the beginning.
I can't recall it being used in Batman Returns, might have been though.


Hi Guys,
That scene was also used in Spawn. Remember when Jason Wynn was at the party and Batman crashed through the Skylight. Oops that was Spawn!:p

Don't worry about a few shots being "similar". Certain poses and actions just so perfectly define the character and their history, and there's only so many ways you can shoot them and still remain true to the visual image of same from the comics.

I stand corrected! Thanks for the education, folks! :thumbsup:

Hmmm...nobody disagreed with my comment about Michael Caine... :p

In Batman's revised history it states that Bruce traveled over the world. Enlisting various types of people to teach him what he would need to know for his crime fighting career. I'm not sure if he ever went to tibet but he did study martial arts under some Asian master. This point has been mentioned several times in Batman: The Animated Series as well as in the comics.
I believe this revision to his history was brought up after the Zero Hour miniseries though it may have been after Crisis On Infinite Earths. Just been too long ago to remember correctly.