Ben Affleck...The New Batman

Well, tonight the successor to Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne has been announced. None other than Ben Affleck. Yup, you read right...Ben Affleck. The guy who swore he'd never play a superhero again after his time as Daredevil is playing a superhero....again. I honestly am surprised and quite disappointed.

After all the rumors were given and false hope that Christian Bale himself would return, we get Affleck. Now, I respect him as a politician and a director, but in no way as an actor. I don't find his acting to be appealing. When I see him acting I seem to see the real him and not the character he portrays. Now, I'm sure some of you are thinking, "Oh Nick, give him a chance! I'm sure he will surprise you and end up being your favorite." And to that, I would simply reply with "HA!" The guy plays practically the same character in all his movies. No thanks.

I feel this to be a poor decision mainly because I know it's going to be a Superman film with Batman in it. This is a sequel to Man of Steel. So, what I keep thinking to myself is that the suits and the studio behind the film want to have it appeal to Batman fans. "Hey, let's put Batman in here so the people who hate Superman can still see the movie! It will make them happy seeing Batman, and will make us happy with ticket sales." Now, I know that sounds a bit farfetched but I can't think of any other reason why they would just add him in there and slap Affleck in the part. Couldn't a little more effort be done? I mean, for fuck sake...Just make it a Superman movie. Don't add Batman in it. It's like, could you imagine having Superman in a Batman film? Maybe in one of the two Schumacher films, but not the others!

I hate to say it, but I'm not going to see this movie, in theaters anyway. I'm fine with the most recent Batman trilogy and will enjoy watching the films again and again. I don't need to see my favorite superhero just be an addition and played by an actor I despise.....

The Dark Knight Trilogy

Well, I finally got it! The Dark Knight Trilogy on Blu-ray and I've got to say, it's fucking awesome! It's funny how there was a time when I was totally against the whole rebooting of Batman. Yes, I hated 1997's Batman & Robin with a passion, but I guess I just wasn't ready for another Batman movie let alone one that would restart everything. I boycotted seeing Batman Begins and The Dark Knight in theaters. I was uninterested in the fact that Bruce Wayne's origins of the Dark Knight was going to be told. Man, what a mistake that was!!! After seeing The Dark Knight on DVD and actually enjoying what I have seen, it brought my interest to watching Batman Begins and although I didn't like Begins that much, I did regret not seeing the movies in theaters. But, live and learn I guess.

Now, when Rises came out, I was really into this series. I'm a bit of a late bloomer I know, but I'm glad I caught on this new vision of Batman when Rises came out. I was waiting for years, reading about new things and who the main villain was going to be in the movie. Was it going to be Riddler? Clayface? Black Mask? My thoughts and opinions on the next villain kept changing and changing. One time it was a huge rumor that Johnny Depp was going to be the new Riddler. I thought that might have worked. But it got to the point where everyone thought the Riddler was going to be the next villain. I remember a lot of fan fiction, especially here on deviantART, had campaigns with Riddler on the poster and rather than the film being called The Dark Knight Rises, the movie would have the title of Gotham City. Anyway,  after Heath Ledger's performance I knew it would be difficult to top that. How on Earth could they make a villain more menacing and evil than the soulless Joker? Well, when months of speculation finally passed, I was actually pleased to hear that Bane would be the next villain. Now, Bane, a strong, powerful, smart villain is known as the man that broke Batman's back in the comics. He was fighting Batman and with his classic like, "I WILL BREAK YOU!" Broke Batman's back and left him for dead. Of course, Batman comes back after months if not years of healing and retraining.

This version of Bane was not one that survived off venom or anything like that. He didn't have any tubes or gigantic large muscles. The Bane seen in the disastrous Batman & Robin was gone. This Bane was going to be something new. Something realistic and something violent and massive and deadly towards the Batman. By the way, why they ever made Bane a henchmen/idiot in Batman & Robin I will never know. Ugh, best left forgotten. The new Bane, played by British actor Tom Hardy was indeed Batman's match. Even more so than the Joker! Where the Joker fucked with Batman's head and used him mentally, Bane is Batman's equal and is physically his match if not more so. The final film in this new trilogy is by far my favorite.

Now, going back to this series as a whole, the Dark Knight trilogy is something you all have to see at least once. It is very real and in my opinion doesn't even fall under your typical "superhero" movie in the sense that everything is resolved and the world is saved and we all go home with a smile on our face (save for the Joker). This movie series depicts the beginning of the hero and his rise to protecting the city, to his almost defeat by the Joker and utter isolation from society for eight years, to his rising from the abyss and showing that evil can never win and Batman will always be there to protect the innocent from the ruthless and corrupt. I highly recommend getting this trilogy on Blu-ray and see it with an open mind. Don't compare it to the Batman films of the past as you will not get a connection save for the obvious characters. This is a fresh new look on Batman and while I enjoy the other movies, these are the most entertaining and realistic. 

Nolan's Batman...THE ONE PROBLEM!!!

First off, I've got to say that I am an avid fan of Christopher Nolan's version of Batman. I have been waiting forever for the final chapter of his series to hit theaters and man was I not disappointed! The Dark Knight Rises is by far my favorite of the three and speaking as someone who saw the movie five times...you know you don't have to question my loyalty for the series. The realistic approach brought on by Nolan has not always been my favorite. But after seeing The Dark Knight, his version of Batman really works in it's own way and the series has become standalone. Now, that all being said let's begin. Now, Batman has a lot of villains to deal with. Some of them are a challenge mentally such as The Joker, or physically, such as Bane. They all threaten Gotham and his city. But, under all that, what about the smaller crime that takes place in Gotham? Remember how in the beginning of Tim Burton's Batman there is a scene of a family being robbed by thugs in the streets and then Batman confronts the robbers? Granted, the family was already robbed and Batman didn't beat of the robbers until after the fact. Well, Nolan's Batman it seems wouldn't really have time for that. He seems to just focus on the bigger picture. Now, that is not a bad thing, of course the large criminals need to be faced, however I just wish there was a little more focus of the little people. However, I've also come to realize that the use of realism to this character that Nolan brought, also proves that one man can't do everything. He can't stop all crime while he is sleeping or being in bed with someone. He can only do the best of his ability. In The Dark Knight Rises, Batman comes back just to take care of Bane and that's about it. I mean, yes there are some more details in there than just Bane, but that is basically the reason he has returned. During those eight years he has been out of the suit, crime stills occurs. I just wonder what has gone on in the streets of Gotham while Batman was away. The city needs Batman. He has been there for all of them, even if he is not able to do every little thing. However, sometimes a superhero in a realistic world can also backfire I guess. Bruce Wayne's short time as Batman has taken a lot out of him. He was almost broken to the point of deep depression. He lost Rachel, lost his company, lost his reputation, and almost lost his life. However, he did press on to protect the city of Gotham overall. So, I guess you could say that Christopher Nolan's version of Batman was the generic savour of Gotham City. He was just a man and he dealt with the main issues rather than the little ones as well. Now, I have got to give Nolan credit for the fact that he does address the issue of the presense of Batman. In the beginning of The Dark Knight, you will notice a thug about to pull a knight on a driver. Looking up at the sky, he notices the Bat Signal and says, "No man. I don't like tonight!" The driver responds, "What are you superstitious? You have better chances of winning the power ball than running into him." This is exactly my point. It is rare to see Batman in this Nolan universe. Or when Gordon has the signal and Ramirez says, "He still hasn't shown up?" "He often doesn't." "Why wouldn't he come?" "Hopefully, because he's busy." That is also a good reasoning as to why he can't be everywhere. But, that being said, Batman is a watchful protector and should be everywhere. This is the only problem I have with this version of Batman. He can only do so much but he isn't Batman for all that long.