Obviously, Robert Pattinson was cast for a reason. Namely, that no matter how much you build him up, he's still going to look sickly. That's why you turn to the sexxxy vampire.
Even more obviously, David Fincher's Seven was a model at every level of creation here. The Riddler's brain teaser crimes have in the past generally not made you wonder which severed body parts he has on-hand, but maybe that's changing. To top it off the trailer is scored with one of the few Nirvana songs that's actually as depressing as the stereotype of the band. Someone's betting on there being a demand for meticulously recreated 90's grimdark.
Ironically, the original Seven's release coincided with Batman movies attempting to go back to a campier 60's approach. It didn't really work, because that kind of approach requires a light touch, which Joel Schumacher didn't have. Still, maybe in another 10 years or so.
2 comments:
yeah, this trailer did nothing for me, as well. pattinson, who i've somehow managed to never see, appears to cultivate some kinda permanent state of anemia-tinged dishevelment? not really seeing him as bruce wayne. nor am i seeing colin farrell, of all people, as penguin. now paul dano as riddler? that i can definitely see. after watching him hold his own while going toe-to-toe with daniel day-lewis in 'there will be blood', there's pretty much no twisted role i'd put past him. tho, as you mention, the whole 'darker than dark knight' vibe emanating from the trailer is strongly indicating to that, for me, anyway, this 're-imagining' of the batman will quite possibly have all the appeal that 'joker' had, which is absolutely none. man, remember when 'joker' was such a friggin' sensation? what was that all about?...
anyhow, your post, coincidentally enough just happened to coincide with our re-watching the christopher nolan trilogy. i'd forgotten just how much humor there was in 'batman begins', mostly thanks to michael caine, who we feel was the casting coup of the series - not that christian bale, with his patented patrick bateman smile, doesn't make a perfect on-the-edge caped crusader, but caine's alfred is just one of those 'born to play' type roles, where he serves as some kind of stabilizing influence over an otherwise highly combustible personality...
& then, of course (speaking of schumacher), there's the 'gary oldman piloting the batmobile' sequence, which, goofy as it is, still miraculously works, somehow...
& then, of course, there's the utter perfection of cillian murphy's jonathan crane (who's likely my personal all-time favorite batman villain). not to mention, the brilliantly gorgeous batcave...
but enough. i'll attempt to keep an open mind regarding 'the batman', tho, as was the case with 'joker', i'll be in no hurry to see it. i'm not really big on any movie whose sole purpose seem to be to shock the audience. well, unless it's made by russ meyer...
I like the phrase "anemic dishevelment." Back when I had more coverage in the hair department I achieved that on a pretty regular basis. Not to the same effect, apparently. Maybe you need to be a dark brunette. He's not actually a bad choice as the character, but he's not really a radically different choice from Christian Bale, either (although this is following an interim of Ben Affleck showing up for a paycheck.) Dano's an interesting choice, as I enjoyed him in Little Miss Sunshine, even if turning the Riddler into a John Doe type is a little baffling. Jeffrey Wright, the guy playing Jim Gordon, is quite versatile, and made a great mad scientist in Source Code. I'm waiting to get a look at Andy Serkis as Alfred. Heh. Joker. Talk about taking yourself seriously, seriously. Much as I enjoy the character, the fact that twice as many people have won Oscars for playing the Joker than for playing Hamlet probably tells you more about the Oscars than it does about the Joker or Hamlet.
Michael Caine was kind of a non-traditional pick, since his working class roots show in just about any role he plays. His "old soldier" take on the part seems to have been influential, though, or at least carried over into Gotham. And he's very fun to watch. He and Bale even make a capable comic team at certain points.
I guess goofy isn't always a bad thing. I mean, it's certainly not a dealbreaker for me. And I totally agree on Murphy as the Scarecrow. He has this clammy quality that more than made up for the lack of the burlap 'n' straw costume.
Curiosity will probably get the better of me at some point, but I don't know when that is. Interesting that you cite Meyer as a filmmaker out to shock the audience. Most people would say John Waters, but that's probably wrong. His early stuff seems more geared to his friends in Baltimore, who'd say something like, "Hey, I was at that party. Didn't know John was shooting a movie there."
Post a Comment