Stream-of-consciousness: Batman

I saw The Dark Knight on opening weekend and it's been on my mind since then. I'd really like to see it again since it was so good and I know it's going to go down as one of the masterpieces of comic book-based films. Or, I guess I should say graphic novel-based. There's been a major influx of these kinds of movies over the past decade or so, and let's be honest, there's been a lot of crap (Spiderman 3, anyone?), but a few have stood out as just plain good. Batman Begins was amazing, of course, but in some people's opinion so were the first two Spiderman movies, the second in particular. Spiderman isn't really my thing. Neither is Superman. How boring is Superman, really? He's from another planet where everyone is just like him; he just happened to land on ours and that's why he's special. Wow--he's super strong and can see through walls and fly. How basic. How easy. Batman has always been my superhero of choice, ever since seeing Tim Burton's original movie and its sequel Batman Returns. That particular thread of the franchise quickly went south when they changed directors and stars, but Chris Nolan has more than redeemed it with his two interpretations of the character.

In The Dark Knight, Batman (or the Batman as the citizens of Gotham refer to him in the movie) fights a band of terrorists led by the Joker. In case you haven't seen the movie and drawn the obvious conclusions for yourself or read any article about the film whatsoever, Batman is like the U.S. in this "war on terror" we've been waging for years now--he breaks rules in order to try and beat the bad guys, often putting other people in harm's way for what he feels is the greater good. People die as a result of his actions, or often because of his inaction. In last week's issue of Entertainment Weekly, they did a cover story on The Dark Knight, and this quote from Michael Caine (Alfred the butler) stood out to me:

"Superman is the way America sees itself, but Batman is the way the world sees America."

The great thing about Batman is that there isn't anything super about him--he's just an incredibly wealthy guy with some childhood trauma and nifty gadgets who knows how to kick ass. He's always been a vigilante, but in these films Nolan addresses that more fully and realistically than it's even been addressed before, and when you watch the movies you see Batman for the crazy mofo he really is. The Joker is more obviously out of his mind, but putting on a bat costume to go out and fight crime doesn't exactly scream sanity. I just love how the whole story of Batman, but these movies in particular, blurs the line between good and evil--nothing is black and white in Gotham, it's just all scary as fuck.

To maintain the original intent of my blog (I feel like I haven't typed a bullet in weeks), here is a list of my top five favorite graphic novel-based films:

*The Dark Knight. See above.

*Batman (1989). I love Tim Burton and his interpretation of Batman was the best there was until Nolan decided to give it a shot. His interpretation of the Joker, played by Jack Nicholson, while campier than Heath Ledger's, will hopefully remain as iconic as it's been in the last nearly-20 years, even in face of such a great performance as Ledger's.

*Iron Man. This movie is so good. Ridiculously good. Another message movie about the state of the world and America's role on the global stage, but nothing is shoved down your throat. I have a soft spot for Robert Downey, Jr. and had been waiting for his comeback; this movie was the perfect vehicle for that to happen. He's great in it: charming, funny, sexy, powerful, hott. Yep...two t's for the 43-year old ex-druggie.

*Ghost World. No superhero shenanigans here, but it still counts. I once showed this to a group of friends my freshman year of undergrad and when it was over one of the guys thanked me for wasting two hours of his life. I wouldn't listen to him if I were you, since this movie is great and everyone in it turns in amazing performances, including Thora Birch, Steve Buscemi, and Scarlett Johansson in the first role I'd seen her in. It's slow-moving, so be warned if that's not something you can stand.

*X-Men. I love Cyclops. I love the triangle with him, Wolverine, and Jean Grey. I love, and feel so bad for, Rogue. I love all the different characters and their unique powers. I love the second movie in this trilogy, though the third kind of blew. I haven't seen them in years, but I think I may actually have liked the second the best; I remember crying at the end. Either way, this spot is designated for one of the X-Men movies.