Prisoner's Dilemma

Tonight, I saw the movie, The Dark Knight. It was simply awesome. I'm about to go off on a bit of a rant here (not like Dennis Miller though) and I don't know how it will look afterwards, but we'll see....

My parents immigrated to this country back in 1989. I was five years old. I remember back in India I was a huge fan of He-Man. I know that He-Man was here in America, too, but certainly not on the TV networks that we got with bunny ears when we first came here. But I found a new hero at the time. It was Batman. I used to watch Batman every day. I didn't like Superman, I didn't like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and I definitely didn't like Dick Tracy. I could never put my finger on why I loved Batman so much, but now that I think about it, it really just has to do with the complexity of his character, the daulity of purpose.

I saw Batman and Batman Returns. I liked them okay. At the time, the action was what I was into and as those satisfied me enough. But I never bought Michael Keaton as Batman or Bruce Wayne. A short, normal looking bald man. This is the same reason I can't watch Spiderman (I mean, come on, Tobey McGuire??).

After this, around 1992-1993, Batman The Animated Series (BTAS) started coming on regularly in the afternoon when I came home from school. I can honestly say that this show transformed my love for Batman. This literally is my favorite cartoon show of all time. This was how I always pictured Bruce Wayne and Batman and the villains that he faced. The plots were complicated and very mature. There were literary references littered throughout the shows and tributes paid to the original creators of the Batman comics. BTAS protrayed Bruce Wayne as he was meant to be: a deeply disturbed, dark human being who could only find satisfaction and purpose in crime fighting after what he had been through in his childhood. Bruce Wayne was rarely happy, rarely smiling. Moreover, there was always a sad weakness in him. His vulnerability was always clear. But he still fought the good fight. The villains...what can I say? They too were extremely dark and complex. The Joker's love of tricks and dilemmas, Two-Face's undying grudge and addiction to gambling, The Scarecrow's use of fear and Clay's constantly changing form (both emotional and physical) were always things I understood more and more as I got older. And what BTAS did with the Emmy winning episode where the origins of The Freeze were explained...OH MY GOD! The Freeze ended up being a tragic character, forever frozen due to unrequited love, leading the viewer to have an odd compassion towards him. The topics that were dealt with included choice, destiny, fate, morality, truth, justice, harmony, compassion and love. I loved every minute of it. Moreover, the animation was superb.

After that, there were other movies...Batman Forever and Batman and Robin came out (gag me please). But I never got the same complexity and interest out of those that I did with BTAS, and that's sad. A kid's TV-show beat out the movies in terms of writing and complexity. And there was no way that George Clooney should have ever been a Batman.

Before I watched Batman Begins, I was skeptical. I didn't think the magic of BTAS could ever be captured again. And I am not a big superhero movie fan either. I didn't really enjoy the James Bond flicks and hated Superman. I mean, come on, if you're the man of steel, have superhuman strength and can fly and are faster than a speeding bullet, you'd better be able to save the world no matter what. There was never anything interesting. I stopped watching the James Bond movies after Goldeneye. Yeah, the plot was somewhat interesting, but when he's running from the Russian military on that open runway at the airport with all the soldiers firing AK-47s at him, and he manages to escape because they all miss...I just turned it off. I need a psychological thriller type plot with the action supplementing it. That's what a superhero movie should be.

Then I saw who the cast was for Batman Begins. Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne? Hmm...that seemed relatively interesting. A very versatile actor. He has the style of a Bruce Wayne type, a strong voice, good facial expressions, and can play dark characters. I've been a huge fan since American Psycho. Michael Caine as Alfred? That seems like the perfect casting. Morgan Freeman as Fox? Yeah, that can work too. Gary Oldman as James Gordon? I couldn't have picked it better. Liam Neeson? Ken Watanabe? Oh my God, this could be good. So I watched it.

And let me say, Batman is back!!! BTAS only occasionally referred to the origins of Batman in flashbacks in various episodes, but never had an episode about it. This is the first time, that the origins of Batman were shown on the screen properly. The feeling in my gut that I had when I watched BTAS was back. The villains were complicated, Bruce Wayne himself was deeply troubled. The dark imagery was overwhelming and the adrenaline coursing through me was constant. Plus the layering of the plot and the philosophical allegories were brilliant. The idea of FEAR was brought forth, examined, discussed and then turned upside-down. I really enjoyed it like I hadn't enjoyed a super hero movie in a long time. The acting and cinematography were also superb.

Tonight, I saw The Dark Knight. And I have absolutely nothing to say. It's 2:13 AM as I type this and I still can't sleep. The emotional, psychological, visual and grueling thrillride that was this movie simply cannot be matched. I had high expectations going in. People who had already seen it told me it was ten times better than Batman Begins, and I LOVED Batman Begins. There are times when people can build a movie up too much and it always turns out good but never as good as you expect, so I was cautious. Nevertheless, I was still blown away. The character of the Joker as brought to a whole new level for me. Bruce Wayne continued to develop, and his emotional vulnerability and physical weaknesses became central to the film. I have so much to say, but I just can't say it. It was such a rush. If anyone hasn't seen this movie, then they must. If they were ever fans of Batman, then it's a crime for them to miss this. This and Batman Begins are truly bringing together all of the previous embodiments of Batman and placing truth in front of the audience. That is, what Batman was always meant to be.

I loved the movie.