I had the question asked of me yesterday–“What is your favorite comic book movie?” Which I responded; “Batman Begins.” Which led to the question–“What do think of the old Batman movies?”
I paused to think.
“Too cartoony?”
“No”, I said, “You can’t be too cartoony for a comic book movie.” And I think that is true. If we don’t want to go to a movie that is cartoony–don’t go to a comic book movie, because there is always going to be that element–that is the world the characters live in. The problem comes in to play when the story becomes slapstick and silly. That is what was happening with the Batman franchise, and is what happened with the Superman franchise.Â
And then I continued that I thought the Batman franchise began to go down hill near the end. I really liked the first Batman movie, but it was a different time. I think that Batman begins is pretty close to what is going on in the comics today–the dark, kind of, alternative view–and that was one of the factors that made Batman Begins appealing to me. I also liked the story and thought it within the framework of the story of the Dark Knight.
Vincent J. Murphy says
The answer I always give is “Mask of the Phantasm.” 🙂 That always confuses people. But it is much better than the live action movies.