Not the most subtle of titles, I know (quite ominous as well, isn't it?). The quote is actually part of the lyrics to a song by The Kills called "Kissy Kissy". If you haven't listened to The Kills, you should do so right away before you fail completely in my eyes (like that would actually be an incentive...but seriously, listen to them, they're a fine band). Anyway, the use of that particular lyric is not coincidental. Besides the fact that that particular Kills song is quite catchy - perhaps it should've been called "Catchy Catchy" instead hehe, that passage from the song is very fitting considering the fact I haven't written a blog post in 8 bloody months (I haven't suddenly become a woman and we haven't been plunged into a new war either, don't worry).
The other reason is that a post concerning director Christopher Nolan's excellent Batman movies has always been on my mind, from the moment I started this blog. As my friends will attest, my passion for these movies (as well as the character himself) could be said to often border on the obsessive. I've always had a fondness for the character, from the days I used to watch the Batman Animated Series in the 90's. They were my first exposure to the character. Then there were Tim Burton's movies, "Batman" (1989) and "Batman Returns" (1992). Even though I recognised the characters in the movies, I can't say I was ever really into them. Penguin was over the top, commissioner Gordon was laughably underused and useless, Batman seemed distant and Catwoman...well actually, Catwoman was fine, in more ways than one (apart from the supernatural side of the character within Burton's universe). It's clear Burton wanted to tell his own, distinctive take on the character, but I've never really been into his style as a director and that's probably one of the reasons I don't really like his batmovies (there's also more specific reasons, such as Batman being and out and out executioner, as well as the personal nuance his relationship with the Joker gets). I don't hate them either, so I guess the best way I could describe my feelings toward them would be "rather indifferent". But it's no doubt that the movies were revolutionary for the character...they were, after all, his first steps into the world of Hollywood. Then came Joel Schumacher's two movies, "Batman Forever" and "Batman & Robin" and, well...the less said about them, the better. Here's why: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkTHtWX7CCY
Anyway, even as a young boy I couldn't help but be disappointed in those movies. By that time the animated series were no longer being televised either, so my passion for Batman was left hanging aimlessly in the background. I still had contact with the character, in the form of the Batman Beyond TV show, but it wasn't really the same, even though that was a great show. And then, in 2005, I heard news that a new Batman movie was released, but my interest in Batman movies was non-existent. I had seen some bits of footage on TV, but I wasn't terribly impressed. I hadn't even heard of Christopher Nolan either. That 2005 movie was "Batman Begins", but I didn't get to see it until three years later. The year 2008, the year "The Dark Knight" was released. Once again, my indifference was initially prevalent: I had no idea a new Batman movie was coming out that year, much less a continuation of "Batman Begins". [INTERLUDE] Because repeatedly writing down the entire names of these movies is becoming a chore, I will henceforth proceed to refer to them by their abbreviated versions, namely BB (Batman Begins), TDK (The Dark Knight) and TDKR (The Dark Knight Rises).[/INTERLUDE] I first heard about TDK from a friend who was enthusiastic about it and had also seen BB beforehand. His enthusiasm did nothing to influence my indifference however, but I still decided to take him up on his invitation to see the movie when it came out in our country. I had also heard of Heath Ledger's tragic passing in the meantime, but that wasn't on my mind when I actually got to see the movie.
Long story short, TDK is what brought Batman back into my consciousness, stronger than ever. Perhaps my low expectations, my diminished interest in the character, the rather bleak emotional sequence I was going through back then is to blame. Perhaps it's a combination of these reasons. And perhaps it's also because it was a damn fine movie (read: it definitely is). It was certainly the best cinematic experience of my life so far (more on this in a future blog post). Needless to say, I watched BB shortly afterwards and was thoroughly impressed as well. This trilogy was what brought back my dormant love for the old 90's cartoon, as well as a new-found interest in comic books (which I wasn't really into before). I haven't actually become an avid comic book fan in the meanwhile, but I definitely have a much more active interest in them, as well as a genuine appreciation for graphic novels (especially the ones about Batman, obviously), which are sometimes underrated.
These movies were also my first glimpse into the world of Christopher Nolan. One of the best directors out there at present, he's been delivering quality movies throughout his short career so far (beginning with 1998's "Following" up to 2012's "The Dark Knight Rises"). Now that his Batman trilogy is done, it will be interesting to see what project he chooses to do next. The end of the trilogy also gives me the chance to bring this blog back to life. I had initially planned on this post being solely about TDK, as my intention is to cover each of Nolan's three batmovies in individual posts. I decided against this because I really want to re-watch each movie before making my posts about them (even though I've probably watched them too many times by now). I plan on getting these particular posts done until the end of the year, even though my plans do not always come to fruition. My passion for these movies will ensure that I do make an effort though and the fact that I'll be moving towards actually analysing and talking about the movies themselves will make things way more interesting, I assure you. Whether this post about my history with the character will be relevant in the context of those future posts, I will leave it for you to decide (although, as you may have noticed, I do have a tendency of making more general and boring posts following a long hiatus from the blogging lands).
For now, I will leave you with the thoughts of a friend of mine who recently watched the entire trilogy: "[...]I think I haven't appreciated a movie as much as this in a long while. This movie is great and important and almost perfect and I'm saddened when I think that I won't be seeing something as good for a long time. It is impossible for me to care about another superhero movie in the near future and it is (probably) impossible for another director to reach the heights Nolan has reached. Right now, I am pleased, but sad at the same time."
PS: Like I said at the beginning of this post, I had always planned on writing about Nolan's movies, but it was only a week ago that these thoughts truly gathered steam again. I had never thought I would actually see the day, but a course at my university about comic books is where I was reminded of the brilliance of The Dark Knight (it all seems to come back to that movie). Like Bruce Wayne in TDKR, I was waiting for something to hasten my return...in that sense, watching TDK again was my Bane (not literally, of course). Also, feminists, please don't take that joke at the beginning out of context. Thank you.
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