Batman

The Dark Knight

  • Title: The Dark Knight
  • IMDB: link

“Why… so… serious?”

In a summer of super heroes and villains both on screen and off screen The Dark Knight rises above and knocks all of them off the charts. This film will stand the test of time going darker and deeper into a world of crime and punishment than anybody ever has for a comic book film. The Dark Crusader (Christian Bale) holds on to what little humanity he has through his close companions Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), if not for them he would loose all compassion and be swallowed into his own mask of self-pity and battling ego.

Alfred, is life time friend and butler, keeps it real, he reminds Bruce Wayne from time to time that causalities occur and it’s his role as Batman to endure and move on. Sometimes you have to accept the loss of a few innocents to save the masses. Lucius is Bruce’s right-hand man at both running his company and building him the most recent vehicles, uniforms and gadgets to keep Batman safe on the streets of Gotham. Lucius also does a great job of reminding Bruce when he is crossing over into territory that goes too far in the name of saving Gotham City and its residence.

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Batman Begin Again!

  • Title: Batman Begins
  • IMDB: link

Diehard fans of The Dark Knight have long since given up on a cinematic treatment that gives us a definitive Batman.  We all long to forget Adam West’s camp-o-rama, Burton’s Batman was just weird and violated some central tenets of the Batman mythology, and Schumacher?  Well, the less said the better. (Two words: Bat Nipples).  So news that Christopher Nolan was giving us a Batman: Year One tinged reboot of the series was met with equal anticipation and dread.  Nolan is certainly a genre-fan favorite, considering the success of Memento, but he’s otherwise unproven, and the superhero film is not an easy one to get right.

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Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

  • Title: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
  • IMDB: link

“I need it to be different now.  I know I made a promise, but I didn’t see this coming.  I didn’t count on being happy.”

The return of Bruce Wayne’s (Kevin Conroy) lost love (Dana Delany) to Gotham and the arrival of a new mysterious villain are the ingredients to what is, at least so far, the best Batman film ever made.

Taking pieces from both Frank Miller’s Barman: Year One and Mike Barr’s Batman: Year Two this animated flick gives us a new villain for Batman to fight and ghosts from the past which must be confronted.  The best scenes of the film involve the flashbacks of Bruce Wayne weighing his new feelings for Andrea (Delany) versus the vow he made to his parents.  Of all the Batman movies made Mask of the Phantasm does the best job of capturing the continually tortured soul of Bruce Wayne on screen.

Also included are flashbacks scenes of Bruce Wayne’s first night out as a vigilante, with missed success (something missing from Batman Begins) and a look back at the first moment Bruce Wayne donned his famous costume in one of the best Batman scenes ever.  Neither Tim Burton nor Christopher Nolan have given us anything as perfect in this simple shadow non-reveal reveal of Batman’s first appearance.

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Batman: A Comic History

When you’ve been around almost seven decades you tend to rack up quite the history.  Not to fear Bat-fans!  Your pals here at RazorFine have got you set for Bat-101 with this simple comic timeline capturing everything from the Batmobile’s first appearance, the death of Jason Todd, the creation of the Justice League of America, Batman’s broken back, Barbara Gordon getting shot, Ace the Bat-Hound, and so much more!  Enjoy all the Bat-timeline goodness inside!

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