Archive
BATMAN FOREVER – Elliot Goldenthal
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Batman Forever is the third installment in the original Warner Bros. Batman film series, following Batman in 1989 and Batman Returns in 1992, both of which were directed by Tim Burton. However, Burton left the Batman franchise during the development of the third film because Warner Bros. wanted to go in a lighter, more commercial, and family-friendly direction, which clashed with Burton’s increasingly dark, gothic depiction of Gotham City. The studio saw diminishing returns on the edgier tone and opted to reset the franchise’s style, paving the way for Joel Schumacher to come into replace him. Schumacher had directed a number of box-office hits in the decade prior, including St. Elmo’s Fire, The Lost Boys, The Client, and Falling Down, but his neon-soaked reinterpretation of the dark knight in Batman Forever was polarizing: some approved of the elaborate set designs, as well as the campier tone which more was reminiscent of the 1960s Adam West Batman TV series, while others missed Burton’s more introspective and visually dramatic approach. One person who certainly disapproved was Michael Keaton, who declined to return to the main role due to creative differences after Burton left; ultimately he was replaced by Val Kilmer underneath the mask and cowl. Read more…
BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER – Frederik Wiedmann
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Despite being a long-time fan of the character as a whole – at least since Michael Keaton donned the mask and cowl in 1989 – for some reason I never really embraced the world of Animated Batman. I never sat down and watched any episodes of Batman: The Animated Series when it premiered in 1992, I have only seen the Mask of the Phantasm movie once, and I have not seen any of the numerous subsequent films or TV shows that have been released in the thirty years since then. I don’t know why; by all accounts they are all well-made, well-written, dramatically interesting stories with a clear internal logic, stylish design, and a whole host of excellent voice actors, notably Mark Hamill and the late Kevin Conroy. Musically, too, composers as talented as Danny Elfman, the late Shirley Walker, and the Dynamic Music Partners trio comprising Kristopher Carter, Michael McCuistion, and Lolita Ritmanis, have all written excellent scores across a myriad of episodes and entries. Read more…
BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM – Shirley Walker
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is an animated feature film released in 1993 and is part of the DC Animated Universe. Directed by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm, the film serves as a spin-off of the critically acclaimed Batman: The Animated Series, and was released between seasons one and two of the show. The story revolves around Bruce Wayne, the billionaire playboy who doubles as the vigilante Batman. A mysterious figure known as the Phantasm begins targeting Gotham City’s crime bosses, leading to speculation that Batman is responsible. As Batman investigates, he discovers that the Phantasm has a personal connection to his past, which leads him to explore his early years and the choices that led him to become the Dark Knight. Mask of the Phantasm is notable for being the first full-length animated theatrical Batman film, and was celebrated at the time for its sophisticated narrative, atmospheric animation, nuanced portrayal of Batman, and exceptional voice acting from Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Dana Delany. It faced challenges at the box office at the time it was released, possibly due to its marketing and the misconception that it was solely a children’s movie, but in the intervening years it has gained a cult following and is now considered one of the standout Batman films. Read more…
THE BATMAN – Michael Giacchino
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
When Warner Brothers announced that there was going to be yet another Batman reboot movie, with a sixth actor donning the famous black cowl, I admit I initially rolled my eyes. How many more different versions of this story do we need? How could they possibly differentiate it from the character portrayals by Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, and most recently Ben Affleck, among all the others? I was getting bat fatigue, and went into this with somewhat low expectations, despite the caliber of the actors and filmmakers involved. Well, I’m very happy to eat my words because Matt Reeves’s The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson and Zoe Kravitz, is excellent: the caped crusader re-imagined as a film noir antihero. It’s important to remember that the media behemoth we know now as DC actually began as Detective Comics, and that the character was originally that – the world’s greatest detective. The Batman is very much a return to those roots, pitting the character as an ally to the Gotham City police, helping to solve the murders of several local politicians and public figures in increasingly disturbing ways. Read more…
BATMAN – Danny Elfman
GREATEST SCORES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Bringing Batman to the cinema was a torturous journey that took ten years to come to fruition. Producers Benjamin Melniker and Micheal Uslan purchased screen rights from DC Comics in 1979, and their creative vision was to abandon the campy TV iteration and fashion a dark and serious exposition of the hero. Regretfully United Artists, Columbia Pictures and Universal Pictures all turned down the project, as they wanted a script that reprised the campiness of the TV series. Eventually in 1980 Warner Brothers took on the project seeking to capitalize on its massive success with Superman. Tom Mankiewicz was hired to write the script, which was completed in 1983. Yet the project stalled until 1985 when Tim Burton was hired. Burton wanted his own vision and so rejected Mankiewicz’s script, instead tasking Sam Hamm, a comic book fan, to write a new screenplay. After three years of delays by Warner Brothers executives, the film was given the green light to proceed in April of 1988. Casting the principles could have supported a feature film of its own. Instead of going with one of the leading male action movie stars of the day, Burton selected Michael Keaton whom he had directed in Beetlejuice, which caused uproar among comic book fans who sent 50,000 letters of protest to studio executives. The casting drama continued when Robin Williams was hired for the role of the Joker and then let go in favor of Jack Nicholson. Rounding out the cast would be Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale, Pat Hingle as Commissioner Gordon, Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent, and Jack Palance as Carl Grissom. Read more…
JUSTICE LEAGUE – Danny Elfman
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The competing comic book franchises of DC and Marvel have arguably hit peak saturation point. Between them they have released 22 movies – 17 from Marvel dating back to Iron Man in 2008, and 5 from DC beginning with Man of Steel in 2013 – and there have been five this year alone: Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Wonder Woman, and now Justice League. This latter film is a direct sequel to 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and sees the Batman and Wonder Woman attempting to put together a team of similar super heroes in order to combat the existential threat posed by a powerful alien/god named Steppenwolf, who wants to destroy the Earth in the aftermath of Superman’s death. The film stars Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, and Ray Fisher as the five members of the Justice League – Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, and Cyborg – with support from Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, and J. K. Simmons, among a large ensemble cast. Read more…
BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE – Hans Zimmer and Tom Holkenborg
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
In an attempt to compete with Marvel and their cadre of interlocking super-hero pictures, DC Comics have begun to develop their own version of a cinematic universe. It began with Man of Steel in 2013, director Zack Snyder’s re-imagining of the Superman story, and continues with this second film, which sees the introduction of Batman and several other DC characters into a single, shared story space, setting up what will eventually become the Justice League. Rather than continuing Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice takes yet another fresh look at Gotham’s cowl-wearing warrior, replacing Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne with Ben Affleck and Michael Caine’s Alfred with Jeremy Irons. The film inserts Wayne into the immediate aftermath of the finale of Man of Steel by having him witness the conclusive fight between Superman (Henry Cavill) and General Zod over Metropolis, and the devastation that accompanied it, from the ground. Jump forward 18 months, and Wayne has committed himself to exposing Superman as an unstoppable threat to humanity. Meanwhile, Superman’s alter-ego, newspaperman Clark Kent, has become concerned with Batman’s personal brand of vigilante justice in nearby Gotham, and resolves to expose him. However, unbeknownst to either Kent or Wayne, their mutual plans are being manipulated by technology mogul Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), who has megalomaniacal tendencies of his own, and wants both Batman and Superman out of his way. Read more…
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES – Hans Zimmer
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The Dark Knight Rises is director Christopher Nolan’s eagerly-awaited final installment in the Batman trilogy he initiated with Batman Begins in 2005, and continued with The Dark Knight in 2008. Set seven years after the conclusion of the second film, The Dark Knight Rises finds the billionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) living in seclusion, having allowed his crime-fighting alter-ego Batman to take the blame for the crimes committed by the former DA Harvey Dent, including the murder of Wayne’s soul-mate, Rachel. However, Wayne’s self-imposed isolation is threatened by two very different interlopers into Gotham City: the formidable masked terrorist Bane (Tom Hardy), who seems to be masterminding a plan to undermine the very fabric of contemporary society, and sophisticated cat burglar Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), who breaks into Wayne Manor to steal a necklace, but comes away with much more. To combat the rising threat, Wayne is forced to become Batman once more, but is he strong enough – mentally, and physically – to face the challenge? The film has an all-star supporting cast, including Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard, and has become one of the most popular and successful box-office hits of 2012, ending Nolan’s vision on an undisputed high note, but cleverly paving the way for future installments by different directors. Read more…
BATMAN RETURNS – Danny Elfman
MOVIE MUSIC UK CLASSICS
Original Review by Craig Lysy
Studios execs used a significant salary increase and offer of creative control to induce resistant Tim Burton to reprise his role and direct the next installment in the Batman franchise. Burton rejected a sequel, stating “I wanted to treat this like it was another Batman movie altogether.” So, a new Batman, new villains and a grim and darker Gotham City were introduced. The plot pits Batman against an evil tycoon Max Shreck (Christopher Walken), who seeks to enrich himself by monopolizing the city’s power supply, the pathetic deformed and inwardly mutated Penguin who harbors unresolved anger for being abandoned by his parents, and lastly the schizophrenic and mercurial Catwoman played by Michelle Pfeiffer. The film was not a critical success, however it was a commercial success and so spawned a third installment in the franchise. Read more…
THE DARK KNIGHT – Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The Dark Knight, the second film in the new rebooted Batman franchise, is a truly great motion picture. Since Christopher Nolan picked up the twitching remnants of the series from out of the hands of Joel Schumacher in 2005’s Batman Begins, the character has again become a cinematic force, free of the gaudy neon excesses of Batman & Robin, and back to the dark, gritty, tortured origins people like Bob Kane and Frank Miller envisaged.
Christian Bale again returns as the caped crusader, who this time has to save Gotham from a villainous new adversary: the Joker (a superb Heath Ledger), whose anarchic reign of terror and seemingly mindless spates of violence is causing chaos in the city. Read more…
BATMAN BEGINS – Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The general consensus about the fifth modern Batman movie, Batman Begins, is that the franchise has finally been revitalised. Personally, I always considered Joel Schumacher, the director of Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, to have completely undermined the effectiveness of the series, shattering the feelings of gothic grandeur Tim Burton initiated and replacing it with gaudy, neon-lit overkill. In the hands of director Christopher Nolan – whose previous films include the excellent thrillers Memento and Insomnia – Batman Begins is a more introspective film that tempers its large-scale action scenes with a thoughtful, serious edge that marks, for me at least, a step in the right direction. Read more…
BATMAN – Danny Elfman
MOVIE MUSIC UK CLASSICS
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
In 1989 Danny Elfman was a 36-year old newcomer to the world of film music, still better known for his days as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Oingo Boingo than his scoring exploits, which by then had included titles such as hit films like Back to School, Beetlejuice, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure and Scrooged, but gave no indication of the composer he would become. Then came Batman, director Tim Burton’s gothic re-imagining of the old camp Batman story that, prior to this movie, was something of a joke, known for Adam West and his day-glo costume and Neal Hefti’s kitsch theme music. To say that Burton took the Batman story in a different direction was an understatement in the extreme: instead of being a wisecracking comic figure with a Bat-gadget for every occasion, he became a tortured, tragic anti-hero clad in black leather, struggling with his own inner demons while simultaneously dealing with master criminals in a dirty, dangerous Gotham City. Read more…
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