Batman what happened?

Post Reply New Topic

Could a parent watch this 'dark' interpretation of a classic with their young family? Certified 12.

Yeah, it is not for kids.

I do think they did a pretty good job with the joker. RIP Heath Ledger.

1. Batman has always been dark, dating back to the 1939 comics. Saying 'when did Batman get so dark?' is wrong. You should be asking in the 1960s, 'why is Batman so camp?'

2. I'd say 15, not 18. I don't know how many 18 films you've seen, but if you think that's 18 level violence you'd be in for a shock.

3. No, they shouldn't watch it with their young family, hence the certificate 12, as in, it's for kids who are 12 or older.

And this film is a modern classic. By no means perfect, but it is absolutely jaw-dropping.

Joker FTW

Sound portrayal, respected actor. Though would not agree to a person of 15 to watching this under my supervision, joker taking advantage of mentally ill individuals to plant bombs and imagery of two-face ec.
Did not question 'why has it gotten so dark' rather observing that this film would likely not be suitable for a person of twelve years - 'Jaw-dropping'ly low certificate.

*Lamen continues to comment that the other Batman films seemed better suited to family viewing. But as my brother informs me, 'You wouldn't get it.' Shame.

If you do not want your own child to watch a certain movie, that is your decision entirely.

As for the Joker, his character makes him one of the most frightening villains I have ever seen. He does not want money, women, or respect. What he wants is pure destruction.

Alfred: Some men just want to watch the world burn.

Better he lives peacefully away from humanity than play around with knifes and sticky face paints.
That'd make great film :/ Best let it go... Suppose not all twelve year olds would have night terrors.

Batman got dark, in a way. How you conclude he didn't, I don't know. unless you havn't seen the original, and strange, batman series. There was nothing dark there.

I watched it with my wife and two kids (at the time they were aged 4 and 6). To be pefectly honest, we all found it a bit boring.

Sort of like mostly photographing a bit of black leather in the wind on a dark night.

Heath Ledger was great... every second he was on, the movie was exciting. Christian Bale... sorry... I liked him in a lot of movies... was ... boring.

The kids (and my wife and I) got a lot more mileage out of iron man.

Lienda, the '60s TV series is/was not the "original" Batman. It started as a comic book in 1938 (or so; I could have the date slightly off). The publisher added Robin in the '40s, as "the kids need someone to identify with." In the '50s, a psychologist made the Batman/Robin partnership the cornerstone of his book, Seduction of the Innocent, about the evils of comics. (He also had a problem with EC's horror and war comics, which is why Mad magazine became EC's sole publication.)

Remember that the tale of the Batman starts with a young boy watching as his parents are murdered before his eyes; as he grows up, he becomes obsessed with bringing criminals to justice, honing his fighting and detective skills until he could don the cloak of the Bat. "When it got so dark" was in the very beginning, in the dawning days of the Second World War (and the waning days of the Great Depression). In the 1960s, literary critics believed the age of the Hero was over, that the future lay in antiheroes and psychological portraits of troubled men (and women). The TV series was made as hokey and campy as possible, as the common wisdom of the time was that this was the only proper way to treat a Hero - as a joke.

Thank you DeaconBlues. Succinct and informative, 'lays that to rest' for WP, may look to the original, though that's Brothers area (Batman, Beano ec,) he seems content enough with the film and may discuss to the point of minor interest at a later date.

Just finished it with 2 2-year-old girls and the rest of the family. Kids got bored, and wandered off. It's a lot of philosophizin' to cram down anyone's throat...

The Christopher Nolan Batman films are indeed darker than any previous versions of the story. The Dark Knight in particular is bleak because one gets the impression while watching it that there are no true good guys in Gotham. Batman comes across as a fascist who goes above the law and doesn't hesitate to use torture to get what he needs. His only serious competition in the film doesn't offer much hope in comparison: the Joker is a maniacal nihilist who simply "wants to see the world burn." The one character who seems like a true hero at the begining of the film, "Gotham's golden boy," turns into a disfigured psychopath who goes on a murder rampage seeking revenge. Yes, it's a dark, bleak experience.

And it's also f*****g brilliant.