As a kid who was a huge Bat fan, I was very psyched for the big-screen release of Batman & Robin. It came out just before my 12th birthday, and I was finally old enough to see a Batman movie in its first theatrical run (I saw Forever at the $1 second-run theater that served beer so parents could come to terms with the fact they were watching a kid movie on a Saturday afternoon).
In what I later learned was to have been a sign from the Gods, our air conditioning broke the day before it opened – meaning that on the release date, I had to stay home while my mom waited for the repairman. Mad as hell, I successfully lobbied to attend the theater on Day 2 to check out my favorite superhero.
Utterly disappointed by the terrible attempt at tongue-in-cheek humor (mastered by the Adam West TV Series, but never again), I actually remember quietly tearing up towards the final scenes. Not because I was moved by the stupid fake disease that plagued Alfred, but because I understood, even at the age of 11 3/4, that this horrible excuse for a movie would forever taint the Bat Legacy. Once you do nipple suits, it’s really hard to bounce back.
Joel Schumacher took me into the back room of my brain and had his way with me. My innocence was forever lost, and the scars have yet to heal.
Thankfully, Christopher Nolan came along and, with the help of David S. Goyer, saved the franchise and made two of the best superhero films of all time. I will argue for some time that The Dark Knight is, at its core, a gangster epic – a la The Departed – with capes. It’s tale of Bruce Wayne’s failed attempt at redemption by proxy is universal, and timeless. And the late Heath Ledger’s brilliant work as the Joker, an anarchist who plans so far in advance it doesn’t even look like he’s trying, will go down as one of the best movie villians of all time, or any genre. Naturally, lots of people, myself included, are more than perturbed that The Dark Knight, one of the best-reviewed films of the year and the biggest box office hit in over a decade, was left out of the Best Picture nominations pool for tomorrow’s awards. Thankfully Heath was nominated, and there are scores of technical awards. But when the Academy is surprised why nobody tuned into the ceremony this year, they need to look no further to the five very strong, but very small, pictures that make up the nominees for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay (four in Adapated, Milk in original). TDK better win at least two, otherwise there will be hell to pay.
Watching this ten minute clip-fest might explain why voters are still ignoring the Bat: I present you with a roundup of Batman & Robin, starring George Clooney, Chris O’Donnell, The Govahnatoh, Uma (not Oprah), and the less-than-charming Alicia Silverstone. It actually is the only Batman film to get zero nominations at the Oscars – even the lackluster Batman Forever picked up nods for Cinematography and Sound Mix/Editing! Holy Flop, Batman.
