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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The New GeekRoundTable Podcast Is Up



 

The fine folks over at the GeekRoundRable have put up their latest podcast for your listening pleasure.  To listen to the podcast, just go here.

 

In this episode, the RoundTable gives their opinion on the movies Dark Knight, Wanted and Wall-E.

 

A discussion is also had regarding the Tim Burton Batman movies, and whether or not they were good.  Of particular interest to me was the point that was made how Batman Returns wasn't a Batman film, it was a Tim Burton film.  I have long held this view myself.  I loved the first Batman film Burton did in 1989.  But Batman Returns just didn't feel like a Batman film to me.  It never has.  It looks and feels more like Nightmare Before Christmas than it does a Batman Film.

 

What suprised me though was that no one on the podcast mentioned the single biggest sin Batman Returns committed though.  It the film, Batman kills a guy!!!  I'm not making this up.  Go back and watch the film.  Batman commits murder in it.

 

It happens during the scene when the clowns from the Red Triangle Gang are disturbing the Christmas Tree lighting.  Batman has this thing of dynamite he picked up from somewhere else when he comes across a really large clown guy.  Knowing he can't beat the guy up, Batman decides to punch him anyways.  The clown laughs but see's batman smiling.  Confused, he looks down and notices that Batman has stuck the dynamite into his pants, and the punch was only a distraction.  Batman then knocks the clown through a manhole and walks away as a big explosion erupts from the manhole.

 

I clearly remember seeing this for the first time in theaters and thinking, "What the fuck!?!?!  Batman doesn't kill people!!!"  That scene has never sat right with me, and I still cringe whenever I see it. 

 

There are many other reasons to dislike Batman Returns (i.e. mind controlled Penguins with candy colored rockets strapped to them), but that scene alone is enough for me to say that this isn't a Batman film.  It's Tim Burton's warped view of Batman.

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