New Geek DVD Day - 01/27/2009

 

The Good: Batman on Blu-ray

 

Why It's Good:  While many of us are still feeling a warm and fuzzy high after watching the awesomeness that was last summer's Dark Knight  I should point out that as great as that film is, it (or any other Bat-film for that matter) would never have been made if it wasn't for the success of Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman.

 

It's easy to forget just how amazing Burton's Batman is when looking at it in hindsight after seeing something like Batman Begins or Dark Knight.  Up until Tim Burton came along, as far as the general public was concerned Batman was a happy crusader who wore blue and grey and when he punched people funny words like "Pow" or "Wham" flew across the screen.  Sure, we the comic book fans had read Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns.  We knew Batman wasn't just a campy hero.  But the average movie going public only saw Batman as he appeared in the Superfriends or in the old 60's TV series.

 

Then a guy named Tim Burton comes along and makes a film about a Batman who wears all black, who isn't a happy guy at all, and who beats the holy hell out of criminals.  Batman, as a result, would never be seen the same way again.  From that point on people could only see him as the Dark Knight and any attempts to try to make him campy again (I'm looking at you Joel Shumacher) were doomed to failure.

 

Now, Batman is available on Blu-ray, so you can enjoy its stylized glory in true high definition.  Is it as good as Christopher Nolan's take on Batman?  That's up for debate.  But what isn't is the fact that Batman was a turning point in superhero movies when Hollywood started to learn that dark hero films could turn a profit.  If it wasn't for Batman and it setting the standard, a lot of what we enjoy today probably wouldn't be getting made.

 



 

The Badass:  The All-New Superfriends Hour - Season One (Volume 2)

 

Why It's Badass:  I know I just sort of looked at the Superfriends in a negative light in regards to how it altered the public's perception of Batman, but that's not to say that the Superfriends was in any way a bad show.  Far from it.  Superfriends was a great kids show, and it was singlehandedly responsible for introducing both myself, and an entire generation of kids, to DC's superheroes like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and The Green Lantern.

 

Superfriends and the Spider-man cartoon show are almost solely responsible for getting me to start reading comics as a kid.  And I'm sure I'm not the only person who that is true for.  It was a started step for many people on the road to being the geeks we are now, and we will forever be indebted to it.

 



 

The Awesome:  Hulk Vs.

 

Why It's Awesome:  It's The Hulk beating the ever-loving crap out of both Thor and Wolverine.  What's not to love about that basic premise?  From what I've heard, the two stories included on this DVD are short on plot and heavy on action.  This is pretty much the exact kind of film I've been wanting to see Marvel or DC create since I was about five years old. 

 

Finally, it looks like my dreams have been answered after all these years.  Now I can watch superheroes beating each other up for over an hour, with just enough plot to let me understand why they're fighting.  Plus, the animation quality looks to be top notch.  I am quite literally counting down the minutes until I can get off of work today so I can go pick this one up.  That's how badly I want to see this.