Batman Returns

Christmas time was right around the corner, and sweet, little Brick was making his Christmas list. Among the many big and little items on his list, one item in particular was circled. Batman movies. Ever since Brick could walk he had loved Batman. He had a whole collection of Batman toys: the batcave, the batmobile, Joker, Mr. Freeze, Robin, Alfred, and many more toys. Every year for Halloween Brick chose to be what? Of course, the one and only, Batman. Somehow he managed to never see a single Batman movie though.

As Brick’s mom looked over his list, she came to the circled item. She was unfamiliar with the Batman movies so she got on to google and googled it. She learned that there were two Batman series’. First Batman series consisted of four movies, three different Batman actors, two different directors, and took place from 1989-1997. Second Batman series was the Dark Knight trilogy. It was a bit more relevant, being made 2005-2012. Obviously consisted of three movies, this trilogy only consisted of one director and one Batman actor. After a little more research Brick’s mom made her decision on which series to buy. Because of The Dark Knight Trilogy’s director and plots, it is better than the other Batman movies.

The director of the Dark Knight trilogy and the directors of the early Batman series differ immensely. Joel Schumacher and Tim Burton were the directors of the early Batman series. Tim Burton directed the first two Batman movies, “Batman” and “Batman Returns”. Burton is widely famous for Gothic style of cinema and his work of “Edward Scissorhands” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. Burton has been nominated for two Academy Awards. Both for Best Animated Feature of the Year. One for “Frankenweenie”, the other for “Corpse Bride”. However, Burton is not always satisfying. He is also known for horrendous remakes such as his remake of Walt Disney’s masterpiece of “Alice in Wonderland” and the American classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”. Both which he changed to his own image making them distorted and somewhat dark versions compared to their originals. Though, in 1989, when it came to his image of his first Batman movie, cleverly entitled “Batman”, he scored. “Batman” grossed about 250,000,000, but never received high critical acclaim. Though in 1992, his second attempt at Batman, “Batman Returns” was not near as tasteful as the first. Critics such as Roger Ebert, criticized his dark, gloomy image of Batman, and pondered whether Burton was the right kind of director for Batman or not. Many other critics, and fans, complained it was too scary and should not be seen by children. “Batman Returns” never received any Oscar recognition and hardly grossed half of what the original did. Burton retired from the Batman series and handed it off to Joel Schumacher.

Joel Schumacher is not a the most popular director these days. The height of his career was in the 80’s directing “St. Elmo’s Fire” and “The Lost Boys”. Schumacher has never received any Oscar acknowledgement, though he still is directing today. Schumacher’s first attempt at Batman was in 1995, “Batman Forever”. Critics liked the new feel of Batman because it was no longer cloudy and bleak, but colorful and refreshing. Fans were still disappointed though due to the poor storyline and content. Despite the fans, Warner Bros. granted Schumacher a sequel in 1997, “Batman and Robin”. They soon regretted it. Critics scathed the movie over everything. Ticket sales also plummeted. Schumacher was even nominated for a Razzie for worst director. Warner Bros. even had to stop the Batman series because of this. Many people blamed Schumacher for this. Even the sitcom “The Big Bang Theory” references Schumacher saying he almost ruined the entire Batman series. Then in 2003, a new, young director came to Warner Bros. with his new portrayal of Batman. It was Christopher Nolan. He had only directed two movies prior to, and both were successful. One was even nominated for two Oscars. In 2005, he directed his third movie, “Batman Begins”. It was exactly what everyone was waiting for. A movie that was not only pleasing to the eye, but to the mind “Batman Begins” made the ninth most money out of every movie in the world in 2005. Nolan’s sequel came three years later and blew audiences away. Critics could not get enough of the “Dark Knight” and it’s outstanding performances, cinematography, and effects. People new Batman was not comic book anymore, it was much more than that. Some believed it was the greatest superhero movie of all time and people could not wait for the conclusion of the great trilogy. In 2012, “Dark Knight Rises” was released. Critics adored this film and called Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy masterful filmmaking. It is clear that Christopher Nolan’s direction of Batman outweighs Schumacher and Burton’s. Besides the directing, the Dark Knight trilogy beats the old Batman movies in many other ways.

With all the different Batman movies, their plots are substantially different and some are better than others. With the first Batman movie, “Batman”, the movie’s plot is quite simple. Bruce Wayne, millionaire business man, lives in Gotham. Gotham is a big city becoming increasingly unsafe due to a rising crime rate. Bruce who watched his parents get murdered in the streets of Gotham as a young boy, becomes the Batman to fight crime in Gotham and avenge his parents death. The villain he needs to take down is the man causing most the trouble. The Joker. Who just happens to become interested in Bruce’s new romance, Vicky Vale. Batman must save Gotham and Vicky. There is not much depth to this plot. It is the regular “save the world” and “get the girl” plot, which is seen in most Hollywood movies. The next plot to the next movie “Batman Returns” was much different than the first. Now that Batman had taken down the Joker, he faced the Penguin. The Penguin is a deformed human raised by penguins in the sewer system of Gotham who now wants to be excepted in their society. He shares a common interest with one of Gotham’s major business tycoons Max Schreck. That interest is exposing the Batman for who he really is. Bruce, the Batman, not only has to save Gotham once again, but also has to make sure he clears his name so Gotham does not find out he is the Batman. “Batman Returns” completely ignores the fact that there ever was a Vicky Vale and just moves on. Also, they make the Penguin raised by penguins in a sewer which makes this Batman a bit far fetched. Beyond that, this plot is not deep and still far too simple. “Batman Forever” switches it up a bit. This time, Bruce is wanted by two men. One is Gotham’s former D.A., Harvey Dent, who is now called Two-Face and the other is Edward Nygma, the Riddler. An old employee of Bruce’s who needs to find out knowledge of Bruce’s other identity. Two-Face is after the Batman because he believes the Batman is responsible for the incident that caused half his face to be burnt off and is now causing havoc all over Gotham to get the his attention. The Riddler is after Bruce because Bruce never gave him the attention he deserved while working for Wayne Enterprises. Once again Bruce is defending his identity and Gotham. The addition of the two new crazy characters does little to help the plot of the movie. Once again, the plot is boring and redundant compared to the previous Batman movies.

The last movie of the first Batman series, “Batman and Robin”, was the worst. As usual, Bruce has to save Gotham, but now he has a side-kick, Robin. All Robin is is someone for Batman to worry about. Robin hurts more than he helps, causing more problems for the Batman. Batman and Robin team up to stop Mr. Freeze who attempts to take over Gotham. This movie seems to really have no bigger purpose than to just stop a villain. All these plots are much different from the much more in depth plots of the Dark Knight movies. In “Batman Begins”, audiences get a clear backstory of how Batman is started. It tells how the bats affected Bruce as a child and why it became his icon. The audience is shown how Bruce’s parents died in a more detailed manner than ever before. “Batman Begins” also shows how Bruce Wayne became such a skilled fighter. Those three concepts were never fully explained in past movies and have always been questioned. Anyway, one of Bruce’s main objectives in this movie is to fight injustice in Gotham to honor his father. Bruce’s dad had always told Bruce how important it was to give back to the city that had been so select to his family. With the help of one of Wayne Enterprises’ top employee’s, Lucius Fox, Bruce creates the Batman persona and all his gear and gadgets. His second objective is to keep Rachel Dawes safe and to start a relationship with her. Rachel works for Gotham’s D.A. and has been Bruce’s sweetheart and best friend since childhood.

First thing this new Batman had to do was stop a villain with a plan that would affect all of Gotham. This villain was “Scarecrow”. He got his name because he always wore a burlap mask to protect himself from his own toxin. This toxin causes permanent hysteria to whoever inhales it. Scarecrow’s plan was to contaminate all of Gotham’s water with his horrid toxin then steal a microwave emitter from Wayne Enterprises and vaporize Gotham’s water system. Scarecrow also teamed up with Bruce’s old fighting mentor who Bruce had betrayed, Henry Ducard. Batman takes down both Scarecrow and Ducard and saves Gotham and Rachel. When saving Rachel he accidentally reveals his true self to her. Batman becomes a public hero and makes the people of Gotham feel safe for the first time in a long time. On the other hand, Bruce loses Rachel. She knows she cannot love both Batman and Bruce Wayne. Though Batman’s work is not over, Lt. Gordon informs him of a new criminal who leaves Joker cards at his crime scenes. This of course is a foreshadow to the incredible sequel, “The Dark Knight”. In this movie, Batman’s main goal is to take down the Mob, but of course, Bruce also still wants to capture Rachel’s heart.This time Batman gets a little help from someone, though. Harvey Dent, the new D.A. of Gotham. He also wants to take down the Mob. Another common interest the two share, is Rachel. Dent is dating Rachel. Though this may not sit too hot with Bruce, he still cannot help but like Dent.

One person causing a slew of trouble for the two though, is the Joker. A new villain who dresses up in purple and green and paints his face. The Joker’s main priority is finding who the Batman is. He announces to Gotham that everyday people will die until the true Batman reveals himself. Gotham no longer is all for Batman. A few people have died and he still hasn’t came out. The day Bruce decides to come out, Dent announces he is the Batman.. Dent sacrifices himself so the real Batman can stay out there and defend Gotham. As Dent is being shipped out of town to be kept safe, he is intercepted by the Joker’s men. Rachel Dawes goes missing as well. The Joker is later caught and taken into custody by police. He is interrogated by Batman and he tells Batman the address that Rachel and Harvey are at and that they are soon to blow up. The Joker switches the addresses, and Batman shows up to save Harvey when he meant to save Rachel. Harvey still suffers a burnt face and is sent to the hospital. Rachel dies.

The Joker escaped from the police station when most the cops went to save Dent. The next day, the Joker visits Dent at the hospital and convinces him to seek revenge for Rachel’s death. Dent gives in to the Joker’s mind games and starts killing people who are responsible for Rachel’s death. The Joker next sets up to ferries full of people and ensures at least one boat will be blown up. The Joker also set up a building full of hostages. Batman saves the hostages and stop the Joker from blowing up any boat and ruins his further plans. The Joker does not feel down though. The Joker feels that turning Harvey Dent into a killer will be sufficient enough to revoke the Dent Act and all the mobsters convicted through it will be freed back to Gotham. Batman then finds Dent. Dent has taken Lt. Gordon and his family to where Rachel died. Batman saves Gordon’s family and kills Dent. In order to protect the identity of Dent and keep the Dent Act, Batman tells Gordon to frame him, Batman, for the murder of Harvey Dent. Batman is now a bigger hero than ever. Gotham will never know, but he saved them. Despite losing Rachel forever, Bruce still sacrifices himself for his city. Batman cannot ever come out again. “The Dark Knight Rises” plot tells you how Batman comes back. With the Dent Act still up, the streets of Gotham are cleaner than ever. Until one day, a man named Bane shows up to Gotham. He worked for Henry Ducard and came to Gotham to finish his work in destroying Gotham. Bruce puts the suit back on and goes to see what this guy is all about. Bane injures Bruce horrible and when Bruce’s unconscious, Bane takes him to a foreign prison where escape is near impossible. While Bruce is gone, Bane takes over Gotham. He revokes the Dent Act and criminals are all released.

Wealthy citizens are either put to death or exiled. Bane takes all of Bruce’s money the the Gotham Stock Exchange. Bruce trains back up, escapes prison and returns to Gotham. He hands all of Wayne Enterprises’ items over to Miranda Tate, because he has gone bankrupt. Gotham’s police attacked Bane and his men and Batman joined in. As he goes to finally finish off Bane, Miranda stabs him. She is actually Henry Ducard’s daughter and has the same purpose as Bane, to destroy Gotha. Bane protected her as a young child. Now that Miranda owns Bruce’s items, she owns his nuclear reactor which was made in to a bomb by Bane. Miranda drives the bomb to the middle of Gotham to set it off, but when Gotham police stop her and kill her she puts a permanent time and on the bomb. Batman gets his new helicopter type machine, “The Bat”, and picks up the bomb and takes it deep over the bay and the bomb goes off killing Batman. What people did not know is that “The Bat” had autopilot. Bruce now ended Batman, but made Gotham believe Batman was a hero again. The Dark Knight trilogy movies’ plot are much better than the old Batman series’ movie plots because The Dark Knight trilogy’s are so much more in-depth.

Although many critics will argue the Dark Knight trilogy is the best Batman series, the older Batman series is better. One reason the old Batman movies are better than the new is because of the directors. Some of the old Batman movies were directed by Tim Burton. Tim Burton is one of the greatest American directors of all time and has loads experience. Christopher Nolan, director of the Dark Knight trilogy, had only directed two movies before he directed the first movie of the Dark Knight trilogy. Another reason the older Batman series is better than the newer one, is because of their different plots. The plots in the newer batman series get boring, and the plots in the old movies catch audiences off guard. Despite what was said about the Dark Knight trilogy in this paragraph, it is the better Batman series.

On Christmas morning, stubby, little Brick jumped out of bed in his batman pajamas and headed down the steps to see if Santa had brought him anything this year. Sure enough, Brick’s Christmas tree was hardly visible because of the massive stack of presents next to it. Brick immediately started tearing into his presents. He liked everything he got, but his parents could tell he was looking for something in particular. It came down to his last present. It was a medium thin rectangular box. Brick started ripping off the wrapping paper and his eyes lit up. It was what he had wanted so badly this year. It was It was the Dark Knight trilogy. He immediately popped the first movie into the DVD player and spent his whole day watching those movies. Even as a young boy, he was blown away by the intricate plots of each movie and could tell how great the direction by the director. Because of The Dark Knight Trilogy’s director and plots, it is better than the other Batman movies.

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