Did he not give up his secret identity to some squeeze?
Yeah but it wasn't like he got a hard-on and randomly said, "hey by the way I'm Batman, baby."
I think Tim Burton is all style and no substance so when coupled with a short Batman, the films dont have
a chance with me.
I think that's true of his career now; but not initially. Now he's a parody of himself but I think that through the early 90s he was still brilliant.
Are you a comic fan Sykylarker?
No. Even when I was little I didn't care much about superheroes..not the DC/Marvel ones anyway, other than in basic distilled versions. I hate going to comic shops, the people there are creepy and obnoxious.
Regarding Batman, I am a huge fan of the old TV show and the Keaton films; albeit for different reasons. I also am a very big fan of the 90s cartoon, and while I do not enjoy the other films (Shumacher, Nolan, etc) I still see them when they come out because I think that Batman is a very interesting fictional character and I always hope that he will be presented in a new, exciting way because there is so much potential there. But it rarely happens.
He's really the only comic book character with any depth or volume or anything other than some kind of gimmicky superficial trait. He's marginally sociopathic yet also has an almost deranged obsession with destroying evil. I also find that he is the only superhero with interesting villains; I'm sure there are others out there but I don't care enough to make anything other than a cursory observation...as I say, comic book culture annoys and bores me.
Having said that, I have read several of the graphic novels, and I've also seen (I think) all the animated films, including the more recent ones. I think they are generally very good for what they are.
I guess that if I had to sum up why Keaton resonated with me so strongly in that role, though...it's because his take on the character is the only one I've ever seen where the dichotomy between human being and ruthless vigilante is perfectly balanced. He played the role not as a one trick pony hardass, not as a cartoon, not as a one-dimensional playboy, but as a deeply troubled yet innately human individual. He was simultaneously emotionless and vulnerable
and it was completely believable.You want to befriend him, yet he scares the shit out of you. I have never ever seen anyone come close to owning a role -any role- as deftly and as intricately he does that one.
I'm out of the loop these days. Can you recommend anything?
My son has turned me on to a few things non-superhero that I really love.
Black Hole,
I Kill Giants...there's others too I'm sure that are a little less peripheral but nonetheless excellent.
It's something I could see myself delving into more deeply as time goes by, but not the superhero stuff.