“I want you to remember, Clark”¦in all the years to come”¦in your most private moments”¦I want you to remember”¦my hand”¦at your throat”¦I want”¦ you to remember”¦the one man who beat you”¦”
— Batman from Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns

“People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy and I can’t do that as Bruce Wayne, as a man I’m flesh and blood I can be ignored I can be destroyed but as a symbol, as a symbol I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting.”
— Bruce Wayne from Batman Begins

My freshman year of college ended in a daze of mediocrity and apathy. As I look back at that first year, I am incredibly embarrassed by my ignorance and the betrayal of my own interests. It was the summer of 1989; the summer movie season was about to begin. I had gotten my taste of it by going to see a sneak preview of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier at the National Air And Space Museum. Needless to say, I was disappointed by it; it did not have the same momentum as the previous film, the far superior, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. I think it was about this time that it was decided the even numbered Trek films were better than the odd numbered ones. Weeks later I would go see Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade. I enjoyed that immensely. The opening sequence with River Phoenix as the young Indiana Jones made a vivid impression on me. With this film, I was reminded why it was so much to go to the movies. I really did enjoy going to the movies. I was ashamed of myself for not going to see more films in my freshman year. I do not know what I was thinking. It was in my blood; it always was in my blood. Sure, my older brother’s experiences in Hollywood had turned me off of the business ever since 1987, but deep down inside there was no denying I loved movies. The only time I was ever animated was when talking about movies. Okay, that and any type of heavy metal music at the time excited me.

Actually that is not true. During my winter break of my freshman year, I fell in love with a film called Tequila Sunrise with Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell, and Michelle Pfeiffer. It was written and directed by Robert Towne, but that is not what excited me. It was that Raul Julia was able to come and steal the film from everyone. It was a breathtaking performance. How I miss Raul Julia. In 1989, I rediscovered two big films in the theater. I went to see restored versions of Lawrence Of Arabia and Gone With The Wind. Watching Lawrence Of Arabia on the big screen was a truly earth shattering experience. Whatever doubts I had before about film, and there were plenty, were thrown away. It was while watching this film that I truly discovered what filmmaking was all about. While I do believe that my love for the movies did die somewhere on Crescent Heights Boulevard on a cold Spring day in 1987, old and new voices kept trying to remind me that the only place I truly felt at home was alone in the dark watching the shadows on the screen.

Something else happened in 1989. The year will always be remembered as the year of Batman. No other film captured the public’s imagination like Tim Burton’s film did that year. Sure, I loved Lethal Weapon 2 and License To Kill, but the year belonged to Batman. It was a pop culture juggernaut. The truth of the matter was that I was not blown away by Batman the first time I saw it. To be honest with you, I was disappointed by it. After my first viewing, I thought it was just a lot of hype. Here is what I liked about the film initially; Anton Furst’s set designs and Danny Elfman’s score. Those two things stood out immediately. After more thought, Michael Keaton’s portrayal of Bruce Wayne was much better than anyone gave him credit for. He was a good Batman, but more importantly, he was a great Bruce Wayne. Yet, it was Jack Nicholson’s Joker that I thought was overkill. It was Jack playing Jack; I love Jack Nicholson, but his performance was way over the top. I adored him in Chinatown, Prizzi’s Honor, The Shining, Reds, The Witches Of Eastwick, Carnal Knowledge, and Heartburn before I saw him in Batman, but the film gives more time to him than it does to Batman. This made it difficult for me to get into the film.

I spent that summer and the rest of year getting to know and understand Batman. I went out and bought Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One and Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke. I had talked with a lot of die hard Batman fans who were not crazy about the film. Everyone agreed that Tim Burton rescued the series from the old television view and restored the character’s dark nature to the screen, but to some, the film had its share of problems. Batman was the second film I bought on VHS. I watched it many times after I purchased it. I went back and saw the film at the Hoff Theater at the University Of Maryland. The film grew on me. I went to see it with a self professed Batman expert who walked across the theater to tell members of the audience to shut up. He was hardcore about Batman; he knew everything there was to know about the character and the comics. I kept going back to Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. This was the Batman film I had always wanted to see. In the 90s, I was hoping they would cast Charlton Heston or even Clint Eastwood to play Bruce Wayne. I always wanted to see Batman and Superman face off on the big screen; it is one of my favorite superhero battles. Perhaps, it will happen someday.

Two great things came out of Batman for me: the first was that I began to see a pattern with Tim Burton’s films. He has a unique style that would continue to grow over the years. With the exception of his remake of Planet Of The Apes, I can honestly say he has not let me down. The other important thing to come out of the film is a deep appreciation for Frank Miller which has instilled a lifetime lust for graphic novels. In the Fall of 1989, I remember buying Ronin, The Elektra Saga, and Elektra Assassin. I fell in love with his stories at the time. I needed the escapism very badly. College had turned into a huge disappointment for a variety of reasons. For some reason, I retreated into the worlds he had created. The writing may have been on the wall the year before when I borrowed Daredevil: Born Again from someone on my dorm floor. After college, I was attracted to his Sin City books, Hard Boiled, and Give Me Liberty was a wake up call. Martha Washington was one of the coolest characters since Elektra. I never got bored by Frank Miller. Although I was disappointed in his screenplays for the Robocop sequels, it was his work in the comics’ medium that has always impressed me. I enjoyed his work on the Sin City film and I eagerly await his take on Will Eisner’s The Spirit at the end of year. I was intrigued by The Dark Knight Strikes Again. I remember reading it over the course of 2001 and 2002 because it came out in three parts. I finished reading it while living in Los Angeles. I did not stay as long as I should have in Los Angeles. Looking back on my time there I can say that the West Coast is the bitch of desire and the East Coast is the whore of misery.

In the summer of 1992, I reevaluated my thoughts on Batman after seeing Batman Returns. My major problem with the film was Danny Devito and his portrayal of the Penguin. If the Joker was Jack playing Jack, than this was just plain overkill. In hindsight, Jack’s Joker was not as grotesque as Devito’s Penguin. But Batman Returns did more things right than wrong. Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle/Catwoman was one of the film’s greatest creations. She was perfect. Her casting gave her excellent chemistry with Keaton’s character. Finally, Keaton was given someone to interact with and it paid off. Whenever the two of them are onscreen, the film works very well. The other great bit of casting is Christopher Walken as Max Shreck. He stole every scene he is in. Before True Romance and Pulp Fiction, I was always surprised by how many of my contemporaries had no idea who Christopher Walken was. The Deer Hunter, The Dogs Of War, Annie Hall, The Dead Zone, The King Of New York — where have you people been hiding? After watching both Tim Burton films, I felt that Tim Burton had done a great job of bringing Batman to life on the big screen. Although it became obvious to me that his heart was not in Batman Returns, he really had no interest in making a sequel to the film. It may be hip to say his films are not as good as Christopher Nolan’s vision, but without Tim Burton, Batman may not have ever succeeded in the first place as a film franchise. I was not turned off by Batman Returns as others were. I appreciated the comedy of manners between Keaton and Pfeiffer. Secretly, I was hoping that she would reprise her role in her own Catwoman film. Well, we all know how that turned out.

After I graduated from college, I had a new hobby. I loved to visit comic book stores on the weekends and load up on graphic novels. The Knight Fall saga was a particular favorite of mine from the Batman series. I finally also bought my own copies of Arkham Asylum and Batman: Tales Of A Demon. It is funny, after college, I fell in love with comics all over again. Whether it was Star Wars, Aliens, or the superheroes of my youth, I became an avid graphic novel collector. The works of Alan Moore (Watchmen and V For Vendetta) ended up on my shelves. I am still collecting his works. It did not help matters that I worked in bookstores the rest of the decade. The amount of books and graphic novels purchased over this period was staggering. But I was always reading, I was always playing catch up. Whether it was Elmore Leonard, Arthur C. Clarke, or Tom Robbins, I was always reading something. Ironically my favorite comic series were always the Elseworlds from DC comics or Marvel’s What If It seemed fitting because I was never happy with reality and always wondered what would life be life had things been different. The new hobby was something that I needed at that time in my life.

Why I am looking forward to Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight? Do you really need an answer? Do you even care? I liked what Bryan Singer did with the first two X-Men films and what Sam Raimi did with the first Spider-Man film. These veteran directors had already proven themselves with their own unique visions, but it was not until Guillermo Del Toro made Hellboy in 2004, that I was truly blown away by what he pulled off. I had read some Hellboy, but not enough to know what to expect. I was thrilled with the film. It caught me off guard — it was that good. I had enjoyed Cronos, The Devil’s Backbone, and Blade II, but this film wowed me. It was a one-two-three punch at the cinema. Weeks later, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 opened and later Spider-Man 2. Tarantino’s Kill Bill films dazzled me to no end, but something else was going on. Hellboy and Spider-Man 2 raised the bar for directors who respected the source material, but did not feel the need to be a prisoner to the source material. I was moved by Spider-Man 2 and Hellboy more than I ever thought I would be. There was something truly epic and mythic about both films. Was it possible that they transcended their genres?

There was a rumor that Batman Begins was a flawed film. Cillian Murphy should have been Batman or Christian Bale was miscast. This is what I heard when the film came out. Let me say this: Nolan did the right thing in rebooting the series. Batman Begins works for many reasons. The film’s major strength is that the film is finally about Bruce Wayne. It is finally about how Bruce Wayne became Batman. Joel Schumacher turned back the clock on a lot of the progress that Tim Burton made with the series. I did not mind Batman Forever, but Batman And Robin did not work at all. It had the same problems that Spider-Man 3 had — too many villains. George Clooney did not kill the franchise. One could see the seeds of this with Batman Forever. Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones in the same film — at the time no frame could hold the two of those egos. It was almost too much, but by Batman And Robin it was the very definition of overkill. Nolan brought his unique vision that made Memento and Following such great films. Bruce Wayne was the perfect character for Christian Bale to play. He can play hero and villain with great ease; he was the perfect choice to play the vigilante. I have no problem with the rest of the cast: Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Ken Watanabe, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, Rutger Hauer, Gary Oldman, Linus Roache, and Tom Wilkinson. I did not even mind Katie Holmes. I especially liked how minor characters were given their due. I liked how Nolan took an iconic comic book character and put him in a realistic setting. This was unlike any other Batman film. I felt as if I was watching mythology being recreated. (It was no different in 2006 watching Casino Royale). Batman Begins was truly epic. This is the treatment these titles deserve. These are the epic poems of our times. Respect them and the rewards will be infinite.

The Dark Knight may very well be a film in the same league as The Godfather Part II or The Empire Strikes Back. Heath Ledger’s Joker is already the performance of legend. I am still not used to the fact that he is dead. It will be odd to watch his performance. Aaron Eckhart looks like he may finally give Harvey Dent the treatment he deserves. The idea of Chad from In The Company Of Men playing Harvey Dent is too delicious for words. The trailer was very powerful. This was before Heath Ledger’s death. The trailer has an emotional punch I cannot describe. Maybe it is Hans Zimmer’s and James Newton Howard’s score pulsating throughout, but it is an effective trailer. It makes you want to see the film as soon as possible. Why am I looking forward to The Dark Knight? In the darkness, we are all equal as we watch the images flicker across the screen. I go to the movies to be fully absorbed by the action on the other side of the screen. Movies are truly interactive and ask that you watch them and not let them watch you. Epic films are hard to come by. Sometimes they take the form of Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood. Their scope is truly epic. After watching Batman Begins, I can truly say that Christopher Nolan is in the process of making an epic comic book trilogy. The Dark Knight may turn out to be an epic for our times. I am willing to give Christopher Nolan the benefit of the doubt. He is one of a handful of visionaries who have made going to the movies a necessary part of my life.