Popular Culture ArchiveBreathing Life Into a Stale Medium
Written by Arik Jones. Posted on July 31st 2008
It’s been years since I’ve read a comic book. I’m positive it’s the same for lots of people my age (24). Frankly I just feel too grown-up to give my time to them anymore. However, Marvel and DC Comics seem to be staging a comeback through a strategy not for the faint of heart: pursuing people who were fans like me earlier in their lives with movies.
Thanks to the wonderful works of Marvel and DC Comics (and the open minds of various Hollywood directors), we now have a thriving new genre of cinematic experiences that is here to stay. Common favorites like Spider-Man, Batman and the Hulk have found a new home on the big screen.
To sit in that sound-padded room, just before the preview segments, with a full bucket of popcorn, your favorite soda and a small entourage of equally excited friends preparing to be amazed by a fresh new perspective of a comic-born adventure is an unbeatable cinematic experience. Whether you’re there for the story or the joys and mysteries of a possibly great sequel, even if it turns out to be an average flick, you’re coming out of that theater with a new spin on how a movie should be done.
One could only hope this siege to marry cinematic suspense with deeply rooted comic book tales will continue for decades to come. We know at least in the next few years, we’ll see more and more super-heroes hitting the big screen, opening more people’s eyes to the nostalgia and wonderful worlds previously hidden in comic books.
What super-heroes or comics would you like to see adapted for cinema?
The Dark Knight
Written by Taylor Landine. Posted on July 28th 2008
Over the past several years Hollywood has provided plenty of superhero and comic book based movies. Some have been action movies and some spoofs, yet all of them have either changed the way we see these icons, or just made us wish they had been never done in the first place. They have come and gone, captivated and impressed, and most often simply given the world a grand sense of nostalgia.
While the Batman brand has the most incarnations in theaters, it also has a far from inspiring track record. Some of the movies suffer from being overly dark and too campy, while others have just been worse than a saturday morning cartoon on crack cocaine, the batman franchise has already had its darkest moments.
When Batman Begins was first released in 2005, it seemed to be the dawn we had all hoped for. Many felt this movie was a breath of fresh air and had not only given new life to the Batman franchise, but it had also finally shown us what Batman really stood for. However, many fans who knew a sequel was in the works feared that The Dark Knight would follow the same franchise trend of botching sequels. Yet director and writer Chris Nolan has broken the trend. The Dark Knight not only lives up to its predicesor, but it surpased it and raised the bar for sequels of any genre.
The Dark Knight picks up roughly a year after Batman Begins and follows the escalation of crimes and corruptions in Gotham City. Batman (Christian Bale) has become a symbol of fear in the eyes of criminals, one of hope and strength for many citizens, but to the Joker (Heath Ledger) Batman is just too much fun. From its amazing introduction, to its triumphant ending, The Dark Knight delivers the experience that movie goers have been waiting for.
Although at times it may be too much for a younger audience, The Dark Knight brings you to a darker, grittier Gotham over run by crime, corruption through all the ranks, and ruled by madmen. The film shows how a madman can corrupt even the greatest of men, and we see how one man has to make a choice that can make him into legend. The bottom line is that The Dark Knight is simply amazing. The cast delivered its “A” game and at times made you forget that these were actors playing the roles of comic book characters.
The Dark Knight has joined the ranks of contenders for the best movie of the year - the only question , and with it already breaking box office record after record, we may even be seeing it at the Oscars.
