Joke's on you

Surfing the internet I came across an article about the sequel for Batman Begins. Of all the Batman treatments that have been shown--- from the hyper-campy AdamWest-television version of the 60s (Holy sardines Batman!) to the goth fairy tale tratment of Tim Burton, and its eventual degradation in the hands of Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever/Batman and Robin)---Christopher Nolan's treatment had fans who were turned off by the recent films hoping again. And casting Christian Bale in the title role was the most appropriate casting choice I have seen in the comic book movie adaptation genre in the last few years. Having seen Memento and Insomnia from Nolan, and Bale's portrayal of brooding and mentally unstable characters from Equilibrium and American Psycho respectively, I was confident this production team could pull it off. And pulled it off they did. It was like watching an excellent graphic novel that several die-hard fanboys of the comic told me they actually clapped after the screening.

The Dark Knight, the sequel, looks very promising from what I've read. We'll be introduced to The Batman's arch-nemesis The Joker. Most people are confused by this, saying The Joker died in the Tim Burton version. That's why the first film was called Batman Begins-it has no relationship whatsoever in the previous films; a sort of reset if you may. Heath Ledger would be the clown prince of crime though I would have preferred Back To The Future's Crispin Glover. He even looks like The Joker without any make-up on. I actually even signed an on-line petition so the studio would take him. But I guess an Oscar award speaks volumes. But hell, I'd even watch it if they got Vin Diesel for the part.

What I like most about Nolan's treatment of the material is that he has reverence for what the character as he is popularly known by comic-book fans; something that is also not unlike what Sam Raimi did for the SpiderMan series. The Tim Burton version was okay but the one by Joel Schumacher, specially the one with George Clooney in it practically looked so moronic that it could have been any nut in a Batsuit trading insults and trashtalk with the badguys (Batman is not particularly known for his sense of humor). With the Bale version, you'd actually believe the guy's motivation for wearing a costume and jump on rooftops at night instead of dating supermodels and driving sports cars. The sequel, in addition, has the feel and overall look of one of the best Batman graphic novels called The Killing Joke written by Watchmen and V For Vendetta's Alan Moore.

In any case, along with Spiderman, it's still the best superhero movie adaptation i have seen so far.