Fresh from this weekend’s San-Diego Comic-Con is a 8-minute featurette about Batman. It’s hit geekdom like a minor ICBM.
The lads at AINC.com are going ape, pro and con. I saw it, I liked it a LOT, and even as a Batfan I disliked MOST of the movies. So ignore my comments in the title; that was just to get you IN here.
Assuming you’ve been to San Diego… or have been able to uh, “secure” a “copy” from a “friend” just to “look” at… I was curious what the unwashed masses thought of the short itself, the look of this Batman costume and the inspired choice of Batman’s enemies…
I found a coverted Mpeg of the Batman: Dead End on … a , uh, file… somewhere… that I managed to upload. Problem was it was 80 mgs and had no sound, so I’m not sharing it. The Quicktime plug-ins I downloaded to play on Winamp didn’t seem to work.
Tengu: I hate Quicktime too – banned it from my system for over a year now – but I liked this clip enough to download the QT player.
A) That’s the best damn looking Batman I’ve ever seen on film/screen. Ever. The guy they got was great. The costume was wonderful and he moved right. And what the hell is his cape made from? (it was perfect!!! ) It didn’t move like leather or rubber.
B) Interesting Joker. I liked it. I’d have liked it more if he’d been in the Marshall Rodgers outfit (sort of a Colonel Sanders/Southern Gentleman outfit with a string tie and a straw hat…but in purple and green)…the look of the makeup was great, but the contrast with the dapper Marshall Rodgers look would have made it greater, IMO.
C) I was less than enthralled by the bad-guys that follow the Joker. Yeah, Bats has fought 'em in the past, but…but they’re not really Bat-villains, are they? I’d have rather seen, say Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, etc…or if they wanted to pay homage to other movies…how 'bout the Phantom Zone criminals from Superman II?
D) Assuming this is the whole thing (and not a clip…and since it has end-credits, I assume it is complete) I’d have been even more impressed by it if he’d managed a complete story. This sort of dribbles off. Hell, lame as it would have been, what if Bats had seen the last group, thought for a moment, closed his eyes, walked through them and, reaching out his hand, grabbed the forgotten old Bat-Villian “Spellbinder” (essentially, Marvel’s Ringmaster) by the throat. Yeah, granted, it’s lame, but at least it would have made it a concrete ending rather than the dribbles off ending. (Keep in mind, I’m aware that I’m nit-picking. I still liked it a lot! )
E) I’m really impressed by the cinematography. Has anyone ever heard of this director before?
You have to look at this as a demo reel showing what the director can do on a budget compiled by returning bottles to the supermarket. As such, it’s certainly impressive. I have to assume he’s not intending it as a filmed story, since it sucks, confirming everybody’s worst stereotypes of how mindless comic books are.
I’m not sure it dribbles off, Fenris. After all, the title is Batman: Dead End. Bats dies two seconds after the cameras stop rolling.
Does anybody know if all the parties involved actually gave permission to use their characters? I find that hard to believe.
I thought it was pretty interesting. Especially the fact that they managed to get some authentic costumes. I mean, the comics have already touched on the idea, what, four times now? I think it works. One thing I have a question about:
Batman, to my knowledge, has a strict “No kill” policy. He knows the Predators are sentient and intelligent…does this apply to them as well? I know he’s got no qualms killing aliens. Supes does, though, which I find rather lame. Also, small nitpic…when the alien on top of him got shot, should he have got some acid on him or something?
I really liked the Joker. The make-up was a little bit much, but his voice and attitude was pretty good. I just took his costume to mean he recently escaped…I’m sure if he’d been out for a while, he’d have that nice purple suit.
I also liked Batman. The costume looked good, and it was just kinda nice to see someone with a realistic build doing some ass kicking as opposed to someone who’s physique comes from a mold. Kinda short, kinda silly, but lots of fun. Good comic come to life movie.
Well, the look is dead-on, especially the cape, and the joker. Unfortunately the acting isn’t up to snuff, and as much as I like Aliens, the last half comes off as very silly. Like Fenris, I would’ve preferred to see their takes on other Batman characters.
I’m having an impossible time trying to see this. The link provided tells me I’m not authorized to view the page, and searching Batman: Dead End on Google has returned nothing of any value.
Can someone please help? I saw a few photos, and they look cool.
Thanks in advance,
(smacking forehead) Aceospades, that the SAME LINK I posted in the OP!!
You bloated UNWASHED ignorant and STUPIFIED masses of EAGER underachievement! Jesus KEE-RIST almighty! I ALMOST don’t know 'ZACTLY why I ATTEMPT to bother ACTIVATING codespeak if LITERATE folks like you INSIST you can’t TELL my meaning EXACTLY when I say you should “borrow” a “copy” from a “friend” just to “look” at … I mean… what’s next … schoolboy code? Will I have to resort to using the first letter of every third word and spell out what you should do…?
