I thought about uploading some more music here, for the heck of it. I am a huge fan of Batman, he is my favourite superhero. I love the Batman trilogy Christopher Nolan made, the movies are my favourite superhero movies, bare none. I like The Dark Knight Rises a bit less than the previous two, mainly because it is the ending of the story, but there are a thing or two that I enjoy less than the movies that came before.That said, it is still a quality movie. And I LOVE the score by Hans Zimmer, by far the best superhero movie score, again bare none.
So this leads me to Catwoman. The character is great, a morally ambiguous antihero, cat burglar and femme fatale. And she is a cat-lover like me. I even sometimes prefer her spin-off comic books series to the Batman ones. I really loved the take Nolan had on Catwoman, and Anne Hathaway is so natural in the role she seems to have just burst out of the comic books' pages. Catwoman is never referred to by her nickname in the movie. So the title of my post should be "Selina Kyle's theme". All the same, we know who the character is. The theme is a beautiful, subtle piece that is full of feline attitude, first aloof and mysterious, with a bit of menace, then becomes nervous and agressive.
Great piece of music! I haven't seen that movie yet. Bit behind on my Batman viewing.
ReplyDeleteI pretty much entirely disagree with you here, ha ha. I love Batman, but I absolutely loathe Nolan's films. I also really felt that they abused Catwoman in DK Rises. I really dislike how sexist their treatment of the character is. She pretty much exists solely as a sex object and for the rich white man, Batman, to "set her straight" for empowering herself. It's a lot of the same creepy right-wing dickery that I've noticed throughout Nolan's films. I hear that Christopher Nolan didn't even want to include Catwoman, but Jonathan Nolan forced his hand, which makes perfect sense, considering how unnecessary her role is to the plot.
ReplyDeleteBut, hey, Hans Zimmer is one of my favorite composers, and his excellent scores have been the saving grace of many a snookered pooch.
@Debra-Thanks for commenting. It is a good movie, but a lesser one than The Dark Knight.
ReplyDelete@Mantan-May I ask why you loathe Nolan's movies? They are far superior to the Burton movies (which I enjoyed) or the stupid cartoonish parades of Schumacher.
How is the treatment sexist? Or more sexist than in the comics? Catwoman in Nolan's movie certainly serves the plot, I mean the burglar could have been anyone, it might as well be a character from the source material. She is the perfect counterpart to Wayne/Batman: morally ambiguous like him, but on the other side of the spectrum. Yes, she has selfish traits, but this is not unlike some of the comic's interpretation.
While DKR is my least favorite of the Nolan trilogy, I still find it far superior to any of the Batman films before it. I have to disagree with Mr. Calaveras though, as I thought it was the opposite of sexist. She was using her sexuality and her skills in the pursuit of crime and manipulation. Wayne/Batman sees her for being far more than that, and reaches out to her. He sees her potential, and doesn't want her to lower herself anymore. In Selina's case, it just took one person who wasn't a sexist pig to see beyond her sex appeal, and know there was far more to her.
ReplyDeleteI was actually surprised at how much I liked Hathaway in the role. I had actually expected another lackluster Katie Holmes-style performance, but was pleased to see that Hathaway brought a lot more layers to the role than what was on the surface.
Still, I do feel there are some major missteps with the storyline of DKR. I felt Joseph Gordon Levitt's character was rather under-developed (although he was good in the role), the script too crammed with story details (it easily could have been split into two films) and it had way too many corny, sentimental moments that seemed at odds with the rest of the trilogy. Oh, and don't even get me started with the cheesy "Robin" thing at the end. GROAN!
Still, it did wrap up the story quite well, and I vastly prefer it to all the cinematic interpretations to date. Of course, NO Batman in mass media has EVER been as good as Batman: The Animated Series. That is STILL the best interp of the Dark Knight, with solid, consistent storytelling, characterizations and performances. I'd like to see the film series take a page from the Bond franchise going forward, with more self-contained, episodic adventures. Use this structure, with the sensibilities of the animated series, and I think we'd have a true Batman franchise that could continue for decades.
@The Gill-Man-I really enjoyed Hathaway in the role too. I think Nolan's movies are superior to the animated version, which is great but as a series it had its ups and downs, and while it had strokes of genius, nothing like Nolan's Joker (or even Ra's as Ghul). I would love to see a Bond-like Batman series, using Nolan's trilogy as a starting point (with some retcon if they must), however I heard they will go for a full reboot. Shudder.
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