In a world beset by corruption, only one man, playboy by day and above-the-law action hero with access to unbelievable riches and technology by night, can take on a massive criminal syndicate, despite the misgivings of an older, better actor, to avenge a woman he loved and lost.
Sound familiar? Oh yeah, it’s The Dark Knight almost exactly (though this time, the older, better actor is a woman).
The incredible financial success of The Dark Knight has virtually guaranteed that we’re going to be seeing a lot more of this phenomenon — which I’m going to call Batmanization (either that or Nolanization; haven’t decided yet): a pervasive darkness in mood and tone, moody, inscrutable heroes that, even when they are state-sponsored, come off as vigilantes, and, judging by this trailer anyway, very little emphasis on sex, which I find shocking in a Bond film.
Agree? Disagree? Sound off in the comments.
You’re right. That trailer definitely reeked of Nolanization or whatever you want to call it.
That’s kind of sad, in a way. The old Bonds were silly, but the silliness was part of the attraction. Now it’ll probably just take itself too seriously. (Why so serious?)
The most interesting part of the trailer, by the way, was me saying the whole time, “Who IS that guy? I know him!” about the bad guy. Then finally: “OMG it’s the paralyzed guy from The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” Ha.
Best casting ever.
Terminator: Salvation: Having Christian Bale in it doesn’t hurt, but all accounts seem to point to it following this trend. Looks to be moody, dark, and full of unpredictable plot twists. From the IMDB synopsis:
But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright, a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind.
This, in spite of the fact that McG is directing it.
Guess Christopher Nolan wasn’t available.
McG has definitely had quite a career:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0629334/
I think my favorite credit on there is the video for Sublime’s “Santeria.” That’s one hell of a song.
Isn’t it entirely possible that this was filmed before The Dark Knight? I think you’d be nearer the mark if you said the approach to Casino Royale was due in part to the success of Batman Begins.
Or both were due to the complete suckitude of their last installments? *Shudders at the memory of Batnips*
Actually meant to say before the release of The Dark Knight!
Yeah, I agree with Ben, I think it was filmed before TDK and that the trailer was just tailored to fit that attitude. And the lack of sex sort of makes sense if you think about it more: he’s out for revenge for the death of the woman he almost quit spying for, the one he was willing to give up that playboy-ness to be with; so he may not be as interested in womanizing again yet, still reeling from her loss. And there IS that shot of him kissing the girl’s naked back (in the trailer I saw before, at least- it isn’t working on this page at the moment, so this could be a different version, but I’ve seen a trailer for it a dozen times or so between theaters and trailer-watching at home).
I disagree with Ben in that I think Batman Begins and Casino Royale were great. But I just thought of a question. Batman’s universe has been “Nolanized,” no doubt: he has made it clear that he wants to have his Batman movies possess a distinct separation from the older films by Burton and Schumacher. What about the latest Bond films? They seem to be a different interpretation of the Bond universe, as well. This cannot be by accident, so do the filmmakers want to distinguish between their Bond and the Bonds of the past? Are they trying to reinvent Bond? I mean, think of the parallels here: Casino Royale was similar to Batman Begins in that it gave us the origin of Bond’s 007 status: we see him get the last kill he needs to earn the number. And that movie was a lot less campy and far-fetched than the older Bond movies: the stunts, while awesome, weren’t as ridiculous, and nothing he or any character did made the part of me that refuses to suspend belief when watching films scream, “Are you fu**ing kidding me?!” like I did in every other Bond movie. Further, the last couple moments in Casino Royale give us a VERY strong hint about what will happen in the next one, similar to how Gordon shows Batman the Joker’s card at the end of BB. Then the follow up of Quantum of Solace appears, and, at least from the trailer, its appears as though it’s darker, the main character broods more, and, gasp, his former allies seem to be going after him. But I guess I’ll reiterate that I don’t think they made Quantum of Solace to fit TDK, because they had to be pretty much, if not completely, finished when TDK hit theaters. So unless they were able to see TDK early and got inspired or something, I think the trailer was edited in such a way to make it look like TDK. But the overall treatment of the two universes is quite similar, nonetheless, in my HUMBLE opinion.
By previous installments I was of course referring to Batman and Robin and Die Another Day. I didn’t want to explicitly reference them and now I have, I wish I hadn’t.
Oooh, ok. No, I agree, those sucked hard. Clooney even admitted that he “killed the batman genre” with Batman and Robin. Die Another Day made me cry inside.
“Die Another Day” may have been somewhat silly and over the top, but it’s no “Batman and Robin.” Need I remind you of Mr. Freeze?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU7tzVu2h6k
Two words: Chill out.
Speaking of the Bond/Nolan connection, Nolan has said himself that he’s a big Bond fan and would love to direct a Bond picture:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/features/?id=1921&pagenum=all&p=.htm
Given the state of that franchise now, I suppose one could argue that he wouldn’t add too much that hasn’t already been done with it. Also, given Nolan’s cachet, he may be “too big” to do Bond now.
He did say in that same interview that he would NOT be interested in doing a Harry Potter movie.
You can definitely see the Bond influence in TDK. Look at the scenes where Fox is explaining the new suit and he fires those spikes – that’s straight out of Bond. So we’re in the strange situation where Bond and Batman films seem to inspire each other.
The question is, how long until someone decides Batman v Bond is a good idea? Or how about Alien v Batman V Predator v Bond???
>>Or how about Alien v Batman V Predator v Bond???
I sense a disturbance in The Force…the sound of a million fanboys squealing in glee.
Nolanized? Frank Miller-ized is more like it. ‘Bout time, too. Burton’s Batman Blew.