The Dark Knight Returns Part I & Part II Deluxe Oct 8

[MykeHavoc]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

Dark Knight Returns is easily the best movie out of the entire animated DC oeuvre. They translated the story almost perfectly from the graphic novel to the screen without bogging down in the minutiae. If this had been live-action, the script is better than any of the "real" Batman movies, including Batman Begins.

Every creative decision is so perfectly rendered that the one glaring flaw does stick out. Kevin Conroy is the voice of Batman and not using him on this production continues to be a disgrace. Stunt casting Peter Weller as Batman is a shameful decision. Listen up WB, there isn't a single person in the US buying this movie because they see Peter Weller's name on the back of the case. Warner's obsession with washed-up actors and C-list stars doing the voices is hurting the final quality of the product.

Stop letting dumb marketing decisions ruin the casting for these animated features!

Not sure what you're complaining about. Weller did an excellent job.

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by RJ Smoove

Weller was great. Gave Bruce the heft he needed as overweight and old as he was. Love Conroy as well, I grew up on his voice, but I don't throw a hissy when he isn't casted.

I'm exactly the same way. I grew on Conroy as Batman, he's my go to version when I think of the character, but he isn't the only one who can do the voice. I thought Weller was excellent as the older, more seasoned and broken down Bruce. He was perfect in the role. Some people are just never happy and need something to complain about...That's been happening a lot around these parts lately.

[MykeHavoc]

It's not as if there's a shortage of Conroy Batman out there. I look at it like this: imagine if the Batman comics had different writers every 6 or 7 months but every single issue until the end of time was drawn by the same artist. That would get boring rather quickly. I think that a lot of what makes something work is a group effort, and Kevin's best Batman stuff is when it is creatively involving the Timm/Dini team on writing and art. Since Bruce is only an EP on these releases, and the direction, art and stories are so diverse, I have no issue with them mixing it up once in a while with voice talent. Besides, Conroy still does just about every other release as is. And we have no idea if he was offered the part and had to turn it down for personal reasons or schedule conflict. The films are great and I've been satisfied with every Batman voice thus far.

[Batmon77]

Can we get past Conroy and Hamill?

Dudes who grew up on one voice need to expand their palate. There is Batman before those two and Batman after.

I guarantee the Voice Cultists never or scarcly raed Batman Comics until it came on Fox. If u did u would have established your own inner voice for who these characters sound like, and wouldnt be so disappointed when someone else interprets them.

Honestly is there really any bad Joker/Batman interpretations since the animated movies debuted? Was one that turned off by the Batman in a New Frontier?

[MykeHavoc]

Originally Posted by Batmon77

Can we get past Conroy and Hamill?

Dudes who grew up on one voice need to expand their palate. There is Batman before those two and Batman after.

I guarantee the Voice Cultists never or scarcly raed Batman Comics until it came on Fox. If u did u would have established your own inner voice for who these characters sound like, and would be so disappointed when someone else interprets them.

Honestly is there really any bad Joker/Batman interpretations since the animated movies debuted? Was one that turned off by the Batman in a New Frontier?

Nope. I thought Sisto was an excellent choice. Wish he had more dialogue to work with.

[eastx]

Next thing you guys will be arguing that Pierce Brosnan turned in as good a performance as James Bond as Sean Connery did.

I liked Weller in this, though he was a bit too monotone as his range is limited. And that "Let any guy off the street play Batman for a film!" attitude that a few of you espouse is exactly what lead to the terrible choice of lead in Batman Year One.

[zoodermin]

Originally Posted by eastx

Next thing you guys will be arguing that Pierce Brosnan turned in as good a performance as James Bond as Sean Connery did.

I liked Weller in this, though he was a bit too monotone as his range is limited. And that "Let any guy off the street play Batman for a film!" attitude that a few of you espouse is exactly what lead to the terrible choice of lead in Batman Year One.

I don’t think any guy should play Batman. I agree that Benjamin McKenzie was miscast as Batman in Year One but at the same time I think both Bruce Greenwood and Peter Weller did great jobs in Under the Red Hood and Dark Knight Returns respectively. My point is that Conroy is the best but he’s not going to be in every Batman film so we need to look for other actors that can provide different but great takes on the superhero. Not “anyone" should play Batman but I think there are talented actors out there that can lend their voices for new productions.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by zoodermin

I don’t think any guy should play Batman. I agree that Benjamin McKenzie was miscast as Batman in Year One but at the same time I think both Bruce Greenwood and Peter Weller did great jobs in Under the Red Hood and Dark Knight Returns respectively. My point is that Conroy is the best but he’s not going to be in every Batman film so we need to look for other actors that can provide different but great takes on the superhero. Not “anyone" should play Batman but I think there are talented actors out there that can lend their voices for new productions.

I've got issues with this kid-friendly version of The Dark Knight Returns, but voice casting isn't among them. Weller's great in the role.

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by zoodermin

I don’t think any guy should play Batman. I agree that Benjamin McKenzie was miscast as Batman in Year One but at the same time I think both Bruce Greenwood and Peter Weller did great jobs in Under the Red Hood and Dark Knight Returns respectively. My point is that Conroy is the best but he’s not going to be in every Batman film so we need to look for other actors that can provide different but great takes on the superhero. Not “anyone" should play Batman but I think there are talented actors out there that can lend their voices for new productions.

Exactly! Well said.

[eastx]

Originally Posted by Batmon77

can you find a quote in this entire thread?

I was being sarcastic, sort of exaggerating the sentiment underlying several comments like these:

Originally Posted by Batmon77

Dudes who grew up on one voice need to expand their palate. There is Batman before those two and Batman after.

Originally Posted by zoodermin

I completely agree. For me Conroy and Hamill are the definitive Batman and Joker but that doesn’t mean others shouldn’t be given the opportunity to try the characters.

Originally Posted by Squall835

I love Conroy's voice acting, but I'm glad he doesn't do every single animated film that DC does as we get to see other actors take on the role.

I think a lot of people could make this argument better than me, but here goes... The reason people want Kevin Conroy to play Batman (or Hamill to play Joker, and to a lesser but similar extent, Daly to play Supes, Brown to play Luthor, etc.) is that he and the other Timmverse leads actors were perfectly cast. Their performances have become iconic and will always be remembered (and likely preferred) as long the Timmverse series and films remain alive in people's minds and available for new viewers to discover.

It's very much like Sean Connery as Bond, which I mentioned already. How long did it take for a Bond actor to come around (Daniel Craig) that the majority would even consider to be in Connery's league? A new guy can come along and do Batman, and he might be good at it. But his performance will be varying degrees less perfect, less iconic than Conroy's would. It doesn't matter that Batman was around in animation before TAS or after it. The likelihood of reaching that perfect casting is just really low.

Clearly Conroy, Hamil, and co's performances don't resonate quite as much with you as they do others. But they do still resonate with many and that's not going away anytime soon. You can cast Conroy as Batman and receive zero complaints about his performance, or you can cast a different guy every time and always receive some complaints. Which is the better choice, as far as pleasing viewers?

However, I do think WB could avoid some of the criticism by being more open about why a preferred actor wasn't used as the lead. Was Conroy unavailable? Does he cost more than the janitor hired to play Bats in Year One? Is there some reason in Andrea Romano's eye that Conroy would actually be less suitable for a particular film than the other guy? A modicum of transparency would at least reduce the amount of debate, even if some people would still complain.

[MykeHavoc]

Originally Posted by eastx

Next thing you guys will be arguing that Pierce Brosnan turned in as good a performance as James Bond as Sean Connery did.

Connery will always be the best but it would be fairly asinine to say that Brosnan didn't do the role justice. Being 26, he was my generation's Bond. Goldeneye was a huge resurgence of pure Bond goodness after some middling excitement over the Dalton and latter Moore films.

[eastx]

Originally Posted by MykeHavoc

Connery will always be the best but it would be fairly asinine to say that Brosnan didn't do the role justice. Being 26, he was my generation's Bond. Goldeneye was a huge resurgence of pure Bond goodness after some middling excitement over the Dalton and latter Moore films.

Yeah, I don't mean to belittle Brosnan's performance too much. It's very much like you said.

[kdawq]

Great movie, personally I put it above Under the Red Hood, only because I'm a big fan of the graphic novel, read it numorous times over the years and it was great to see some sort of new take on it. Also nice to watch the Batman and Me Bob Cane Bio found in the special features. Interesting to see the part Hugh Hefner played in getting the 60's TV show made.

[JetsFoo]

is this a good blind buy??

[MykeHavoc]

Originally Posted by JetsFoo

is this a good blind buy??

I would say so. For hardcore fans and newcomers alike, it's a pretty ideal story. My only suggestion
is to get Batman Year One as well if you already haven't, as they are bookends in the same universe.

[SammymeBlu]

I liked the previous 2 Batman films by Nolan but DKR in my humble opnion was a letdown oevrall,it felt very rushed.Nolan himself did not want to make the 3rd Batman right away and wanted to wait but the powers that be at WB or other studios do not liek to wait ona franschise that is making big bucks,they want it NOW no matter what,same thing can be said about Bay and the Transformers movies and it shows the rush to get them out in the end result shows.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by SammymeBlu

I liked the previous 2 Batman films by Nolan but DKR in my humble opnion was a letdown oevrall,it felt very rushed.Nolan himself did not want to make the 3rd Batman right away and wanted to wait but the powers that be at WB or other studios do not liek to wait ona franschise that is making big bucks,they want it NOW no matter what,same thing can be said about Bay and the Transformers movies and it shows the rush to get them out in the end result shows.

Wrong thread.

[Remnant]

Finally got around to watching this, after Amazon took their sweet time with shipping. Definately enjoyed it but it doesnt top my list of DCUA blus. Upper half for sure.

I am also pleased to know that Oliva storyboarded Man of Steel.

[zoodermin]

I need some help from you guys. I want to see more DC animated films but I don’t know which one I want to see first. Which ones would you recommend that are good? So far I’ve seen Under the Red Hood, The Dark Knight Returns, part 1, Year One and Justice League: Doom. Thanks!

[SethRex]

I've seen a few films myself. I've seen Superman/Batman: Public Enemies and Apocalypse, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Batman: Gotham Knight, Batman Year One, Batman: Under the Red Hood.