Who Wore It Better: Mask Edition

Lots of Bane comparisons out there (they should be talking Black Mask, if you want to go Batman villain).  But it's just the black version of Aldo Montoya.  Cut and dry. 

Top 10 Tuesday: Batman Villains

Time to start up a weekly segment here on The Brief.  Top 10 Tuesday.  Is it the most original thing?  No.  Are lists something a 3rd grader could do?  Yes.  But people like rankings and it's easy to argue someone's list.  So for as long as it lasts, I present, Top 10 Tuesdays: Batman Villains.  (I don't consider Catwoman a villain, just too friendly with Batman.)

Honorable Mention: Hush, The Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Holiday, Victor Zsasz

10. Calender Man

Julian Day committed crimes based on significant days/ holidays on calender, hence the name.  It may seem corny, but in the graphic novel The Long Halloween, Calender Man basically played the role of Hannibal Hector.

9. Bane

I didn't love The Dark Knight Rises.  Bane, however is one of the best bad guys to mess with Batman.  Brains and Bronze with the voice of an underwater Sean Connery, what's not to like?  Oh and he also broke the Bat.

8. Ra's al Ghul

His daughter Talia, could probably also be on this list.  Ra's is the leader of the League of Assassins, and one of Batman's toughest foes.  He was the perfect villain in Batman Begins and I'm pretty sure he is everything proof.

7. Scarecrow

Dr. Jonathan Crane.  He was a great addition to the Christopher Nolan trilogy.  He uses a lot of drugs and toxins to mess with the minds of whomever.  Lot of toxin-wielding villains in Gotham City.  Toxins.

6. The Riddler

I have always enjoyed, Edward Nigma aka The Riddler.  Who doesn't love riddles, puzzles, and word games?  Throw in a sweet green suit, question marks, and a cane... that's a villain!

5. The Mad Hatter

Is Jervis Tetch a rip off of an Alice in Wonderland character?  Of course he is.  But he's a real sick-o.  Another dude who relies on mind-control devices.  Dare I say toxins?  He's obsessed with the Lewis Carroll book and is a genius.  He needs to be in one of these 13 Ben Affleck movies.

4. Two-Face

D.A. Harvey Dent was a guy fighting for Gotham.  WAS.  A court room incident (in the comic storylines) turned him into one of the best villains of all-time.  The coin flip is bad ass and where does he get those suits?

3. Poison Ivy

Pamela Isley is all about the toxins.  She can also control plants.  You wouldn't think that would be very helpful, but turns out it works for her.

2. Harley Quinn

Dr. Harleen Quinzel was a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum where she was working with The Joker and boom she falls in love with him and goes nuts.  Great idea.  She started on the animated TV series, was worked in the comics and is probably at her best in the video games such as Batman: Arkham City.

1. The Joker

Couldn't be anyone else.  The most famous villain in all of comics.  The Joker is the best.  Whether it's old school Adam West Batman, or Jack Nicholson and of course Heath Ledger.  Check out the graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke if you want an origin story for the greatest villain all-time.

Rich Reviews: The Dark Knight Rises

Chances are you have already seen The Dark Knight Rises.  Well I didn't see it til this past Saturday, so here is my review anyway.

The Dark Knight Rises is good.  In fact it's very good, but not great.  I preferred The Dark Knight to any other in this trilogy or any Batman film prior and now sense.  This most recent installment was facing some tough obstacles right out of the gate.  The main villain in the film, Bane, is some what limited.  He talks through a mask with a funny accent, making him difficult to understand at times.  Bane made his comics debut in 1993, that's more than 50 years after Batman was introduced and certainly long after many of his most infamous counterparts hit the big time (Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, etc.) 

That is not my main complaint, as "newer" villains can certainly be very complex, entertaining and all of that.  (In fact, I wish Harley Quinn was somehow included in The Dark Knight along with the Joker).  But Banes story, although interesting in its own right, could never live up to The Joker, or even Two-Face, The Riddler (if done the right way) and others.  Tom Hardy did a great job playing Bane, Christopher Nolan utilized Bane probably as well as you could, and still its a far cry from The Joker (Heath Ledger's performance, combined with the history of the character, his standing amongst all-time super villains, and that incredible relationship between Batman and him.). 

So going into the movie, I knew that the best Bane could only go so far, and I was proven right.  My other complaint going in was the decision to cast Anne Hathaway as Catwoman.

Don't get me wrong, she is a great actress, probably a better actress than any in the age bracket for this Catwoman.  But she's not hot.  I don't see it.  Mila Kunia, Natalie Portman, Megan Fox (after 10 years worth of acting lessons... ok then she's out), would have been better.  But the truth is, Hathway was fine. 

I thought they could have explained Catwoman and Bane's stories a little bit more, that might have helped with both of them for me.  No spoilers here, but the film takes place 8 years after the last, and these two new characters seem to be thrown in a bit. 

I understand that The Dark Knight Rises is meant as a conclusion to the trilogy.  With that said, I felt it served as a pretty good wrap up.  It's a very solid film both for the Batman die hards and the comic book novices out there.  I recommend it, but don't think there is any way to compare it to the Ledger driven Dark Knight. 

8/10

(Batman Begins probably gets an 8/10, I'll have to see Rises again to really break the tie and determine which is better.  The Dark Knight is definitely 10/10.)

-Keefe