The Dark Knight Returns animated movies news

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Out Of My Vulcan Mind, May 23, 2012.

  1. nvek86

    nvek86 Commander Red Shirt

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    I think the problem wasn't that Wonder Woman didn't sell enough DVDs, but that it didn't sell them fast enough.

    And Emerson as the Joker is an interesting choice. I'd planned to skip these two releases, but now I'm curious.
     
  2. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    IMDB is listing Mark Valley as the voice of Superman in "The Dark Knight Returns Part II" so it's probably not true.
     
  3. Captaindemotion

    Captaindemotion Admiral Admiral

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    ^Probably not but if true, it's a decent enough choice.
     
  4. Gaith

    Gaith Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Aye. I don't much see the point of a TDKR that doesn't have the ragged and dirty visual flavor of Miller's book. (Which I'm not a huge fan of, but if one does it, one should do it right.)
     
  5. Admiral_Young

    Admiral_Young Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Mark Valley would indeed be a decent choice...I've been a fan of his for a long time, but it's IMDB so I automatically am skeptical :)
     
  6. Warped9

    Warped9 Admiral Admiral

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    While it had a feel to it I never really cared for the art in the original TDKR, especially the second half. And that would have been more bother than it's worth to replicate it exactly. So I have no problem with what this feature looks like so far.
     
  7. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    ^Sure, I have no desire to see Miller's art style accurately reproduced. I'm thinking more in terms of the tone of the story and its world, and what kind of visual style would be a good fit for that. Something rougher-edged, grungier, less slick would seem to work better.
     
  8. Warped9

    Warped9 Admiral Admiral

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    I'll reserve final judgement until I see the complete feature.
     
  9. Captaindemotion

    Captaindemotion Admiral Admiral

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    That sort of open-mindedness has no business on the internet. :p
     
  10. Warped9

    Warped9 Admiral Admiral

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    I'm having a weak moment.
     
  11. Enterprise is Great

    Enterprise is Great Vice Admiral Admiral

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  12. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Hmmm, Valley's not someone that immediately comes to mind when I think of Superman, but I like him so I have no complaints about his casting.
     
  13. Admiral James Kirk

    Admiral James Kirk Writer Admiral

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    Yeah. He looks more like Captain America.
     
  14. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Which is one of the biggest advantages to animation. You can cast entirely on performance, and don't have to worry about appearance.
     
  15. God Magnus

    God Magnus Commodore Commodore

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    I just got out of a screening of this film held at the Paley Center in New York City. Even cooler, after the movie there was a brief panel with David Selby (Gordon), Jay Oliva (Director) and Andrea Romano(!). They did some prescreened questions by the moderator and then took questions from the audience.

    I'm not going into a long winded review, but questions are welcome. These are just some impressions.

    Visually, I was worried at first because Gotham looked very "clean" whereas I've always felt the comic was very gritty in terms of how the pencils and inks were done. However, where Gotham lacked trash and bits of background detail everywhere, it more than made up for with lighting, texture and even the graininess of some of the buildings. Several iconic establishing shots of the city from the comic book were put right up on screen which made the teenager in me squeal with delight.

    Speaking of delight, there were many key panels taken right out of the comic book and put into motion on screen. This included the famous cover shot of Batman's silouette against lightning, Batman with the "grapple rifle" aiming at the Gotham tower, the Mutant leader yelling at the Batmobile, parts of the mud pit fight and others.

    All the voice talent was spot on. I was skeptical about Weller as Batman at first, but he won me over in minutes. His voice has the gravely, world weariness that I expected from "this" Batman and it worked very well. Ariel Winter played Carrie pretty much how I always heard her voice when I read the comic and it was great to hear some other familiar voices such as Tara Strong take part. Andrea mentioned that almost every actor did about three voices in the movie (aside from the headline cast). This includes Gary Anthony Williams who plays one of the recurring reporters as well as the Mutant Leader.

    Change-wise, the director was restrained. A lot of the key bits you need for the story are in there with some minor tweaks (some I didn't care about, others I wish had not been changed), but nothing wrecked the movie at all. The themes were all there (Bruce trying to "fight" the demon of Batman within himself until it comes out, Harvey Dent being a reflection of Bruce/Batman, social commentary on news programs etc.). There are som eEaster Eggs in there that didn't appear in the comic book, but they were amusing. Some people may find the addition of one scene controversial (it involves young Bruce Wayne) but I personally liked it.

    I confess I haven't bought most of the Direct to DVD WB movies, just a few here and there if I liked them. This one is going to be a must purchase for me!
     
  16. drychlick

    drychlick Captain Captain

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    This get me MAD1 the movie is not at redbox or Blockbuster!! OR on demand! the movie cost $15 and i am not buying a movie i will only watch 1 time for $15! well there lost!:confused:
     
  17. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    It'll probably show up on rental services about a month after it goes on sale. That's the way it usually works with these.
     
  18. Mike Farley

    Mike Farley Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Yeah, Warner Bros deal with Red Box (and others) makes their movies available a month out. This gives them a better chance to sell copies of their new release.
     
  19. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I'm watching it on Time Warner On Demand even as I write this.

    It's pretty damn entertaining.
     
  20. the G-man

    the G-man Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Oh, and with two words of dialogue, Michael Emerson came close to toppling Mark Hamill.