I Finally Figured Out Why The Dark Knight Rises, Bothers Me So Much.

When I first saw TDKR in theatres back in 2012, I enjoyed it but it didn’t capture me the way the last two had. I still “enjoyed” it, but something else about it still bugged me. A week later I saw it again with a friend, still liked it, but this time I noticed the serious pacing issues the film has. But it wasn’t just that, something still felt off. I couldn’t figure out what made a lot of people love it so much, and why it just didn’t jive with me.

Over the years my subconscious was still trying to solve this riddle in my brain, and I slowly realized some of the things that bugged me about it. Selena Kyle’s costume is ugly and impractical, which takes me out of the film, after the first two thirds of Batman Begins was dedicated to convincing me that maybe Batman could exist in the real world. And because Selena is such a big part of the movie, there are too many parts of the movie where my brain is telling my that something is wrong, and makes it hard to enjoy.

Bane’s reimagining is a really cool and unique villain, but I have two big problems with him. One is the major plot point where he and his followers violently attack and hack into the stock exchange to bankrupt Bruce Wayne. Except that if such an attack actually occurred, all trading for the day would likely be canceled. For a more in depth look at why this doesn’t make any sense, The Atlantic wrote a good piece on it right here.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/07/banes-plan-to-bankrupt-batman-doesnt-make-any-sense/260191/

My second problem with Bane is the reveal of Talia, which for me, puts everything about his character into question. Is he really as smart as he appears, or was everything 100% Talia’s plan? Does he really understand what he’s fighting for, or is he just blindly following Talia, the way the other members of the League follow him throughout the film? On top of all these questions, the messy pacing of the film makes rewatching it very tedious. Because you’re watching two hours of one villain who you know isn’t as interesting as he appears. I wrote another paragraph about why Bane and Talia doesn’t work, but then I remembered that’s not important to the point I want to make here. I also just remembered that Joseph Gordon Levitt’s character is in this movie...damn this movie is a mess.

But when I really think about, TDKR’s serious structural problems are not what bothers me so much.. The problem is a much deeper one, on the thematic level. In the beginning of the film Bruce has become a reclusive shut in, who’s let his body, his persona and his company whither away. Events conspire that convince Bruce to suit up again, and he goes out as Batman, does some Batmanning for a bit….and loses. He ends up in the hole and gets taunted by Liam Neeson’s Ghost, until he escapes the hole by Batmanning harder. He then returns to Gotham at the last minute and saves the day by by Batmanning some more. Nothing changed. So why was he able to succeed?

I’ve heard it argued that what’s changed is that Bruce realizes he doesn’t have to do this all alone anymore, since he saves the day with the help of Selena, Gordon, the police, and Not-Robin. But that argument rings hollow for me. In Batman Begins, the very first thing Bruce does as Batman, before he even has a completed suit, is visit Gordon and to start building a relationship, because he always knew he couldn’t save Gotham alone. He also provides Rachel with lots of evidence so that she can help by putting corrupt officials away. Then in the finale, he trusts Gordon enough to drive the Batmobile and destroy the support pillar that derails the train while he tries to stop Ra’s directly.

Then in Dark Knight, Bruce is convinced Batman can’t help Gotham take the next step towards redemption, and looks to Harvey Dent. He also captures the Chinese Mobster in the beginning with the help of Fox, catches Joker with Gordon’s help in the middle of the film, and get’s Fox’s help again at the end with the cell phone sonar device. At the end, Batman only chooses to take all the blame himself because he believes it will bring an end to all this. He won’t need anymore help, because he won’t have to be Batman anymore, he can just be Bruce Wayne and have the cops chase a man that no longer exists so Harvey Dent’s name can be saved.

And that’s just it. In the beginning of TDKR, Bruce’s dilapidated state shows us that after hanging up the cowl, he failed at just being Bruce Wayne. That failure is a large part of the impetus for Gotham’s downfall. Had Bruce kept working without the cowl, to keep his company and Gotham in good shape, Talia and Bane’s plan probably wouldn’t have worked. Now this theme of Bruce failing to be Bruce Wayne is in the film, but the film’s answer to his failings isn’t to become a better Bruce Wayne, a better man, a better human being, but to do pushups in a hole until he can punch good again.

The end of the film shouldn’t have had Bruce succeed by doing the ultimate Batman thing, and sacrifice himself, but by choosing not to be Batman. Not by passing on the cowl, and going off to  sip wine and sleep with Catwoman in Europe for the rest of his life. But by growing up, taking responsibility and becoming the Bruce Wayne NOT the Batman that Gotham needs. To become the White Knight that Harvey Dent was prevented from becoming. The film should have ended with the Dark Knight “RISING” and become something more.

CALM THE F*#$ DOWN ABOUT CAPTAIN AMERICA

I'm genuinely shocked by how much of a Kerfuffle there is on the internet in reaction to the recent reveal in the most recent Captain America comic book, that Cap is (and apparently always has been) a Hydra sleeper agent. I think it comes down to the fact there are a lot more people getting into comics now thanks to the MCU, and these new readers don't understand the history of storytelling in the medium, and just how weird those stories get.

They don't know how the Marvel universe is brimming with characters who can accidentally reshape reality and history because they woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Or that someone with no powers can do the same because they sneezed on the wrong magical macguffin.

But this is being treated like its permanent. I think its because people have been trained by TV shows like Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, to expect sudden unexpected turns of events, death's of, or betrayals from characters they used to love. They expect to have their emotions toyed with by the storytellers.

But People don't understand that many of these shocking twists are ALMOST NEVER PERMANENT in comis, and are a result of new writers looking to do something new with characters who are (In Cap's case) 70 + Years old!!!!

So yeah, today Cap is a Hydra sleeper agent, probably because (according to a good fan theory) someone made a wish to a sentient magic artifact and rewrote history to make that reality. Tomorrow, Cap will probably be Cap again. And yesterday? Pfft yesterday Cap was a Werewolf. No really look it up. Cap turned into a Werewolf one time. Comics....am I right?

How To Do Backstory Right - Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orhpans

Having a rich sense of history is one of the fastest ways that any story can get me invested in its world. However many Anime, movies, TV, etc often do it in the clumsiest ways possible. The worst of which is when a large chunk of the story’s intro is an exposition dump giving out backstory that ends up killing the tension in the early part of the story while we wait for the  characters who weren’t part of the back story to learn what we already know.

Meanwhile, Iron Blooded Orphans takes the opposite approach. It starts us off by showing and cementing the most important relationship in the show, between Orga and Mikazuki. Young Mikazuki has just shot a man while a young Orga leans against a wall from behind with blood on his face. Some kind of paper currency is scattered all around the body of the dead man and just like that we know the most important thing about this story, that, it takes place in a world where there are children that have to kill in order to survive. Soon after that were shown that this is taking place on Mars, instantly informing us that this is far into the future, even though a specific date is never given.

(The First Episode of Iron Blooded Orphans on the official Gundam Youtube Page)

By far though, IBO does most of its world building through near constant reference to “The Calamity War” a conflict that occurred 300 years ago. Now just by hearing the name “Calamity War” we can be pretty certain that it was a very bad time for all of humanity. So bad in fact that during the flashback to Kudelia’s speech in episode 2, we learn how the war was ended by a truce that had several groups divide up governing rights for Earth and its colonies throughout the solar system. It's heavily implied that humanity was so desperate for peace that the hasty formation of new governments sowed the seeds for a poverty stricken Mars and a near serfdom like existence for the working class on Earth’s colonies.

We learn early on that Gjallarhorn is responsible for a good deal of the turmoil on Mars. In the very first episode we're shown that they are a corrupt, brutal organization, filled with people who will do anything to hold onto the power they have. As viewers were made to hate Gjallarhorn in the very first episode when its soldiers are shown to have zero hesitation when sniping the those poor kids on patrol around the bass. Then these assholes are being led by an even bigger asshole, who strait up disrespects his sensei. Not cool man not cool. If it wasn’t for Sensei Crank, Gjallarhorn would look even more like the Galactic Empire.

But just when we really start to hate Gjallarhorn, we’re told how they are the ones who banded together and put an end to the Calamity War 300 years ago. Their founders WERE the heroes, and probably could have been the main characters in their own Gundam series.

To top it all off, we get Barbatos. Pretty much every other Mobile Suit in the series is very practical, drab, and militaristic in its design, even the ones piloted by the flamboyant Turbines are all one color and still look designed for function first. But Barbatos is shining white, with blue, red and gold accents and an intricate headpiece. While every other mobile suit looks like it just walked off an factory assembly line, Barbotos looks like it just jumped out of a piece of ancient Japanese art. It looks mythical, almost magical, like it made to be a suit of armor for a god, not to be puppeteered by us tiny humans. And when were told that Barbatos is one of the 72 Gundam Mobile Suits that Gjallarhorn built, and which allowed them to end the war, were left to imagine just how epic and disastrous the Calamity War must have been if it took dozens of  Mobile Suits as heroic and mythical looking as Barbatos in order to finally bring the war to an end.

(The mythical looking Barbatos (Left) compared to the drab, militaristic design of Gjallarhorn's Mobile Suits (Right) )

Were left with the feeling that this is a world of remnants, of faded glory. A world that humanity has had to rebuild with scraps, and which has left most people living in the dirt, where the saviors of the past, are the oppressors of today, a world whose only hope for heroes, is a bunch of kids who are forced to kill for every meal.

Daredevil Season 2: A Tale of Two Thousand Ninjas

Daredevil Season 1 was eagerly anticipated by all fans of the Marvel MCU and it was pretty damn good. It had some cool action, a great villain and some likable protagonists. But without Kingpin, the show had to fill the void with something other than more tonal references to Batman Begins, while it waits for the inevitable Defenders team up series. Their answer is The Punisher, and he manages to fill that void....partially.

Jon Bernthal is surprisingly good as Punisher. He impressed me in Fury (A Move You Need To See) and now he's really proved himself to be a genuinely great actor here. Now whether or not there is range in that greatness is still unknown, because if they really do give Punisher his own series, he's gonna need to show a lot more than what we see of him here. That, or he might end up being the Hulk of Hell's Kitchen, great in a supporting role, but not always the main focus (For the record Incredible Hulk is one of my favorite MCU films hands down like...top 5 maybe 3).

BUT, something that really subtly irked me in Daredevil season 1, and has now really come to fruition in season 2, is that neither really feels like they are part of the MCU. Sometimes it almost feels like its embarrassed that it is, and wants to pretend its in its own (Totally Not Batman) universe. And the problem isn't the violence. The mind blowingly good Jessica Jones has many scenes of horrible violence and still feels like its taking place in the MCU, but down on the streets of New York from the perspective of everyday people.

Meanwhile even though he lives in a city that got attacked by Aliens a year ago, and lives in a world where a Nazi Cult almost took over the USA, and a city in Europe got lifted up into the sky, Matt Murdok continuously rolls his eyes in disbelief, when he's told that two Ninja Clans that have been fighting for centuries are about to duke it out in his city for a super natural power. "That's just a fairy tale" He says

Really????

Its all contributes to this weird sense I get that the show doesn't want to acknowledge the fantastical world that its characters live in, and instead is more interested in trying to replicate the successes of other popular TV shows from the past few years. Game of Thrones, other violent crime dramas, and even a little bit of Arrow.

One thing is for sure, its gonna feel REALLY weird if the Netflix MCU shows that come after the release of the new solo Spiderman movie, don't acknowledge or have camoes with Spidey or some of his villains.

Think about it. How cool would it be if Daredevil had to fight Mysterio In their first encounter DD wipes the floor with him because he can "see" through all of Mysterio's illusions with his super senses. But then in the next fight, Mysterio uses illusions based on Sound and Smell instead of Sight, and Matt really has a hard time determining what is real and what is fake.

Ok enough of that. Good Night All! May your dreams be filled with Ninjas.

How To Save The Fable Series In 5 Easy Steps

Well, it's been long, drawn out, and painful, but the slow motion creative train wreck, that has been Lionhead Studios since the release of Fable 3, appears poised to finally grind to a quiet pitiful halt. Microsoft has officially announced that it has canceled Fable: Legends, the 4 vs 1 multiplayer spin off of the titular franchise, that has consistently succeeded in making fans of the 12 year old series say “Huh?” “Ehh?” “The Fu-?” and asking the question “Why aren’t you making Fable 4?” every time it's shown off at an event.

To me, this is good news. Think about it, an Asymmetrical multiplayer game where the player chooses from a cast of pre-made characters with set personalities and abilities, based on a series that became popular for letting the player make their own character. Who is that game even supposed to be for? Microsoft seems to have finally come to a similar conclusion and canceled the troubled project.

http://news.xbox.com/2016/03/07/microsoft-studios-changes-uk-denmark/

However this news also came with the announcement that Microsoft is considering closing down developer Lionhead Studios as well (But Lionhead is basically closed already). Which personally has me worried about the future of the Fable series. But while closing Lionhead doesn’t automatically mean the end of the series, (since they could have another studio develop future sequels) neither MS, nor Lionhead have shown in the last half decade, that they understand what made the first two Fable games special, and haven’t yet developed a game that builds on those strengths. If this is the case, perhaps they no longer see any value in Fable as a brand.

But the record breaking success of Witcher 3, and Fallout 4 in 2015 proved that there is still a massive audience for single player only, open world RPGs, and if Microsoft and Lionhead follow these 5 easy steps,  Fable is likely to succeed as well.

Step 1: Make Fable 4 a Reboot

Part of what makes the first Fable my favorite game in the series, was its bright, beautiful world based on European fairy tales, overflowing with magic and monsters. The world felt positively saturated with magic, which made it a joy to be in, and explore.

Fable 2 decided to throw most of that out the window, putting us into a darker, more dreary world that had destroyed a Hero's Guild that had grown corrupt. I will admit, I can’t fault them for trying something different, and they had a good idea, but as a result the world was just a little bit less fun to explore, and had a bit less potential to surprise. Fable 3 made this even worse by stripping even more of the magic out, as Albion entered an age of industrialization and almost every enemy was a humanoid with a sword, with almost no monsters in sight.

Fable 4 needs to wipe the slate clean, get rid of the now muddled continuity, and start fresh with a world bursting at the seams with magic, monsters, heroes and villains.

Step 2: Keep Legends’ Art Style

The one unquestionably good thing about Legends, were its graphics. A bright and colorful world with well designed characters. It’s the art style of the original games reaching its full potential thanks to the power of modern consoles. Seriously just look at this trailer, its gorgeous!

Step 3: Steal the combat from Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

One thing that Fables 1-3 struggled with was combat. They gave you the choice between 3 Archetypal fantasy combat styles that were basically Knight, Rogue and Mage, with Magic usually proving to be overpowered. It all worked, but it was always a bit clunky and not the most fun to play. Then in Fable 3 they tried to “Streamline” the combat mechanics in one of the few instances where player’s accusations of developers “Dumbing It Down” were warranted. Trying to give players choice in their combat style while simultaneously making the combat easier to execute resulted in Fable 3’s combat being boring to play.

Then in February 2012 a little game called Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning came out. It was an open world RPG with 3rd person combat that felt like Devil May Cry or God of War. It also gives you the same three combat archetypes that Fable does.But, the controls were easy to learn and there was still depth with the way you could combine powers from different talent trees to make a unique fighting style. But most importantly the combat made you feel powerful, it made you feel like a hero. Sadly Reckoning’s publisher went under, and no one has iterated on its genius combat system. Fable has the chance to do that with Fable 4

Step 4: 

Have an open world more along the lines of Witcher 3 or Skyrim instead of the narrow corridor zones of 1-3.

Fable 1 and 2 were fun to explore, but ultimately the world’s were pretty small and ironically didn’t offer much choice in how they could be explored. Which was fine, Lionhead still made two fun games with the resources available to them. But by Fable 3, the small game world became boring with all of the magic stripped out of it. More recent Fantasy RPGs like Witcher 3 and Skyrim have demonstrated how to create an RPG open world that the player can explore however they choose. It doesn’t need to be exactly like those games, but putting less emphasis on a primary plot, and giving players a larger world where they can be whatever kind of hero should be a major part of Fable 4.

Step 5: 

Don't make all the moral choices so clearly Black and White.

This has been a problem with other series like Mass Effect or Infamous, where your only real choice is be Fully Good or Fully Evil, with no incentive to take some kind of middle ground, or alternate path. It became especially problematic in the Fable games where the only real choice the players had was to act like a Heavenly Saint who helps everyone in need, or the spawn of the Devil who leaves trails of dead puppies and spilled ice cream cones in their wake. Fable 4 needs to let the player take a road somewhere in between light and darkness.

However! This does not mean they should try to be like the Witcher series, where many times there is no right or wrong choice to make. Albion needs to be a world full of righteous heroes and malevolent villains, but it also needs to have characters that fill out the spectrum in between, and give the player the choice to be one of them.

           So there you go Microsoft, there is a fool proof way to bring Fable back out from Franchise Purgatory. Now go out there and do it! Yeeeeeaaaaah! Wooo........*Sigh* R.I.P. Lionhead, you never got the chance you really deserved.