"What doesn't kill you... makes you stranger"

[eumelia]

Here be Spoilers for The Dark Knight

Finally went to see The Dark Knight for the second time yesterday. (Going again this evening, *squeee*)

A second viewing certainly enables you to see the funny of the movie, of which there were lots, actually. The Joker was so unexpected in this incarnation that I had time, the first time around, to actually enjoy the film - seeing as I was constantly cringing, turning away, feeling slightly nauseous and otherwise speechless and shaken from the tension of the film.

Unlike the first time I saw the movie and was utterly blown away from the philosophical/moral/ethical overtones and utter coolness in the movie, I am able to see where I'd really like Christopher Nolan to improve.

Mainly, to have a female main character (or two or three), that with any luck, won't bloody well die.

With the untimely (and weep worthy - yes I cried, shaddup) demise of Ms. Dawes. There is now ample opportunity to bring in three of the bestest women the DC universe has ever thought of.
Selina Kyle (a.k.a Catwoman), Talia Head (a.k.a Talia Al-Goul) and Dr. Harleen Quinzelle (a.k.a Harley Quinn a.k.a The Harlequin).

Selina Kyle is by far the best option, for various reasons, but for three main ones:
#1 She rocks. Period.

#2 With Batman now considered not just a Vigilante, but now a public enemy and considered a real criminal and not an "un-official" crime-fighter, we'll be able to see the toeing of the line between so-called criminality and so-called decency. Selina always toed the line, even in the Silver Age when she was created as a Dominatrix Feline-Fatal who used her sexuality to throw off Batman when she was soothing her kleptomania, or the need to screw the rich, depends on how you look at her persona. I always preferred the latter, by the way.
So the moral questions that would be asked in this movie with her in it would have to do more with day to day matters, since she's not a psychopath, but someone Bruce can actually relate to.

#3 With Rachel Dawes no longer in the living, there's now a chance for some romance, or at the very least some sexual tension (if Bale and whoever the actress will be find the right chemistry).
Yes, I'm a Selina/Bruce 'shipper, no frelling apologies \m/!!!

The second option is Talia Head, nee Al-Goul.
Talia would be a great tie-in from Batman Begins. There's nothing better for character development than a revenge story, also how cool would it be to have a daughter avenge her father.
Though if she does appear, I hope they don't reduce her to a glorified honey trap or Mata Hari as they've done a few times in the comic books.

The third would be Harley.
Oh, Harley.
What would Gotham look like without at least one clown-ess.
Smart and cute and utterly out of her mind, I think she's be a good compliment to what the Joker had done in The Dark Knight.
I very unexpectedly (and contagiously - I'm looking at you morin!) developed an Inner!Harley.
Mr. J is soooooo dreamy in the movie, dontcha' think!!!
Ooops, gotta run! *back flips back into my brain*

Unfortunately, I very much doubt Nolan can bring the same brilliance to the third movie to be.

If in the end Selina is to be in the third Nolan Batman and her origin is that of a prostitute like Effing Frank Miller wrote I will be severely, utterly disappointed.
Also, if I catch a whiff if Miller anywhere near the Batman movies they can forget my money. I'd rather wait for it to be on television than know that a percentage of my money is lining that sexist, racist, over-rated so-called "writer".

Here are the opinions of other comic books writers of what they'd like to see in the third Nolan Batman movie. All the writers are men by the way, just FYI, of course.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_yggdrasil/]

Oh thank God, someone else who doesn't think rainbows and sunshine fly out of Frank Miller's anus.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

Sister, I have a tag Effing Frank Miller (http://eumelia.livejournal.com/tag/effing+frank+miller).

In real life when speak about him - as little as possible - I call him fucking (or effing in polite company) Frank Miller, or just Fucking Miller if I'm with aficionados which is the pretty much the only tome I'll talk about him at length and break down everything he's done into sexist, racist and homophobic rhetoric - despite The Dark Knight Returns being brilliant, he is sub-par on everything else.
He wishes he could kiss Alan Moore's ass.

[constintina.livejournal.com]

I finally saw The Dark Knight last week, and my main serious irritation was the lack of female characters, an annoyance shared by my companions. I honestly was really, really disappointed by Rachel Dawes, she seemed less an actual character than a plot point, a vessel through which the male-on-male relationships that Nolan et al were really interested in could be developed. It actually really pissed me off--if Gotham is really a no girls allowed club, if it's really all about the Gordon/Batman/Joker/Dent quadrangle, so be it. Just don't have female characters at all. If you're gonna, please give them something to effing do. I really would have like to have seen Dawes step up a little more, esp in the party scene where for a second I was like oh! She's gonna do something cool! No.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

I agree. It's an issue that greatly distracts from an otherwise awesome movie.

[Spoiler]
As the Joker said, all insanity is like gravity, the push is all you need and Rachel was basically and unfortunately that push.
It really is a pity that she was used in that way, that's why I'm hoping for Selina or Talia (I'm pessimistic about Harley).

[constintina.livejournal.com]

agreed

[the-wanlorn.livejournal.com]

There's nothing better for character development than a revenge story, also how cool would it be to have a daughter avenge her father.

Sadly, I'd say that this is not friggin' likely, judging by Nolan's current portrayal of women in the movies. I mean, the part that most says "lol never gonna happen", to me, is how we could've had three nice, short, minuscule scenes with Babs in them. Instead, we got Gordan fawning over Jimmy and ignoring the girl.

I mean, in my head, having it be the son instead of the (adopted) daughter makes utterly no sense.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know. *kicks sand in annoyance*

[aesiron.livejournal.com]

I read a decent and possibly apologist theory about Jimmy's inclusion being for dramatic tension. Anyone that knows anything about the Batman mythos knows who Barbara Gordon is and that she won't be murdered by Two-Face but a lot of people don't even know he has a son and it makes the scene more tense and believable.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

There is no way in hell that a comic book movie rated PG-13 would have had that little boy die.
Anybody familiar with these types of movie could see that. I mean it was a good scene, but no way would Harvey have pulled that trigger and anyway we see the coin fall on the bright side.

[aesiron.livejournal.com]

The Dark Knight was PG-13 in name only, and many people, myself included, don't even pay attention to those ratings, so many would have forgotten or just not been aware that it wasn't a possibility.

Besides, I said it ramped up the dramatic tension. I didn't say it would actually happen or was in any way more likely except in theory.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

As someone who had no idea ratings existed before I discovered fanfic I'm inclined to agree.

Still, the dramatic tension was ramped because of Harvey's pain, not so much the hostages, IMO.