DominicCobb said:
(sorry in advance for my attitude)
Yeah, your attitude fucking sucks. Get a grip.
I highly doubt this conversation can continue in any sort of a civilized capacity, so it is with a good deal of hesitation that I write the following. However, I am really enjoying hearing what Gaff and Warb have to say about things that I am just going to take my chances and do it anyway.
Apparently, I do not know how to watch movies, so my opinion shouldn't count anyway... I haven't seen The Dark Knight since I first saw it in theaters. I've never felt it was worthy of a second go. So I don't remember a bunch of stuff about Bruce not wanting to be Batman, and it has been well over a year or more since I have seen Begins, and much, much longer than that since I watched it and actually paid attention to it.
I guess at the beginning of TDKR, Bruce is no longer Batman, so I suppose that gives an indication that he doesn't exactly want to be Batman. I felt like that was cleanly explained by the fact that Gotham had been a pretty peaceful city since the last film and no longer needed a Dark Knight. I am used to the Batman character being very obsessive and attached to his vigilante persona. This was even shown in the film when we see a broken and determined Bruce giving everything he has to get back to Gotham and save it. I've always felt the Batman character was one that would fight until his last breath, even when he is old and broken (we see this in The Dark Knight Returns, and in the cartoon series). It is hard for me to buy into a Batman who would hand over the cowl and retire at a relatively young age. It just isn't very true to his character. You're right, the movies are to be taken on their own without any outside knowledge of Batman influencing them, but it is something I have always felt is a deeply intertwined part of his character.
The playboy Bruce Wayne is suppose to be a disguise for Batman. To think of Batman giving up being Batman to retire and become the playboy sipping drinks in Europe is a less than satisfying turn for the character. You guys have convinced me this was clearly the intention, as opposed to Batman planning an eventual comeback with a few crime fighting buddies at his side, but I must say it definitely brings down the entire series several notches in my eyes.