The Daily Planet Review Section

COUNTDOWN TO THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

In twelve weeks time the last of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy will be released. So, in anticipation, for the next twelve weeks I will be looking at Batman on the silver screen. To start, lets list all the live action Batman movies:-

Batman (1943)

In his first screen appearance, the Caped Crusader of Gotham City (belying the lethargic facade of his alter ego Bruce Wayne) battles Dr Draka, Japanese mastermind of a wartime espionage-sabotage group. Draka has a radium power death ray that pulverises walls, a classic alligator pit to dispose of enemies and can turn men into electronic zombies who do his bidding and transmit video signals to Daka's lab! Batman has no batmobile, but there are bats in the Batcave. (Source: IMDb)

Batman & Robin (1949)

Antisocial Professor Hammil's remote control device, which enables the user to take over any motor vehicle within 50 miles, is stolen by the Wizard, black hooded mastermind, and his gang. Batman and Robin (who drive about in a standard convertible) must prevent the Wizard from obtaining jewels, needed as fuel for the device, and rescue magazine photographer Vicki Vale from periodic perils. Where is the Wizard base, reached only by remote controlled submarine? Which of several suspicious characters hide beneath the Wizards hood? (Source: IMDb)

Batman (1966)

The archvillains of the United Underworld - Catwoman, the Joker, the Penguin and the Riddler - combine forces to dispose of Batman and Robin as they launch their fantastic plot to control the entire world. From his submarine, Penguin and his cohorts hijack a yacht containing a superhydrator, which can extract all moisture from humans and reduce them to particles of dust. The evildoers turn to the nine security council members in the United World building into nine vials of multicoloured crystals. Batman and Robin track the villains in their batboat and use batcharge missiles to force the sub to the surface. (Source: IMDb)

Batman (1989)

Gotham City: dark, dangerous, "protected" only by a mostly corrupt police department. Despite the best efforts of District Attorney Harvey Dent and Police Commissioner Jim Gordon, the city becomes increasingly unsafe... until a Dark Knight arises. We all know that criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot so his disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. He becomes a Bat. Enter Vicki Vale, prize winning photo journalist who wants to uncover the secret of the mysterious "Bat-man". And enter Jack Napier, one time enforcer for Boss Carl Grissom, horribly disfigured after a firefight in a chemical factory who, devoid of the last vestiges of sanity, seizes control of Gotham's underworld as the psychotic, unpredictable Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker. Gotham's only hope, it seems, lies in this drak, brooding vigilante. And, just how does billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne fit into this? (Source: IMDb)

Batman Returns (1992)

Having defeated the Joker, Batman now faces the Penguin - a warped and deformed individual who is intent on being accepted into Gotham society. Crooked businessman Max Shreck is coerced into helping him become mayor of Gotham and they both attempt to expose Batman in a different light. Earlier, however, Selina Kyle, Max's secretary, is thrown from the top of the building and is transformed into Catwoman - a mysterious figure who has the same personality disorder as Batman. Batman must attempt to clear his name, all the time deciding what must be done with Catwoman. (Source: IMDb)

Batman Forever (1995)

The Dark Knight of Gotham City confronts a dastardly duo: Two-Face and the Riddler. D.A Harvey Dent, Two-Face, incorrectly believes Batman caused the courtroom accident which left him disfigured on one side; he has unleashed a reign of terror on the good people of Gotham. Edward Nygma, a computer genius and former employee of billionaire Bruce Wayne, is out to get the philanthropist; as the Riddler he perfects a device for draining information from all the brains in Gotham, including Bruce Wayne's knowledge of his other identity. Batman/Wayne is/are the love focus of Dr Chase Meridian. Former circus acrobat Dick Grayson, his family killed by Two-Face, becomes Bruce Wayne's ward and Batman's new partner, Robin the Boy Wonder. (Source: IMDb)

Batman and Robin (1997)

Mr Freeze plans on taking Gotham hostage by freezing the town into a permanent winter. In the meantime, a new seductive villainess, Poison Ivy, has appeared to cause a rift in the partnership of Batman and Robin. While all this is happening, faithful butler Alfred is dying. Mr Freeze holds the key to saving his life. Enter Batgirl to help save the day. (Source: IMDb)

Batman Begins (2005)

As a young boy, Bruce Wayne watched in horror as his millionaire parents were slain in front of him, a trauma that leads him to become obsessed with revenge. But the opportunity to avenge his parents deaths is cruelly taken away from him by fate. Fleeing to the East, where he seeks the counsel of the dangerous but honourable ninja cult leader Ra's Al Ghul, Bruce Wayne returns to his now decaying Gotham City, which is overrun by organised crime and other dangerous individuals manipulating the system. Meanwhile, Bruce is being slowly swindled out of Wayne Industries, the company he inherited. The discovery of a cave under his mansion, along with a prototype armoured suit, leads his to assume a new persona, one which will strike fear into the men who do wrong; he becomes the Batman! In this new guise, and with the help of rising cop Jim Gordon, Batman sets out to take down the various nefarious schemes in motion by individuals such as mafia don Falcone, the twisted drug dealer/doctor Jonathon "Scarecrow" Crane and a mysterious third party that is quite familiar with Wayne and waiting to strike when the time is right... (Source: IMDb)

The Dark Knight (2008)

With one year past after taking out Ra's Al Ghul's plan to have Gotham eliminated, Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman, continue the seemingly endless efforts to bring order to Gotham, with the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and the newly appointed D.A Harvey Dent, but a new threat has emerged onto the streets. The Dark Knight faces a rising psychopathic criminal called "the Joker", who's eerie grin, laughter and inhuman morality makes him more dangerous than what he has yet to unleash. It becomes an agenda to the Batman to stop the mysterious Joker at all cost, knowing that both of them are in the opposite line, one with no method at all and seeks to see the world plunge into the fire he is yet to light, one who represents the symbol of hope and uses his own shadow to bring peace and order he has yet to accomplish doing. (Source: IMDb)