Batman and The Avengers

Above is one of my favorite photographs of all time. The story of Wild Bill Gelbke and his massive Road Dog motorcycle is legendary in Wisconsin and you can read about them over here. I saw The Dark Knight Rises yesterday and director Christopher Nolan's Bat Cycle always reminds me of the Road Dog.

I was surprised at how much sooner Dark Knight went into second release compared to The Avengers, months sooner it seems. I usually wait to see movies until they reopen at my neighborhood, one-screen second-release house. I've been going to The Patio since I was a kid, and yesterday I walked over there to see The Dark Knight Rises.

I feel this is the weakest link in the Christopher Nolan trilogy. The Heath Ledger Joker would be tough for any actor and/or villain to follow (and I never thought much of the Bane character since his 1990s debut anyway). I did, however, very much like the inclusion of the umasked and unnamed Cilliam Murphy Scarecrow character serving as the "judge" in the "court" scene late in the film.

Though flawed the movie was still enjoyable, and far superior to The Avengers (which I saw a month or two ago, also at The Patio). The Avengers and Thor and Iron Man all strike me as children's movies with their videogame palettes and their throbbing hiphop scores. On the other hand, I at all times feel like an adult when I'm sitting in the theater watching a Christopher Nolan film. It must be possible to make an excellent comic book film that does not feature Batman, but I'm still waiting.