In Batman, solitary billionaire Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton – Birdman) was inspired to become the famous vigilante crime-fighter after the unavenged death of his parents. After terrorising the criminal underworld, he ended up dropping their killer, Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson – A Few Good Men) into a vat of chemicals. The Joker was born along with a new type of villain. The super villain. Eventually he was defeated (AKA killed), and a relative peace returned to Gotham City.
So the Point Break remake is happening. There is a trailer, and it’s as underwhelming as lukewarm ice cream. Beyond the usual morass of hate, most of the internet is awash with comments of how the new bad guy (Edgar Ramirez – Wrath of the Titans) cannot possibly replace Patrick Swayze (Road House).
I’d be a lying bastard if I said I didn’t slightly agree with them. But what did make Swayze’s take on New Age-bank robber extraordinaire Bodhi so memorable? Let’s find out.
In previous editions of Bastards, I’ve gone to great lengths to demonstrate how important villains are. They (should) offer resistance to the hero, and through this conflict, drama, excitement and entertainment is created. But not every film has to have a total clusterbastard like Darth Vader or the Joker to be great. Some films work just as well with just some little bastards, sprinkled here and there. One such film is Crocodile Dundee. Let’s find out why.
2006 may well be remembered for the likes of 300, Casino Royale, and Snakes on a Plane, but it also had a few lesser movies worthy of note. One such forgotten actioner is Smokin’ Aces, an ensemble revenge plot that reeks of multi-national influence. It’s also chock full of bastards.
In my review for the fantastic Captain America: The Winter Soldier I said some pretty shitty things about The First Avenger. But after recent viewings of Thor 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy, I thought I’d give it another shot. And miraculously, the second viewing left me pleasantly surprised.
It’s Batman Month, so we’ve been looking at all the individual Bat-movies over the last 25 years. This series of articles will focus on the Bastards, the bad-guys and the scumbags of each film, and today we’ll be looking at Tim Burton’s Batman.
The Movie Bastards 