The Dark Knight (2008) Novelization Review (Ch. 2)

    The continuation of my chapter by chapter review of The Dark Knight (2008) adaptation.

Chapter 2: 'Bring me my toast and do as i say.'

    Let's explore chapter two, guys and gals...

    In it, author Dennis O'neil dedicates another chapter to events taking place prior to the start of TDK's screenplay.

    From the start, we jump into the retrospective mind of Bruce Wayne and his tormenting recollections of his conflict with Ra's Al Ghul in Batman Begins. He just can't discern whether or not his former sensei was purely wicked or if what he was doing was for the betterment of humanity. In theory, Ra's had a serious apocalypse equation complex, a la Bertrand Zobrist (Inferno Villain).
   
    Bruce even wonders if he was subconsciously imbued by Ra's to guise his identity, akin to the way Ra's rused him in the previous film. I found this to be a plausible and fascinating supposition to think about. In addition to his constant ordeal, he admits to himself that saving Ra's was a horrid choice. Of course it was a blunder, Bruce, but don't forget the Christopher Nolan rule of a NO Killing Batman. Plus, the no orphan left behind act did eventually pay off by giving us Robin.

    Inserted in the middle of this chapter, it's reported that Gothamites are confused as to what Batman's allegiance and virtues are.
   
    Some even notion Batman may have deliberately caused the train derailment, resulting in the hallucination outbreak, mass mayhem, and Ra's death. To others, they viewed Batman as a hero.

    Treating us fans to more pre-screenplay nuggets, O'neil transports us to the penthouse suite that is  featured prominently in the film, though it appears Bruce is off in a section more suitable for exercise.

   And what exercise is it that Mr. Wayne partakes in? Kata.

   Enter the staunch, sage, bluntly caring Alfred Pennyworth, butler of Batman. He's curious as to what Bruce is up to, asking him where he learned this Kata stuff. Yeah, where did you learn this strange dancelike routine, Bruce? Not from Ra's, not at all. Actually, it was a Korean master who dwelled in the changansan mountains.
   
   I have to ponder: What purpose does this Kata serve?
 
   We never see any martial arts moves performed by Nolan's Batman, especially not in that hampering, bulky Batsuit he staggers around in.

   Seriously, of all the things, he practices Kata! the only other fictional characters i've seen do Kata were Eric Foreman's Mom in That '70s show and Daniel-son in Karate Kid. Maybe his last line of defense, if all his high-tech gadgets should fail him, would be the Crane move.


Don't touch my wonton.

     I must gripe now. Don't worry, though, i'll try and keep it as civil as a Gotham City denizen. My man Alfred shows up to serve ol' brucey a dish of Toast and Coffee. Okay, Mr. O'neil, you just subjected me to a chapter filled with how much of an athletic freak Bruce is, and now you're telling me his breakfast is carbs and caffeine!?!

    No brawny specimen touches bread, looks at bread, or even trusts someone that consumes the fatty poison. Tsk-Tsk.

    On second thought, I guess he isn't as bad as circa 1939 Bruce Wayne, from his intro panel in detective comics #27, when it comes to health.

'Right, right. Crime rates are extremely high and so are we, Gordon.'

   Not long after, Alfred inquires Bruce about his intent to keep up his crime fighting crusade. Being his butler and confidant, Alfred should have some knowledge on the matter. Apparently,  he's either clueless or on the precipice of dementia.

   Bruce, gulping down his coffee and munching on his toast, expresses his case that the job in Gotham is far from done. As long as organized crime, political corruption, and police betrayal pervade Gotham, He will be there, lurking in the shadows, aiming to scoff out the evil and restore proper justice to his beloved city.

   Alfred cavils a speech about how the Batcave is inaccessible (Note: Due to the smoldering on Wayne Manor by the League of Shadows in BB) and the playboy penthouse won't be feasible to pull off. In classic Bruce Wayne form, he placidly explains his plans to refurbish a  hidden place he found, semi-calming Alfred's brood. With some good old-fashioned elbow grease and a jolly promise of a swell Christmas bonus, Bruce presumes they can transform this unsaid place into a 'bunker of sorts.'

   Yes, Bruce. I'm sure all it takes is some pinesol and an avarice need for a holiday bonus to set-up a furtive military-level base. For Gotham's sake, Batman, Alfred's in his seventies, and he just brought you bread--Senility is imminent.

Will that x-mas bonus be in my stocking, Master Wayne?

 

Coming Soon: Chapter 3: Life of a fantastical Playboy - Review


   


   

The Dark Knight (2008) Novel Review (Ch. 3)

What, I can't park here?

                                       Chapter 3: Lifestyle of a fantastical playboy

    Inside chapter three, readers are privileged to get one final chapter taking place before the official film version (that being the bank robbery scene.) Also, at the very end, we get treated with an unexpected, sinister, hilarious, twisted gift.

    Read on to explore The Dark Knight beyond the film.

    Writer Denns O'neil force feeds us a yarn on how Billionaire Playboy Bruce Wayne spends a typical day in the public eye, embarking on a plethora of raunchy, reckless, ridiculous escapades.

    Which shenanigan stood out the most? I'd have to point out his golf game. Evidently, Bruce spends most of his days zipping his lambirghini around Gotham, crashing into parked vehicles, gaming women at posh galleries, and chasing women with golf clubs at the course.

    I can't imagine this being Batman's typical day. Don't you think you're putting this whole palyboy charade on a tad too thick? I do.

   Eventually, he manages to make it back to his penthouse without being added to the sex offender list. When he arrives in the kitchen, he's surprised to see an old friend, Rachel Dawes, yapping it up with Alfred.

   As fake as ever, Bruce puts on the ditzy playboy persona. Having none of it, Rachel tells him to drop it. Come to find out, this is just the start of her bitchiness. She reviles his vigilante schemes, and insists that he give up on the Batman masquerade pronto.

   Bruce brushes her off arrogantly. She pretty much owns him in this argument, ranting on how he can't solve complex issues by way of violence. Time and again, we see Nolan's Batman get owned socially, intelligently, and physically. His only come back to Rachel is i'm not just anyone and  you're wrong.

    Feeling the need to pry, Alfred eavesdrops behind the door. Always observant, Alfred does some deep poignant cogitating back to the time before Bruce's return from abroad, before he was inspired to stomp out crime, before he met Ra's al Ghul.

   Rachel departs and we transition out of the penthouse and head to the Gotham City streets...

   Posted on the curbside, O'neil introduces us to THE JOKER. To show how unpredictable this maniac can be, we read how, just before the bank robbery events,  the Joker nearly murdered an old lady by contemplating whether to push her in front of an oncoming bus. Instead of jeopardizing his current mission, he taps the old lady on the shoulder and hands her $100. I'd say it takes away from his grand intro and reveal, but it was still nice to see him make an unexpected appearance.


Coming Soon: Chapter 4 Review: Bank Robbery Bonanza
   

Martin (1977) Novel by George Romero & Susanna Sparrow

Martin, Blood thirsty piece of bizarre gothic trash.

                          

    Martin, the most unseductive vampire of all-time. From the king of the zombie films, George A. Romero, comes a strange tale about a socially awkward, extremely immature vampire.      

 

    Being a low-budget horror film with a meager release, the film has become an obscurity to most horror fans, though highly regarded among horror genre aficionados. Supposedly, Romero claimed this to be his favorite of all his films, including Night of the living Dead.

   

    Of note, Romero has written multiple pieces of prose to tie-in with his films. In addition to this collaboration, Susanna Sparrow also co-wrote Dawn of The Dead in the late-'70s.

 

    As of summer 2015, the crazy asking price for Martin on Ebay ranges from $20 to $300. I opted for Re-animator novelization over this book. So for now, i can only give you this skimpy article on the subject.

  

    If i were to hypothesize, i would say there are many additions and polarities between the film and novel. With the film's original cut being nearly three hours long, one has to surmise the book is loaded with an extensive amount of goodies. Moreover, the only surviving cut of the film is an hour-and-a-half long condensed version.

 

   To get more Martin, fans must either piously wait around until the additional footage resurfaces, or pony up the verdant paper for an original out-of-print paperback copy.

    As i previously stated, i haven't read this novelization, but i have watched and reviewed the film on my youtube channel in the fall of 2014--click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC84NYmohA4

The Dark Knight (2008) Novelization Review (Ch. 1)

  Chapter by chapter breakdown of The Dark Knight (2008) book adaptation, AKA the greatest film of all-time! Well, at least in the minds of the pestilent nolanites that roam this wordly sphere, that is.

Come read about one man vs. all of that.

Title: The Dark Knight
Genre: Comic Book_Action
Published: July 18th, 2008 (by Berkley)
Based on: The Dark Knight (2008) sequel to Batman Begins (2005) film
Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer
Pages: 292
Chapters: 25 (plus an Epilogue)

Chapter 1.) Ra's Al ghul is alive ... in Bruce's dreams!

    Opening up the novel, O'neill gives us a recap of the events in Batman Begins, jumping into a lengthy italics description of the final battle between Batman and his former master Ra's al ghul, leader of the league of shadows. Terribly shaken, Bruce awakens from his nightmare and back into his silky sheeted bed, back into his surreal reality of comic book lore.
 
     Soon after this flashback, we get paragraph length exposition on other events from Batman Begins-- his parents being tragically gunned down right before his pubescent eyes, his encounter with crime lord falcone, his anathema for crime and need to seek out revenge and justice, his soul-searching odyssey around the globe, etc. You know, the basic Batman info that everyone, including your girlfriend, already know.

    Tidbits of unkown info about the Nolan canon Bruce Wayne are revealed here and there, some interesting and some not. Among the more intriguing, to me at least, was the part where he told us Bruce's quantum of knowledge in academia. Including ...

  "In languages, also excellent." - TDK chapter 1 excerpt.

    Wow! Batman can't even annunciate correctly in his own native Gotham dialect, yet he's excellent in languages? Strike 1, Mr. O'neil.
   
    Apparently, Wayne's copious family fortune afforded him a "first-rate education" until the ripe old age of his pre-teen years, when simply, the principal informed Alfred that Bruce was a genius and 'there's nothing more they can give the lad.' It's truly a bewilderment to think that this fancy erudite prodigy didn't enter the political world. In fact, if this were reality and not comic book land, this ass hole would for sure be a prick politician. Just saying. Since forever, novelizations have always put the film into a clear, enlightening perspective for me.

    In the final portion of chapter #1, we get intel on Bruce's sports career. Moreover, he's never been good in team sports throughout his life. Didn't gel with the posh snobs, i guess. In an anecdote that i found to be pointless, O'neal tells us how Bruce became enarmored with skiing. Feeling as if it would be a swell chance to bond, Alfred takes his chap to where else but theVermont Mountains. on a side note, for anyone unaware of USA geography, the tiny eastern state of Vermount is known solely for their avid skiing culture, maple syrup, and expansive wilderness. It'd basically a mini variant of Canada.
  
    To summarize the wintery excursion, Bruce smashes himself up pretty good in a violent skiing accident. After recovering, he splurges on a complete set of Olympic-grade gear. He failed to excel at any one sport, but it did whip him into a high echelon of dexterity.

    Finally, we learn that in his free-time spent at Ra's dojo, Bruce would utilize his exceptional skiing skills, killing it up-and-down those himalayan slopes.  Seemingly, in between meditating, getting his ass kicked, drinking herbal tea, inhaling hypnotic incense, and playing with swords on ice Bruce still felt the adrenaline need to seek more thrill...Those must have been some hellaciously gnarly times, Dude.


Coming soon: Chapter 2 Review -- "Bring me my toast and do as i say."