GN Review -- Batman: R.I.P. Deluxe Edition / Grant Morrison, Sandu Florea, Lee Garbett, & Trevor Scott

As I put down my borrowed copy of Batman: R.I.P. and try to shake the cobwebs from my head, I can't help but wonder whether Grant Morrison really is as crazy as he seems, or if he's just super smart and more than a tad pretentious.  This was quite possibly one of the more confusing Batman stories I've ever read, and I say this after having had time to read it, put it away for a while, digest it, and come back and look at it with a more deliberate eye.

What we essentially have with this story is a secret, high-power crime society, led by a Doctor Simon Hurt, who decide to use their resources and abilities to take Batman apart in every way imaginable.  Bruce, meanwhile has started dating a model named Jezebel Jet, who he lets in on his secret identity with surprising speed.  The recent traumas of being Batman, along with Jezebel's suggestion that he plays at being a hero as a way of coping with his parents' death, causes more stress for him, and when he hears the phrase Zur-En-Arrh, it triggers a mental incapacitation and causes him to faint.  Hurt and his minions surround the cave, beat up Alfred, and basically do what they can to destroy Batman's lair and resources.  Bruce wakes up, drugged, with no memory of who he is, when a homeless man takes him on an "odyssey" across the city to deal with his withdrawal symptoms.  When he gets to a point that he knows he'll be okay, Bruce realizes that the homeless man who helped him is gone, and learns that he'd been dead for several days, causing him grief and throwing his sense of reality into question.

Soon after, he basically loses it and creates a Batman costume from purple, yellow and red rags he found in the garbage and fighting crime as the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh.  He sees a small, impish companion called Bat-mite (spelled "might" in this instance), who gives him advice as he fights his way in chaotic fashion back to the Black Glove, the group that had caused Bruce's problems in the first place.  Eventually coming through it and getting back in control of Batman, Bruce Wayne realizes the Black Glove's role in everything and fights back.  He gets buried by the Black Glove, escapes, and goes after Doctor Hurt after he inadvertently summons Batman's allies by poking and probing at the "bat-radia" Bruce's homeless friend had given him.  Chasing Hurt onto an escape copter, Batman causes it to crash, where the story abruptly ends, briefly suggesting that he perished along with Hurt.

Of course, he doesn't die--that honor is reserved for Final Crisis--and we see an epilogue that acts as both a bridge to that story and a summation of Batman's long career and the major events in it.

Again, I'm forced to ask myself what the hell I just read, even after having more or less summarized it.  I'm perfectly willing to admit that perhaps Morrison is just a brilliant writer whose mind functions on far more levels than I can possibly grasp, but the overall feeling of this story was such a sense of disjointment and confusion that I had a really hard time enjoying it.

Never mind that you have to suspend the obvious disbelief of Bruce dating someone like Jezebel Jet, who seems to appear out of nowhere, and letting her into his secret circle so very quickly.  Never mind that you almost have to do some background research on Bat-mite and the whole Zur-En-Arrh phrase / story / character in order to understand what they are and what they mean for this story.  And never mind that we have yet another Bat-villain whose knowledge of Batman and his secret identity is the key part of his intended plan to pick the Dark Knight apart and destroy him so totally.  All of these things, be they far-fetched, troublesome, or just plain annoying, are plausible enough plot points in a world where a man dressed as a bat can hang with modern-day gods in tights.

Accepting it all at once, in one sitting, is asking a bit much, I think.  Setting this up as some grand finale to the Bat's existence--or even Bruce Wayne's particular existence as the Bat--and then suddenly handing it off to Final Crisis feels a little cheap.  And the obvious red herring of Jezebel Jet as a member of the Black Glove was so predictable as to feel insulting.

I know Grant Morrison is an extremely popular writer, and I've been enchanted by a few of his storylines.  But it's hard for me to shake the feeling that he's spending too much time making this whole story complex and hard to follow for it to be enjoyable.

I will grant this (pun partially intended): the Zur-En-Arrh angle was interesting.  In the final analysis, it's what you get of Batman when you completely take Bruce Wayne out of the equation.  It shows that Batman is truly prepared for any eventuality, and I do admire that kind of forward thinking on Morrison's part.  Even Bat-Mite was interesting in that he represented a part of Bruce's mind (logic and reason).  It was an interesting psychological study of that aspect of the character.

The art is good, and the characters are well represented, be they real or otherwise within the context of the story.  That's saying quite a bit, as there are a considerable number of characters, with a considerable number of costumes, and originating from various periods in Batman history.  Despite feeling like a jumble, the visual depictions are actually handled very nicely, and help tell a story that's fairly dark but has grandiose aspirations.

Overall, I'd have to say I'm a little disappointed in this story.  It's complex to the point of distraction, some of the plot elements are just cringe-worthy, and there's simply too much going on that the reader is simply expected to take on faith, when they reasonably shouldn't have to.  Moving a story too fast or in a confusing fashion is a good way to alienate your readers, and I feel like this story for the most part does that.  There are a few interesting and even brilliant bits, but overall, I'm still left wondering if Morrison is brilliant or crazy.  Recommended, with some reservations.

Film Review -- Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance / Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor, & Nicolas Cage

I'll be upfront about the premise of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.  It's an over-the-top, none too well thought out excuse for a dark fantasy action movie.  Don't go into this expecting to see a good adaptation of a comic book hero.  You'll be much better off if you go in expecting a so-so special effects action film with a flimsy pretense at being dark that just happens to be using the somewhat recognizable figure from the Marvel Comics pantheon of heroes.

Billed as a sequel to the 2007 film, also starring Cage, we find that time has not been kind to Johnny Blaze since he decided to use Ghost Rider to continue his personal vendetta against the Devil (played in this film with deadened, ineffectual scowls by Ciaran Hinds).  Hiding out in Europe, Blaze is approached by a wine-loving, motorcycle riding man named Moreau (Idris Elba, playing his second Marvel movies character after Heimdall in last year's Thor), who seeks his help in tracking down and protecting a young boy name Danny, who is apparently intended as a vessel through which the Devil can attain his full powers on Earth--if he can be properly sacrificed and possessed.  Agreeing so that he might be free of the curse of Ghost Rider, Blaze sets out to find and rescue the boy, who, along with his mother Nadya, is a target of the Devil's human agents.

After taking the boy from Carrigan, one of the Devil's men, he heads off to the men for whom Moreau works, a secluded order of monks.  The Devil, meanwhile, does not intend to let Carrigan die, and turns him into Blackout, giving him power over darkness and decay so that he can compete with Ghost Rider on his level.  Moreau, meanwhile, helps Blaze to overcome his curse and soon vanquishes Ghost Rider from his life.  The monks wait until this is done before resolving to sacrifice the boy so that the Devil can't have him, leaving Moreau, Nadya and Blaze powerless to defend him.  Blackout appears, murders the monks, and kidnaps Danny, setting the stage for the final conflict as the three heroes set out to rescue Danny and thwart Blackout along with the Devil's plans for the boy.

To be sure, there is a lot of material in this movie that will have you rolling your eyes in disgust, laughing out loud in derision, or shaking your head at the lack of logic.  There are plenty of plot points that are unexplained or glossed over, character development moments that seem trite and contrived, and moments of over-the-top action or lunacy that will hurt your brain.  But, in spite of all that--and, in some cases, directly because of that--I was thoroughly entertained, albeit in a trashy, guilty pleasures kind of way.

Be prepared to suspend disbelief--a lot.  A vehicle crashes in spectacular, frame-bending fashion with a kid inside?  No problem: he was wearing a seat belt!  Ghost Rider banished from Blaze's body, even though the Devil is in possession of his soul?  I mean, really, what's the explanation there?  He made a deal with the Devil, and signed a contract, and the monks can erase that like some standard curse?  Give me a break!  And ever mind how that particular point is resolved--the pain to your faculties is simply not worth pondering.  Just put your mind to the side, and enjoy the chases and action scenes like good little drones.

Where am I going?!?!  I'm going craaaaaaaazy!!!!!!!!!!!

Nicolas Cage's inspired--and some might say inspiring--craziness is on display in its full glory in this film.  There are at least two scenes where he involuntarily convulses, laughs at inappropriate times, and throws the full-on entirety of the histrionic book at the audience and his fellow actors--sometimes all at the same time.  You can either shift uncomfortably in your seat, or sit back and laugh yourself silly at all the lunacy on display here (I chose the latter, and I stand by my decision).  It's seriously hard to beat these scenes for pure entertainment value.  A friend of mine said that Nicolas Cage isn't playing Ghost Rider, but the reverse: Ghost Rider is playing Nicolas Cage, to a tee.  After you see the scenes I've described, it won't be hard to agree.

The action sequences are fun, though.  Whenever Ghost Rider makes an appearance, you know there's going to be plenty of fun with flames, and this is used to amusing effect when he rides two different vehicles other than his flaming motorcycle at various times.  The penance stare--one of Ghost Rider's trademarked abilities in the comics--is both underused and poorly explained in this film, which is a little sad.  He does use fire, chains, and an extremely superhuman tolerance for pain to make up for it, and it makes for some alternately amusing and bad-ass moments in the story.

I'm laughing at my flaming skeleton hand, lady.  And your
injured kid.  Funny, right?  Stop looking at me like that!!!

Overall, if you're just dying to go see a comic book movie, this might hold you over while you wait for the real feasts for later this year--namely The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Dark Knight Rises.  Don't go in expecting anything more than a mindless action flick with little more than aspirations of dark fantasy, though.  If you can handle that, then this movie may well entertain you for a couple hours.  If you're expecting a serious, "good" comic book movie, though, you'd best wait for the later stuff.  I'm thinking this film stands a far less chance than they do of satisfying that particular appetite.  Recommended, with reservations.