Not everyone is a fan of James Gunn, with some seeming the former Marvel superstar unfit to head DC. Now, tweets from more than a decade ago – you know, when it was called Twitter – have resurfaced in which James Gunn openly bashes the Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan iterations of Batman, with calls for DC co-CEO to be fired.
Uncovered by XsnyderverseX, the tweets in question show James Gunn’s utter contempt for some of the most popular movies in the Batman franchise. On Burton’s 1989 blockbuster, he wrote, “The Tim Burton Batman is poorly written, the soundtrack is the worst work of everyone involved, and it is absolutely one of the most boring films ever.” Before we go further, we can all agree that Prince had no business being involved with the film, right? He went on to say that the reveal of the Joker being responsible for the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne was “a nullification of the bottomless thirst for vengeance that necessarily drives Batman.” Regarding the Joker, he also said that Jack Nicholson’s interpretation of the character was nothing more than Jack Torrance in clown makeup. As for the hero, he found Keaton’s voice ridiculous and the overall acting not even on par with the 1960s TV series. He concluded, “And, on top of everything, the dark creature of the night can’t even move his f*cking neck. Give me a f*cking break It’s a ridiculous, awful film. Burton’s Planet of the Apes is genius in comparison.” Now that is a take…
But James Gunn didn’t stop his Batman rants with Burton, going on to take umbrage with Christopher Nolan’s trilogy. “And, listen, I have problems with both of Nolan’s films – I don’t think either one is classic, and I don’t even really think Batman Begins is good. But they’re far superior to the first Batman. C) None of your defenses get by the fact that, despite being the first cinematic dark take on Batman (so what? Stallone’s Judge Dredd was the first dark take on Judge Dredd), the movie is awful.” Ooh, now do Batman & Robin!
Such tweets coming to light again will only push fans – and there are certainly many in the Burton and Nolan camps – to challenge James Gunn to make a better Batman movie. And it does make one wonder if he truly believes The Batman and its upcoming “Elseworld” sequel are better than any of the movies he flamed.
Do you agree with any of what James Gunn said? Do you think James Gunn will or should address these Batman tweets from 11 years ago?
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